EUPHON, a musical instrument invented lately by Dr Chladni of Wittenberg, well known by his various publications on philosophical subjects, especially the theory of musical sounds. The euphon consists of forty-two immovable parallel cylinders of glass of equal length and thickness; but its construction, tone, and the method of playing it, are totally different from those of the harmonica, with which indeed it has nothing in common but the glass. See HARMONICA, Encycl.
Dr Chladni gives the following account of his invention. In his 19th year he began to learn to play the harpsichord; and he afterwards read a great many of the principal works on the theory of music, by which he found that the physico-mathematical part of that science was far more defective than other branches of natural philosophy. Being therefore possessed with an idea that his time could not be better employed than in endeavouring to make discoveries in this department, he accordingly tried various experiments on the vibrations of strings and the different kinds of vibration in cylindric pieces of wood, first discovered, through calculation, by the elder Euler; and found, that though a great deal had been said on the nature of these elastic bodies, yet the manner of vibration and the proportion of tones in other elastic bodies, which do not proceed, as in the former, in straight lines, but depend on the vibration of whole surfaces, were totally unknown, and that the little which had been written on that subject, by some authors, did not correspond with nature. He
had already long remarked, that every plate of glass or metal emitted various tones according as it was held and struck in different places; and he was desirous to discover the cause of this difference, which no one had ever examined. He fixed in a vice the axle of a brass plate which belonged to a polishing machine, and found, that by drawing the bow of a violin over it, he produced very different tones, which were stronger and of longer duration than those obtained merely by striking it.
The observation, that not only strings but also other elastic bodies may be made to produce sounds by drawing a violin bow over them, Dr Chladni does not give as a discovery of his own; as the so called iron violin has been long known, and as he had read of an instrument constructed in Italy*, where glass or metal bells were made to sound by means of two or more violin bows drawn over them. But the idea of employing this instrument to examine vibrating tones was first entertained by himself. Having accurately remarked the tones produced by the abovementioned metal plate, he found that they gave a progression which corresponded with the squares of 2, 3, 4, &c.
Not long before he had read, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Gottingen, the observations of Mr Lichtenberg on the phenomena produced by strewing pounded resin over a glass plate or cake of resin, and he repeated many of his experiments. This led him to the idea that, perhaps, the various vibratory movements of such a plate would be discovered by a diversity of phenomena, if he strewed over it sand or anything of the like kind. By this experiment there was produced a star-formed figure; and the author, having continued his researches, published the result of them in a work entitled, Discoveries respecting the Theory of Sound, printed at Leipzig in 1787.
Whilst he was employed in these investigations, he resolved to invent a new musical instrument; and he began to consider whether it might not be possible by rubbing glass tubes in a straight line, with the wet fingers, to produce sounds in the same manner as is done in the harmonica by rubbing them circularly. That glass tubes, like those in his euphon, would not merely by such rubbing emit any tones, he had long known by theory and experience; and he therefore applied himself to the solution of the difficult question, in what manner the instrument ought to be constructed to answer the intended purpose? After various fruitless attempts for a year and a half, during which his imagination was so full of the idea, that sometimes in his dreams he thought he saw the instrument and heard its tones, that is, like those of the harmonica, but with more distinctness and less confusion, he at length, in a state between sleeping and waking, obtained a solution of the problem which had given so much employment to his thoughts. On the second of June 1789, being tired with walking, he sat down on a chair, about nine in the evening, to enjoy a short slumber; but scarcely had he closed his eyes when the image of an instrument, such as he wished for, seemed to present itself before him, and terrified him so much that he awoke as if he had been struck by an electric shock. He immediately started up in a kind of enthusiasm; and made a series of experiments, which convinced him that what he had seen was perfectly right, and that he had it now in his
his power to carry his design into execution. He made his experiments and constructed his first instrument in so private a manner, that no person knew any thing of them. On the 8th of March 1790 his first instrument of this kind was completed; and in a few days he was able to play on it some easy pieces of music. It was now necessary to give to this instrument, as it was entirely new, a new name; and that of euphon, which signifies an instrument that has a pleasant sound, appeared to him the most proper.
It was not, however, brought to perfection at once, for he made a second instrument which was an improvement of the first, and a third which was an improvement of the second. In sound, indeed, and particularly in the higher tones, the first was equal to either of the other two; but the construction was deficient in strength, so that every week some hours were necessary to keep it in proper repair; and it was impossible to convey it the distance of a mile without almost totally destroying it. Dr Chladni also, for want of better tubes, employed those used for thermometers, and marked the whole and half tones by a coating of sealing-wax on the under side; but as the wax, owing to the moisture and vibration, often cracked and flew off, it was attended with danger to the eyes. It was therefore extremely difficult to give to the construction of the instrument sufficient strength; but this the inventor at length accomplished, so that his new euphon cannot be injured or put out of tune either by playing or by carriage. The third instrument was somewhat different from the first and second; as the fore part, which in the two former rose upwards with an oblique angle, stood at right angles, so that it could be transported with ease in a particular carriage made for that purpose. Instead of the thermometer tubes used in the first, the Doctor now employs tubes of different colours. In the second instrument those for the whole tones were of dark green glass; but he used for the half tones, in both, a milk white kind of glass. In a word, the euphon has some resemblance to a small writing desk. When opened, the abovementioned glass tubes, of the thickness of the barrel of a quill and about 16 inches long, are seen in a horizontal position. They are wetted with water, by means of a sponge, and stroked with the wet fingers in the direction of their length, so that the increase of the tone depends merely on the stronger or weaker pressure, and the slower or quicker movement of the fingers. The number of tubes at present is forty-two. In the back part there is a perpendicular sounding-board divided in the middle, through which the tubes pass. It appears therefore that the euphon ought not to be considered as an altered or improved harmonica, but as a totally new and different instrument. In regard to sweetness of sound, it approaches very near to the harmonica; but it has several advantages which no unprejudiced person, who examines both instruments, will deny.
1. It is simpler, both in regard to its construction and the movement necessary to produce the sound, as neither turning nor stamping is required, but merely the movement of the finger. 2. It produces its sound speedier; so that as soon as it is touched you may have the tone as full as the instrument is capable of giving it; whereas, in the harmonica, the tones, particularly the lower ones, must be made to increase gradually.
3. It has more distinctness in quick passages, because the tones do not resound so long as in the harmonica, where the sound of one low tone is often heard when you wish only to hear the following tone. 4. The union is purer than is generally the case in the harmonica, where it is difficult to have perfect glasses, which in every part give like tones with mathematical exactness. It is however as difficult to be tuned as the harmonica. 5. It does not affect the nerves of the performer; for a person scarcely feels a weak agitation in the fingers; whereas in the harmonica, particularly in concords of the lower notes, the agitation extends to the arms, and even through the whole body of the performer. 6. The experience of this instrument will be much less in future than that of the harmonica. 7. When one of the tubes breaks, or any other part is deranged, it can be soon repaired, and at very little expence; whereas, when one of the glasses of the harmonica breaks, it requires much time, and is very difficult to procure another capable of giving the same tone as the former, and which will correspond sufficiently with the series of the rest.