Nail violin / Nagelgeige / Violino di ferro - how to make a nail violin and demonstration

#nailviolin #nagelgeige #strangeinstruments #musicalinstruments #instrumentmaking
The nail violin or nagelgeige is an unusual instrument with a very unique sound. It was invented around 1740 by German violinist Johann Wilde, who accidentally drew his violin bow across a coat peg and noticed that it made a musical note. He then experimented by hammering a series of metal rods into a semi-circular piece of wood to create the nail violin. Over the next hundred years or so, the nail violin was reasonably popular and there are quite a few examples in museums all over Europe. There is no standard design, there are different shapes and body designs, some are diatonic, some are chromatic, many have a guide rail and some even two. Some have violin style F holes and some have lute style roses.
There is only one surviving piece of music for the nail violin, by F. W. Rust (1739 - 1796) also a violinist and lutenist. This piece is very virtuosic so he must have played it very well, even including trills which I don't know how he managed to play! There was only one notable player of the nail violin, named Senal, who travelled around Europe around 1780-90 so it was probably mostly played by amateurs looking for something a bit more unusual. There was a brief fashion for ethereal sounding instruments in the late 18th century and there are similarities to the sound of the glass armonica which was also most popular at this time. There were later attempts to re-design the nail violin in the early 20th century, but they never caught on.
I couldn't find any recordings of nail violins that were anything like the 18th/19th century types, so I decided to have ago at making one myself. This video shows the process of constructing my nail violin and some of the issues I encountered along the way. I learnt a lot and if I made another it would be much better (if you want to try and make one, don't use plywood!) but this nail violin still looks nice and is playable. At the end I demonstrate what it sounds like which is quite unexpected, I would have to practice for a long time to get good at it as I have no bow skills really as a lutenist.
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[@shenyathewelder9695]

It's so much more beutiful than I could have expected

[@Quatrapuntal]

It certainly is a unique, and unexpected sound. I only wish I had the skills to play it properly.

[@felixthecat0371]

Wow very cool. The sound reminds me of some kind of synthesised sound that is like a voice going "oooh" you'd get on cheap keyboards. It sounds really great in the high register.

[@Quatrapuntal]

I think it sounds like blowing across a glass bottle, which is very odd as it has nothing at all in common with that. The high register is a bit tricky as the rods become very short, especially the chromatic notes.

[@mercerino]

Bravo! Excellent job building your nail violin in a regular ol' shop. It looks a lot like my shop actually. The sound wasn't what I was expecting, it was actually better. Now I think it's time to further your luthier skills and try a build with different woods and laquers. Just imagine, you could have 50 of them(!), all with different tonal aspects.

[@Quatrapuntal]

Thanks, it was just in my messy garage with average DIY tools. I definitely learnt a lot and if I did another it would be better. Using plywood was the biggest mistake, it would have been better with thin spruce or something but it's not easy to get hold of that where I live. I'm sure that would be a lot easier to bend as well. I had a lot of issues with the top coat of varnish getting dust nibs in whatever I did which was frustrating. Do you make instruments?

[@terencecain2893]

That’s rather lovely playing. Fascinating instrument too. I think there’s a place for it somewhere.

[@Quatrapuntal]

There are quite a few surviving instruments, but only one piece of music specifying the nail violin, which is very virtuosic. So not sure what they played on them. It does pair well with the lute, as both are fairly quiet.

[@bobb4you]

It almost sounds like a wind instrument. I don't think I've heard a nail violin that sounds quite like this before, and this is for the better.

[@Quatrapuntal]

It sounds like you are saying you have heard loads of nail violins? I could only come across 2 clips, neither of which are on YT or easy to find. They were mostly playing higher up which has a different tone, if you listen to the ending of this it's in the upper octave so probably sounds a bit more like others. The only surviving piece for nail violin is mostly higher. There is also the fact that I can't play it very well (as I am happy to admit!) not having much experience with a bow.

[@russellharris5072]

Brilliant,do some more..............................

[@Quatrapuntal]

I would have to learn to play it first! It's like being a beginner on the violin, my bow skills are pretty basic...

[@johnmurdoch8534]

Looks like the back of a ship from the age of a sail. Interesting thing and glad to see things like this being kept alive as it were.

[@Quatrapuntal]

Yes that's what drew me to it in the first place, the unusual look of it. There are quite a few surviving instruments, but I've never seen 2 alike. Strange that there was no standardising of it like with other instruments. I've not come across anyone playing it properly today.

[@twokool4skool129]

Well done. Sounds better than my violin playing! If you ever make another, be sure to just by a piece of bookmatched guitar top spruce. They're pretty cheap, and would make it sound even better. Also, if you want to properly bend the sizes, you need to use heat and water, not just water. Luthiers use a hot iron to bend the ribs in lutes an the sides in violins, but you can get by with a heat gun or even just hot water.

[@Quatrapuntal]

Yes I discovered quite early on that plywood was problematic. I did try with heat as well but just wouldn't bend, I think the grains on the layers are put at 90% to make it stiffer, but also prevents it from bending. I'm sure thin spruce with some barring would be much better and also probably thick plywood for the internal arc that holds the rods rather than chipboard. If I did another I would try and have 2 tiers, so that the chromatic notes are mounted on a ledge lower down so they can be shorter but not bent. Bending them makes it very difficult to get the note out, as the clearest note is bowing right at the top which can't be done if they are bent. It gets worse as the rods get shorter. Do you make instruments?

[@twokool4skool129]

@@Quatrapuntal I'm an amateur luthier and I made a shaped guitar case from plywood a couple years ago. I soaked the plywood in hotwater for ~15 minutes, and then also warmed it with a heatgun and additionally wet it when I clamped it to my mold. I experienced a little buckling on the concave side, but no cracking. If you use solid wood, that'll be even less of an issue.

[@Quatrapuntal]

I think there are different types of plywood, the one I used was very stiff and didn't want to bend, spruce or something would be much better. I also learnt that you need decent equipment to do precision work, it's much harder with cheap DIY hand tools!

[@twokool4skool129]

@@QuatrapuntalYeah, there are definitely lots of plywoods. I used 1/8" birch plywood. It's fairly soft so it was fairly easy to bend. Precision tools make things easier, but you can still do a lot with hand tools. KZbin has a lot of hand tool tutorials for doing very precise work with hand tools. The trick is to make jigs.

[@Mike-hr6jz]

Very nice. Now you should make a hurdy-gurdy style version where you turn the crank, which is the bow and by pressing levers engages the nails.

[@Quatrapuntal]

I think that's a bit beyond my skills! I saw a hurdy-gurdy harpsichord, apparently invented by Leonardo da Vinci, with lots of little wheels. I think I shared it on my Quatrapuntal Facebook page.

[@bflmpsvz870]

Wooow!

[@ClassicalMusicAndSoundtracks]

Nice sound! What is the title of the piece played at the end of the video?

[@Quatrapuntal]

It's the Christmas carol In The Bleak Midwinter. It would take quite a bit more practice to play something more complicated - big leaps are tricky!

[@francoisbruel9163]

From my limited experience, the physics of rod instruments is really different from string instruments. The piece of wood in which your nails are hammered should be thick hardwood, what you used seems very wrong to me. This is really important, the main vibration is created there, contrary to the bridge/soundboard system of other instruments. Then the material of the soundboard is perhaps not so essential, contrary to violins ; however I've seen that other rod instruments - like kalimbas - favor thicker soundboards too. I've heard more professionnally made nail violins and they have a really stronger, brighter, more reliable sound sound that what you have achieved here, probably due to the better wood used; on the other hand, maybe this muffled sound is what you are after? Anyway building instruments is always great fun and teaches you a lot, whatever your expertise level, so congratulations!

[@Quatrapuntal]

As I had only pictures to go off it was all trial and error, as I said towards the end of the video, I learnt a lot through the process of making this and if I did another it would be better. Solid wood would not be suitable for the ring that the rods are hammered into cut like I did it, as it would snap very easily along the grain. If it was possible to bend it maybe with the grain running lengthways, but I don't have any equipment to bend thick wood. I would use thicker plywood which could be cut in a ring and doesn't have the grain problem. I would use thin spruce for the body which would resonate more. The few recordings I have heard of other nail violins are playing higher up all the time. If you hear my version at the end I play higher and it sounds more like that. The only surviving piece for nail violin also plays in a higher range most of the time. The lower notes have a less clear tone, almost like blowing a bottle. The other thing is my bow is cheap and not very good, I tried it with a proper baroque violin bow and the notes speak better. I am also not very good at playing it which is quite a big factor!

[@Leif-yv5ql]

Thank you for making me think about the technology of music. The subject is underappreciated. If only the world devoted more time to it than to how to kill people.

[@Quatrapuntal]

Thank you, very wise words my friend!

[@DUDENOFF]

It is just amazing.

[@Quatrapuntal]

Thanks, it is certainly a unique sound, just wish I had the skills to play it better or time to learn it properly.