Hello all. I've just enjoyed re-reading Francis Woods' excellent article, "In Praise of Old Pipes", in the 2010 Vol 31 NPS Journal. There he refers to the "myth [which] holds that instruments inevitably deteriorate if they are not used. [...] what really wears them out is using them ". I quite see that the mechanical use of moving keys, sliding tunable parts, etc. causes wear, but would welcome comments on a probably very unscientific thought on the actual wood in instruments. (By the by, I realise mouth-blown woodwind deteriorates through the warming, wetting and drying and cooling effect, but feel that's not so relevant here.) I watched a demonstration recently of how the form of vibrations through an instrument can clearly be seen, by using sand on the soundboard of a rebec held horizontally, which neatly slid into patterns. Since all matter is made of particles, is it possible that the regular patterns of vibration may somehow arrange these particles in a way relating to these regular movements? Which in turn would affect its acoustic character, I assume. Best wishes, Richard. --
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