Violin/Fiddle: Bridges

Subject: "Myth of the arched bridge"
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 20:57:04 -0700

Dear Mickey,
Have been reading comments on arched bridges being a possible cause of difficulty in playing doublestops. This is a common misconception among fiddle players which I have heard for over 50 years while observing hundreds of poorly shaped bridges (due to both cutting and dimensioning of same and warpage from
neglect)! I'll only touch on the arching issue here. The arch of any particular bridge should show a relationship to the arching of the fingerboard (with respect to both curvature and string height) for best playability and sufficient string clearance to avoid buzzing. String height above the fingerboard (commonly referred to as the "action" just like on guitars) is a combination of the player's taste and whatever vibrational clearance between string and fingerboard as notes are played in various positions up the board, is dictated by the types of strings used. Standard setups always have the E string closer to the fingerboard than the G because its higher tension and stiffer nature require less clearance. The E is slightly harder to depress than the softer G so the closeness of the former also helps playability (note stopping). With respect to playing doublestops: The amount of arch, or lack of same, has absolutely ZERO effect on the difficulty of doing so, from a bowing or clarity of notes perspective, due simply to a simple principle of geometry, i.e., TWO POINTS DETERMINE A STRAIGHT LINE. The two points are the tops of the two strings we want to play on and the straight line is the ribbon of bow hair touching the two.
If you visualize the situation, no matter what kind of curvature exists between the two strings on the bridge proper-or even if it was a straight line-the bow is simply laying across the two strings with a single contact point on each one. To play both notes, the bow could care less what kind of curve lies between the two.
If it were desired to play on three strings simultaneously, a rare event for fiddlers, then a less arched bridge would offer some advantage. Classical players who often encounter triple stops usually will move the hair contact point farther from the bridge or even down over the end of the fingerboard to make the challenge of depressing the two outer strings downward in order to contact the middle one less challenging. What an overly arched bridge will do is increase the arc swing required of the players elbow for string crossings and the overall angle from playing on the E to the G string. This is more demanding physically and can be a big waste of energy when you are playing something like Orange Blossom Special, etc..
Conversely, a too flat bridge, besides probably not corresponding well with the fingerboard curvature, makes playing on a single string cleanly without brushing adjacent strings more delicate and demanding of very careful and light bowing.
Would be interested in your thoughts on above- pro or con.
Best regards,

Alex (A classically trained ((long time ago)) contest fiddle player)