Bridge (musical instrument)

“ Structurally, it is correlative to the bridge: bridgeless instruments have no sound-post. It is moveable, and forms no part of the structure, but is introduced through the treble sound-hole, and stuck in, by means of a tool made for the purpose, when the fiddle is ready to be strung up, in such a way as to rest firmly on the back and to support the belly, a little behind the treble foot of the bridge. ”

“ In some cases the base of the body was left open, and in others there were sound-holes. The bridge, from its curiously irregular shape, was known as the “shoe”; it was thick and high at the one side on which rested the string, and low and narrow at the other which was left loose so that it vibrated against the belly with every movement of the bow, producing a trumpet-like timbre. It is to this feature, in conjunction with its general resemblance in contour to the marine speaking-trumpet of the middle ages, that the name of the instrument is doubtless due. ”

“ Properly, the bridge should be shaped something like a shoe, the heel being the right foot, the toe, the left. The left foot touches the belly lightly: and when the string is put in vibration this foot rattles rapidly on the belly, like an organ reed. To increase the tone, a thin metallic plate is sometimes attached to the foot, and some bridges have a mechanical apparatus for adjusting its tension.
The marine trumpet is played with a heavy violoncello bow, plentifully rosined. ”

“ The sketch shows the amount of slope to be made on the E side; the distances for the notches to receive the strings, and the amount to which the feet must be thinned in an ordinary full sized instrument. The height of the bridge is dependent, (for convenience of stopping) , upon the height of the fingerboard. A high bridge gives more power, but often the quality of tone is not so good. The E string being harder to press down (by reason of its greater tension) is kept a little nearer the fingerboard than the others. ”

“ A [54] bridge which is qualified to affect the violin and contribute to the charm of tone of the instrument is more valuable than one would often think. Many consider a bridge of as little consequence as a string, when it breaks on the violin, and think they can restore the loss by a bridge which costs three cents; for the correct model of a bridge is considered only as an ornament by such people. Of course they do not know that this is one of the most important parts of good violins, and that there are but few violin makers who are able to make a bridge as it should be. ”

“ The quality of the wood in a bridge,—whether hard or soft—and its thickness (according to Otto, its weight) , materially affect the tone of a violin. Bridges as supplied by dealers are usually almost twice the proper thickness, to allow for rubbing down with sandpaper. The best bridges are the genuine “Aubert” (with the name stamped inside an oval) ; those with large and decided reddish markings showing hardness of grain, and the less distinct markings a softer quality. ”

“ The soundpost, placed underneath the right foot of the bridge (a little way behind it) supports the upper table against the pressure of the strings upon the bridge, and the bass bar serves a similar purpose under the left foot of the bridge. The sound post, by connecting the upper table with the back, sets the entire instrument into vibration, and by its help the sound waves radiate to all parts. ”

“ The average—it may almost be called the standard—height of the violin bridge is one three-eighth inches. There are occasions when this measurement may be departed from, as in the instance of a high model, when an eighth, or even more, may be taken off with advantage. This must not be taken as necessary for the proper emission of the tone from a highly built instrument. The raising of the bridge in modern times is due to other causes, the most important being that of allowing better play or room for bowing rapidly over from side to side without rasping the border at the waist. ”

“ In front, immediately over the keys, is the wrestplank, with the tuning-pins inserted, round which are wound the nearer ends of the strings—in this instrument two to each note—the further ends being attached to hitchpins, driven into the soundboard itself, and following the angle of the bent side of the case to the narrow end, where the longest strings are stretched. There is a straight bridge along the edge of the wrestplank and a curved bridge upon the soundboard. ”

“ The reduction must be made by rubbing on sandpaper, and a clean, straight tapering effected, as a bridge, where you can discern a round-backed slope, is bad—looks so and is. When fitted and completed, the bridge must be as near perpendicular as possible; if there be any inclination, it must tend to the tailpiece, and very slightly, thus checking the certain tendency of the strings to pull it forward, which must be always closely watched, as if it fall on the belly of the violin, it is most liable to break—not only so, but to crack that same soundboard. ”

“ The sound-post is made so as to fit the slopes of the back and belly and inserted in a perfectly vertical position: this is ensured by observation through the bottom block and soundholes. The bridge is then prepared and fitted, the tail-piece looped on, and the violin is ready for stringing.
Many of the best fiddle-makers, however, seldom make new instruments, which can be produced more cheaply and expeditiously by inferior workmen. ”

“ In selecting a bridge great care is requisite that the wood be suitable to the constitution of the Violin. If the instrument is wanting in brilliancy, a bridge having solidity of fibre is necessary; if wanting in mellowness, one possessing soft qualities should be selected. ”

“ When it is desired to raise any part of the stage above the level in order to represent broken ground, or for what is called a “runway,” or for any other purpose, a narrow trap door is lifted and a man at each end of the bridge raises it up to the desired height. The bridges can be raised to a height of twenty-three feet. They are counterweighted, so that it requires very little effort to raise them. It is considered that with this system the stage can be worked about as well and quickly as in the far more elaborate hydraulic stages, as those of Buda-Pesth and Chicago ”

“ The lower chord is formed by riveting two bars 5 × 3⁄4 inches to each side of each truss plate; making in all eight. Top chord—one bar of the same size on each side of each plate, compression being made up by a wooden chord between the plates. Height of bridge, six feet; length, fifty-five feet; width, six feet; weight, fourteen tons; cost, $2,200, or forty dollars per foot. The inventor thinks thirty dollars per foot enough when a considerable amount of such bridging is wanted. ”

“ Your fingerboard must be at such an angle when the neck is fixed, that the end of it near bridge must measure exactly thirteen-sixteenths of an inch from belly to top of ebony; by this means your bridge, as described, will be just a nice height for clean fingering of the strings. ”

“ A movable bridge, which was shifted up and down between the string and the scale, produced whatever notes the performer wished to bring out. In the eighth century there was a kind of violin or mandolin furnished with a single metallic string played on with a metallic bow. Later still, we find a kind of harp formed of a long sounding-box traversed by a single string, over which the musician moved a small bow handled with a sudden and rapid movement.
The instruments we have named do not, however, embrace all those in use in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. ”

“ The Adventures of the Frog who went a courting is certainly much more like the ballad of London Bridge; but, in addition to its variations in the latter part, it is quite a modern composition, and, therefore, cannot illustrate the antiquity of that other song, of which it is itself merely a musical parody. ”

“ To the exact outline of this I now cut the neck end, one and three-eighths of an inch broad at top, one and three-sixteenths of an inch at bottom, and one and nine-sixteenths of an inch deep. I cut on an angle, so as to get the elevation required for correct height of bridge. And then, all being square, I slope to the end which is ultimately to be joined to the button. You will gather all this from plates of scroll. ”

“ Some ingenious person, about the 13th century, devised an alternative: this consisted in constructing the sides of the resonant box with a contrary flexure, giving the contour of the instrument a wavy character, exactly like the guitar, and making a sort of waist. By this means the bridge could be left at the proper height, while the capacity of the instrument in respect of size, compass, and resonance was increased. Some unknown mechanic thus invented what came to be called in Northern Europe the Fidel, in Northern France the Vielle, in Southern France and Italy the Viole. ”

“ The lower rod should rest firmly upon something solid, say a stone, well bedded and free from any tendency to rock; the upper end should bear against some part of the girder above, presenting a hard surface, free from dirt or scale, and as the running load approaches the bridge it should be ascertained that there is no slack, that the rods bear hard at the top and bottom. ”

“ Three notes may, however, be made to sound simultaneously, but special skilfulness is requisite, and the sounds cannot be of long duration. Formerly Paganini, Ole Bull, and other violin virtuosi, used a very flat bridge in order to play in three and four parts. Such tricks may be produced even with the ordinary bridge, by unscrewing the nut of the bow, passing the stick underneath the fiddle, letting the hair lie upon the strings, and holding both hair and stick together with the right hand. ”

“ The next step was the contrivance of arched beams or bow-string girders, firmly held together by horizontal ties to resist the thrust, instead of abutments. Numerous excellent specimens of this description of bridge were erected by Robert Stephenson on the original London and Birmingham Railway; but by far the grandest work of the kind—perfect as a specimen of modern constructive skill—was the High-Level Bridge, which we owe to the genius of the same engineer. ”

“ These houses are often approached by bridges, which are very curious structures, so apparently fragile that they seem unable to sustain the weight of a human being, and of so slight a character that to traverse them seems to imply the skill of a rope dancer. As these houses are often built on the side of a steep hill, a pole is laid from the platform to the hill, and, if it be a tolerably long one, supported by several rattan ropes fastened to trees. A very slight bamboo handrail is fastened a little above it, and the bridge is considered as complete. ”

“ The principal band plays till about ten o'clock, when a little bell is rung, and the whole concourse of people (the greater part of which are females) run to a dark part of the gardens where there is an admirable deception of waterworks. A bridge is seen over which stages and wagons, men and horses, are seen passing; birds flying across and the water in great cataracts falling down from the mountains and passing over smaller falls under the bridges; men are seen rowing a boat across, and, indeed, everything which could be devised in such an exhibition was performed. ”

“ They have a rise of sixty feet, sufficient to permit the passage of steamers under them, even at high water. The piers are sunk through the sand to the bed-rock, a distance of from ninety to one hundred and twenty feet, the work having been accomplished by means of iron wrought caissons and atmospheric pressure. Each span consists of four ribbed arches, made of cast steel. The bridge is two stories high, the lower story containing a double car track, and the upper one two horse-car tracks, two carriageways and two foot-ways. ”

“ This bridge of falling notes is as Nature's bridge of falling drops: individual drops appear for an instant in the rainbow, then disappear, but century after {33} century the great arch stands there on the sky unshaken. So throughout the ages the bridge of sacred music, in which individual voices are heard a little while and then are heard no longer, remains for man as one same structure of rock by which he passes over from the mortal to the immortal. ”

“ Previous to the 19th century, the greatest bridges being constructed mostly of solid masonry piers and arches, no demand for a bridge of this kind existed; but after the use of wrought iron and steel became extensive in bridge making, and as these apparently light and airy frames may be extended, piece by piece across the widest rivers, straits, and arms of the sea, a substitute for the great, expensive, and frequent supporting piers became a want, and was supplied by the system of trusses and truss arches. ”

“ Besides, I am in love with the bronze-haired girl at Otter's Holt, and perhaps she will hear me and think that I am unhappy."
"She is much more likely to think that I am," said I. "Fire ahead."
He twanged two or three experimental chords, tightened a couple of pegs, and then settling down again in his basket-chair, launched out pathetically into the time-honoured ballad of "London Bridge":
Hurry along, sorrow and song,
All is vanity 'neath the sun ”

“ Sur le Pont d'Avignon tout le monde danse en rond."
Why dancing should be associated with bridges I cannot tell for certain, but there is probably some mythologic origin. It was customary in Pagan times to sacrifice a human being when the foundations of a bridge were laid, by burying the victim alive under it, and every year an offering of a life was made to the river to propitiate it, and ensure the stability of the bridge. ”