Violin Explorer (3D)
About this app
A violin you bow yourself, with sound computed in real time from a physical model: the bow carries the string, it snaps free, a corner travels around. Playing map of force and contact point, body on and off, cross-section with sound post and bass bar.
With explain mode: an AI tutor walks you through the app, points out what matters in the scene and answers your questions.
How the bow makes the string sound
A bow does not rub evenly across the string. Rosin makes the hair grip, the string is carried along, snaps free, flies back and is caught again, several hundred times a second. Hermann von Helmholtz described how a single corner travels around the string in the process. At the bridge this produces a sawtooth force with many overtones. Through the bridge the string drives the top, since it moves hardly any air by itself.
What the app shows
A violin with bow in 3D whose sound is computed in real time from a physical model, with no recordings. A playing map shows where bow force and contact point give a clean tone and where it flutters or scratches. The string can be watched in slow motion, along with the force at the bridge. Cut open, the sound post and bass bar appear, and a panel shows the resonances of the body.
Things to try
Drag across the strings with your mouse and guide the bow yourself. Press harder until the tone scratches, or ease off until it flutters. Move closer to the bridge and hear the sound get brighter and need more force. Turn the body off: a thin, sharp tone remains. Tap a position to shorten the string and add vibrato.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Helmholtz motion?
- It is how a bowed string vibrates: two straight sections with a corner that travels around. When the corner passes the bow, the string snaps free or sticks again. This happens once per cycle.
- Why does a violin scratch with too much bow force?
- With too much force the corner can no longer release the string from the bow. The regular motion breaks down, the string sticks too long and the tone turns rough. Near the bridge the window for a clean tone lies at higher force.
- What is the sound post in a violin for?
- The sound post is an unglued spruce dowel between top and back, near the bridge foot on the E side. It supports the top and carries vibration to the back. Even small shifts change the sound.
- What can I try in the Violin Explorer?
- You bow with your mouse, choose string and position, change bow force, speed and contact point, switch vibrato and body, and view the cross-section. The sound is computed from a model; dimensions are typical values.
Subject: Music (Gymnasium)
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