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Great Violin Making books to whet your appetite. Make a start!
Congratulations on wanting to make violins. Its a fantastic craft. We highly recommend getting yourself a few good violin making books Juliet and her son Christopher also offer violin making courses which are always well attended. Juliet learnt her trade as a Luthier in Mittenwald in 1954. She was married to James Beament who is the author of another book below – The violin explained. The book also has a lovely section on Folk Instruments and Juliet touches on the Hardanger violin there are also sections on Baroque violins and small violins for children. The book is published by Oxford University Press. The ISBN number is 0-19-816739-3. James was an eminent scientist and the book is written from a technical and scientific angle. For me some of the important information that comes out of the book is how Animal/Hide Glue and Varnishing works. Through this science based approach you can see that the luthiers of the 1600-1700’s got it right and that the use of materials that might seem a bit out of place in our high tech world are the right materials for building and finishing a violin! The book is not about physically building a violin more about the key parts and how they work and how sound is produced and heard. The book can be obtained both secondhand and new through Amazon and you can click through to Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk on this page.
Another recommendation and arguably my own favourite source for violin making in a step by step way is “The Art of Violin Making” by Chris Johnson and Roy Courtnall. The book is used as a foundation by the UK’s number one violin making College based at Newark near Nottingham. The book was published by Robert Hale – London and the ISBN Nos is:- 0-7090-5876-4. This book has it all. It is in hardback and takes you through building a violin step by step using pictures, sketches and drawings. There is a section on contemporary violin makers, the great makers and some pictures of one of their instruments, Tools and materials, varnishing and setting up and adjustment. This has proven to be my bible and I use it all the time. The book is readily available through Amazon both new and second hand. My last recommendation is Violin Making – As it was and is by Ed. Heron-Allen. This was initially published around 1885 and comes with 2 single sheet fold out plans for a Joseph Guarnerius Violin of around 1734. The book has been reprinted on a number of occasions in the 1970’s, 1980’s and the last reprint was about 1991 and was printed by Fher S.A, Bibao, Spain. The book can still be found through secondhand dealers and Amazon. The original publisher was Ward Lock Limited and the ISBN nos is:- 0 7063 1045 4. Given that the book was written in the late 1800’s it can be a little heavy reading but it is filled to the brim with important sizes and information and it is black and white. It has a great section on violin repairs and a fantastic appendix. Cost about £40 - £80 depending on condition. There is apparently a paperback version floating about that I have seen offered at about £25. Magazines The Strad magazine is also a great source of useful articles on making and they usually cover something in each magazine. 75% of the magazine is dedicated to playing though even in these sections there a great pictures of instruments. There are also a sales and wanted section where tools and other bits and pieces can be foundThe webThe internet is obviously a great place to find information and this web site will be showing a step by step approach to building a Violin as the web site develops so keep popping back for a look. There are also a number of videos/DVD’s around as well which cover the making of a violin. You can search for any of these books using the widget below in the UK too. Enjoy. If you find these suggestions helpful please let us know.
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which you can refer to as you go along. The best books and sources of information we have found for amateurs who want to get into violin making are below. 