Find Articles in:
All
Business
Reference
Technology
News
Lifestyle

Rich music from a hardware-store bow?

Science News, June 12, 1993

William Hayden, professor of violin at the University o! South Florida in Tampa, wanted to make a better bow -- one that beginning students could fiddle with and not break and that wouldn't cost hundreds of dollars. He took a low-tech approach to the problem.

"I went into Ace Hardware, collected parts to assemble, spent a few days creating prototypes, put them to my violin, and started playing - and 1 couldn't believe it:' says Hayden. His instrument took on a brilliant and resonant tone when he first used the new bow last October, he says.

The cost of materials totaled only $6.50, but when Hayden used the new bow at the university recital hall, his colleagues preferred it over his usual $1,300 bow, he says. "Now I play exclusively on my own hardware creation:'

A traditional bow is made of a rod of Brazilian pernambuco wood. Stretched between the ends are horsehairs, which wear out about every two months. Haydens new bow replaces the wood with metal and the hairs with synthetic monofilaments treated with a special chemical preparation.

The bow is "practically indestructible:' and schoolchildren who have tried it are already anxious to use it, he says. Two companies have expressed interest in licensing and marketing the bow. But Hayden says he first wants to try other metals and some high-tech options as he works with an industrial engineer to refine the design.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Science Service, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
 

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

The following tags are supported in BNET comments:
<b></b> <i></i> <u></u> <pre></pre>

Leave a Reply

  1. You are currently a guest | Login?
advertisement
CIO SessionsVision Series on ZDNet

See and hear what CIOs the world over thinks about the business of technology and how it's changing the way we live and work.

Go
advertisement
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
advertisement

Content provided in partnership with Thompson Gale