Introduction

Methods

The construction and design of the violin, especially those of Cremona, is a widely discussed topic and various, possible methods have been utilized over the years. Without doubt, instruments were designed using the tools of that period, ruler and compass and applying the ideas of Pythagoras or Vitruv to achieve a perfectly, balanced instrument. For certain instruments, like the lute or harpsichord, historical drawings still remain, hence, the research and analysis of such valuable sources, including the design, is often a very important means of information for reconstruction , restoration and classification.Although interest in the construction of the Cremonese Violin in 1780, already led to a publication [Bagatella, 1786] and generations of luthiers, probably desperate to decipher the instructions of Saccconi, an easy and practicable method was yet to be realized. More recently, the work of Kevin Coates [Coates, 1985] and Francois Denis [Denis, 2006] has opened up a window, to what is probably, a more historically, accurate approach.Studies on the proportions of historical instruments are an integral part of the education at the luthiers school in Hallstatt, Austria. Students learn to measure and draw historical instruments and to understand the geometrical background of the renaissance and baroque. Many different instruments such as lutes, viola da gambas, vihuelas and others, were successfully analyzed, but a clear and practical method for the violins was missing. With the students of the third year, a research project was initiated for the construction of the f-hole, based on the information Sacconi[Sacconi, 1979] provided and the original sketches of Stradivari.The students, after detecting the hint of a possible measuring unit (founded by Najmon, 1980) applied this factor to the proportions of the Stradivari instruments and later to all Cremonese instruments. But the relationship between the numbers, did not fully reveal itself until a completely, new system of construction, using concentric circles, was applied.Consequently, all necessary, reference points for the construction and the radii of the outline, can now easily be deduced, allowing for the magnificence and cleverness of this design to be revealed. It is likely that this system was invented by Andrea Amati and passed down to his heirs. All Cremonese instrument builders are following this pattern & applying this measuring unit as it was found on a ruler, owned by Stradivari.