Tonight, we’ll read about selecting wood from “Violin Making” written by Walter H. Mayson and published in 1909.

The modern violin was first known in 16th-century Italy. The name fiddle is often used regardless of the type of music played on it, and the genres are not limited to western classical music, folk, country and jazz music along with plenty of non-Western music as well.

Violinists and collectors particularly prize the fine historical instruments made by certain well known families and makers, like Stradivari for example. The quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, though this belief is disputed. The current record amount paid for a Stradivari violin is £9.8 million or $15.9 million US in 2011.

This book was published posthumously by the English violin maker, who started his fiddle making career at the age of 39.

— read by V —

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