george wilson
04-03-2012, 11:30 PM
I made this bass gamba for a professional musician who has made a career from playing it. He is still playing it today,and it was made in the 70's,though I can't be sure exactly what year. He toured Europe playing this instrument,and is a Colonial Williamsburg based musician between concerts.This is a 17th.C. style instrument that was still played in the 18th.C. By style I mean the decorative features.
The owner wanted this viol to be made in the German style of 7 strings. At some later time,he had 1 hole plugged,and went to the usual 6 string style.
The members of this family have tied on gut frets,as did most guitars of the period. This was not because they did not have metal frets,but because they used a "mean tone" system of tuning back then. In mean tone tuning,the notes in certain keys were able to be played perfectly in tune. The frets could be shifted to play in tune in different keys. Today,we are used to hearing music played in a "tempered" scale. This came in in the 18th.C.,and was quite a novelty at the time. Composers began to write music such as "The well Tempered Clavier(keyboard)",in which the music would go into different keys,a novelty at the time.
The name viola means bowed instrument. gamba means it is held between the legs when played. Actually,it rests between the calves of the legs since it has no tail pin like a cello to rest upon the floor.
This viola is about the size of a cello. It is made,as most bowed instruments are,of spruce(German),for the top,and maple(German) for the back,sides and neck. The fingerboard is ebony veneered over a maple core,as is usual with this family of instruments,as opposed to the solid ebony fingerboards of the violin family. It is also bound with maple and has inlaid purflings.
The viol family usually has "C" shaped sound holes. These soundholes are outlined by black-white-black inlaid purfling.
The back and sides of this instrument have decorative "V" grooves freehand chiseled in to the curly maple(which can be a bit tricky due to the grain). The grooves stand out as the colored varnish builds up in them better than on the surface. I made the long lines smooth with a "V" groove riffler that I made especially for this task.
The owners initials are inlaid in 1/32" ebony lines. They are arranged in a 17th.C. style cypher that I made up,and reads RWM.
The spruce top is carved out into an arch. The back is flat,with a small amount of crowning made by the interior braces being planed to a slight arch.
The main feature of the instrument,as far as decoration is concerned,is the pierced and carved back of the peghead. It is hard to see in the picture,but among the pretty foliage On the left side,I have carved a snail being caught in the long,forked tongue of a lizard. On the right side is a bird being caught by a snake. You can see the snake has wrapped his "neck" around the neck of the bird,and is facing the bird's face,looking at his prey. The tails of both predators go all the way down the vines,curving opposite of them. I wish I had taken a closer view of the carving. The snail can be seen just beyond the juncture of the lowest tuning peg on the left. The lizard's head,with exaggerated,curled back "lips" can be seen near the juncture of the 2nd peg down on the left side. He has a large eye that can be made out when you find the curled lips. He lies right along the vine,with his tail snaking out behind him. His forked tongue begins to envelope the snail.
This type of work,showing the undertow,or dark side of the beauty of life is a theme that was sometimes used in the period. This dark side of life,or its fleeting enjoyment was referred to in song. "Gather ye rosebuds(women)while ye may,old time is yet a-flying,and rosebuds that are in bloom today tomorrow may be dyin'."(I hope this quote is accurate. It refers to the tenuous position of the followers of king Charles,who was beheaded. Some fled to South Carolina to Charlestown. My history,I admit,is hazy on this.
I plan to show the plane I made for hollowing out the top,and smoothing the outside edges. It is a simple "Krenov" type that I put together quickly. It is still in very good condition though it is cherry. But only planed spruce. I also believe I still have the mold that this instrument was made around. I will post it also.
The sides were bent freehand,as is the usual way,around a heated oval pipe,which had a large alcohol lamp inside it. I made that,too,but no longer have it.
Enjoy. These are scanned from 400 speed film slides,and the carving isn't seen clearly enough. Maybe I can get with the owner and make some better pictures.
The owner wanted this viol to be made in the German style of 7 strings. At some later time,he had 1 hole plugged,and went to the usual 6 string style.
The members of this family have tied on gut frets,as did most guitars of the period. This was not because they did not have metal frets,but because they used a "mean tone" system of tuning back then. In mean tone tuning,the notes in certain keys were able to be played perfectly in tune. The frets could be shifted to play in tune in different keys. Today,we are used to hearing music played in a "tempered" scale. This came in in the 18th.C.,and was quite a novelty at the time. Composers began to write music such as "The well Tempered Clavier(keyboard)",in which the music would go into different keys,a novelty at the time.
The name viola means bowed instrument. gamba means it is held between the legs when played. Actually,it rests between the calves of the legs since it has no tail pin like a cello to rest upon the floor.
This viola is about the size of a cello. It is made,as most bowed instruments are,of spruce(German),for the top,and maple(German) for the back,sides and neck. The fingerboard is ebony veneered over a maple core,as is usual with this family of instruments,as opposed to the solid ebony fingerboards of the violin family. It is also bound with maple and has inlaid purflings.
The viol family usually has "C" shaped sound holes. These soundholes are outlined by black-white-black inlaid purfling.
The back and sides of this instrument have decorative "V" grooves freehand chiseled in to the curly maple(which can be a bit tricky due to the grain). The grooves stand out as the colored varnish builds up in them better than on the surface. I made the long lines smooth with a "V" groove riffler that I made especially for this task.
The owners initials are inlaid in 1/32" ebony lines. They are arranged in a 17th.C. style cypher that I made up,and reads RWM.
The spruce top is carved out into an arch. The back is flat,with a small amount of crowning made by the interior braces being planed to a slight arch.
The main feature of the instrument,as far as decoration is concerned,is the pierced and carved back of the peghead. It is hard to see in the picture,but among the pretty foliage On the left side,I have carved a snail being caught in the long,forked tongue of a lizard. On the right side is a bird being caught by a snake. You can see the snake has wrapped his "neck" around the neck of the bird,and is facing the bird's face,looking at his prey. The tails of both predators go all the way down the vines,curving opposite of them. I wish I had taken a closer view of the carving. The snail can be seen just beyond the juncture of the lowest tuning peg on the left. The lizard's head,with exaggerated,curled back "lips" can be seen near the juncture of the 2nd peg down on the left side. He has a large eye that can be made out when you find the curled lips. He lies right along the vine,with his tail snaking out behind him. His forked tongue begins to envelope the snail.
This type of work,showing the undertow,or dark side of the beauty of life is a theme that was sometimes used in the period. This dark side of life,or its fleeting enjoyment was referred to in song. "Gather ye rosebuds(women)while ye may,old time is yet a-flying,and rosebuds that are in bloom today tomorrow may be dyin'."(I hope this quote is accurate. It refers to the tenuous position of the followers of king Charles,who was beheaded. Some fled to South Carolina to Charlestown. My history,I admit,is hazy on this.
I plan to show the plane I made for hollowing out the top,and smoothing the outside edges. It is a simple "Krenov" type that I put together quickly. It is still in very good condition though it is cherry. But only planed spruce. I also believe I still have the mold that this instrument was made around. I will post it also.
The sides were bent freehand,as is the usual way,around a heated oval pipe,which had a large alcohol lamp inside it. I made that,too,but no longer have it.
Enjoy. These are scanned from 400 speed film slides,and the carving isn't seen clearly enough. Maybe I can get with the owner and make some better pictures.