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What are violin strings made of? Detailed answer

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What are violin strings made of?

Violin strings are not - and never have been - made from cat sinew.

This is a myth started in the Middle Ages by Italian violin makers who discovered that sheep's intestines were the ideal material for strings. And to protect their invention, they told everyone that their strings were made from cat entrails, because to kill a cat meant to bring disaster upon yourself.

According to legend, a long time ago in a mountainous Italian village called Salle, not far from the city of Pescara, in the province of Abruzzi, there lived a master saddler, and his name was Erasmo. One day, Erasmo heard a delightful sound: it was the sound of the wind blowing through sheep's veins hung out to dry. "But you can make beautiful strings out of them," thought Erasmo. This is how the strings for the first violins of the Renaissance appeared.

For six centuries, the town of Salle turned into a world center for the production of violin strings, and Erasmo's saddle maker was canonized. Saint Erasmo is still considered the patron saint of string craftsmen.

Strong earthquakes in 1905 and 1933 put an end to string making in Salla itself, but two of today's most famous string makers, the D'Addario and Mari companies, are still run by the descendants of the Salla families.

Before 1750, all violins used strings made from sheep's intestines. The intestine was pulled out of the animal while still warm, cleaned of fat and secretions, and soaked in cold water. After that, the best sections were cut into ribbons, and then twisted and scraped until a string of the desired thickness was obtained.

These days strings are made from a combination of gut, nylon and steel, although most true connoisseurs still believe that pure gut string produces the warmest tone.

The famous German composer Richard Wagner, wishing to discredit Brahms, whom he could not stand, spread the horrific rumor that Brahms had received a "Bohemian sparrow bow" as a gift from the Czech composer Dvořák. Armed with this same bow, Brahms allegedly amused himself by shooting street cats from the window of his Viennese apartment.

“Having pierced the unfortunate animal,” Wagner continued, “he dragged him to his house, like a fisherman returning with a trout planted on a prison. .).) remarks".

In fact, Wagner never visited Brahms and did not see his apartment; there is also no record of the existence of a "bow for sparrows", not to mention the fact that this bow was sent by Dvořák.

Cats, like most other animals, die in silence.

Despite all this, the label of "cat-killer" stuck firmly to Brahms, and Wagner's invention is presented as fact in several biographies of the composer.

Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson

 Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

When did you first start eating crabs?

Whoever the first person to eat crab (or lobster) was, he was very brave or very hungry, or both. If you have never seen a crab before in your life, it is very difficult to imagine that you can eat it!

Crabs are so widespread all over the world and have been known to man for so long that we will never know who and when first started eating them. Probably, people who lived on the sea coasts thousands of years ago ate crabs. Crabs are found off the coast of Europe, North America, South America, India, Japan, most of the Pacific Islands, Alaska, and so on. The crab has a hard shell on top, and claws serve as its weapons.

But in total there are more than 1000 varieties of crab, and they all differ significantly from each other. Considered a delicacy, the pea crab is less than 25 millimeters in size and is often found inside the shells of live oysters. The giant Japanese crab is the other extreme, and its body can be 30 centimeters across, and if measured with legs, it can measure 3,5 meters.

Most crabs live in salt water, although there are a few freshwater varieties. Although there are land crabs, they always return to the water to lay their eggs. A small abdominal part of a crab, which has folds, is located on the underside of its body. The eyes are located on the ends of the semblance of stalks, which the crab is able to put forward and turn as it pleases.

 crabs have six pairs of jaws that work almost all the time, as crabs feed on all sorts of garbage and eat anything. Crabs are known - palm thieves from the tropics, which even climb coconut palms to feast on nuts.

All crabs have five pairs of legs. The front pair is usually equipped with pincers. The legs of the rear pair are often flattened at the ends, turning into paddles for propulsion in the water. On land, crabs usually move sideways and can run quite fast. Incidentally, the "soft-shelled crabs" that are considered a delicacy are not some special kind of soft-shelled crabs at all, but crabs that have shed their old shells, while their new shells have not yet hardened.

 Test your knowledge! Did you know...

▪ Why are whales considered mammals?

▪ Which aircraft made the first non-stop flight around the world?

▪ What is calfskin used for in the English Parliament?

See other articles Section Big encyclopedia. Questions for quiz and self-education.

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