Hi Michael, Going back to your initial posting about lute symmetry. In the Stradivari workshop on your recent trip to Italy, you saw a paper template for a lute body, folded along the centre-line.
I conjectured that such a template would indicate that the Strad's lute-bodies were not made over a mold. The template would be used to show whether the inner-profile of the lute body is symmetrical. That every rib has the same curve and distance from the centre-line. Did Stradivari use a mold? Were all his lutes symmetrical (equal depth and width from centre-line)? Surely these points still need to be clarified? The thread seems to have gone off on a tangent into symmetry found in nature and quantum physics...completely off-topic! But then again, no-one's perfect! Best Wishes Ron (UK) -----Original Message----- From: Michael Thames [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 27 May 2005 15:23 To: Jon Murphy; guy_and_liz Smith; LUTELIST; Manolo Laguillo Subject: Re: symm/asymm & perfect/imperfect A friend of mine who works at Sandia Labs tried to explain Quantum Physics to me over a couple bottles of wine one evening, unfortunately if I can't apply it in my daily life, it goes in one ear, and out the other. Concerning perfection, I guess it's a state of mind, as Dr. Emoto has documented, ones thoughts can have an influence on ones environment. Although, the Ancients have know this for eons. One can perceive a lute as symmetrical, however, after a couple bottles of wine, or beer in Jon's case, it begins to take on a non symmetrical shape, along with everything else. The exception to this rule, is found in historical lutes, which appear non symmetrical, prior to the consumption of your favorite intoxicant, then afterwards actually appears perfectly symmetrical. Concerning the lute I was speaking more about the physical shape of the belly, and not the actual sound it makes. You can apply the concept of imperfection ( Wabe Sabe) to many things, but not the conception of musical instruments. The concept is always perfect, but man's execution of it is imperfect. Sometimes I think lutes, guitars are like people. The really good looking ones (people) are rather shallow sounding, and the not so perfect ones, are more interesting to listen to. This is my second, naturally occurring law as applied to musical instruments. The first being the rule of relative perception. Michael Thames www.ThamesClassicalGuitars.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "guy_and_liz Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "LUTELIST" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>; "Manolo Laguillo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Michael Thames" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 4:13 PM Subject: Re: symm/asymm & perfect/imperfect > Michael, > > I thought I'd covered my views on this topic, but I have to add my comment. > > > Is it wrong for humans to try to achieve perfect symmetry? It seems > nature is trying. > > Nature is trying, very trying (I hope you know that English trope). Can we > know perfection? No. Can we aspire to it? Yes. Perfection is a goal, even in > nature. Einstein rejected Bohr's thoughts on Quanta, saying God doesn't play > dice. (the quote may be aprochryphal). Bringing it back to the lute, your > ear is the best tuning device. Even the paired courses have a diffence in > tonality. Nothing is perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't aspire to > perfection. > > Best, Jon > > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
