Violinmaking meets artificial intelligence

How to predict the sound produced by a tonewood block once carved into the shape of a violin plate? What is the best shape for the best sound? Artificial intelligence offers answers to these questions. These are the conclusions that researchers of the Musical Acoustics Lab of Politecnico di Milano presented in a study that was recently published in Scientific Reports. In the article "A Data-Driven Approach to Violinmaking," the Chilean physicist and luthier Sebastian Gonzalez (post-doc researcher) and the professional mandolin player Davide Salvi (Ph.D. student) show how a simple and effective neural network is able to predict the vibrational be-havior of violin plates.