Click here for a Sound Sample*

This site is dedicated to providing information and ideas relating to every aspect of Music, Musical Instrument Making, Performance Practice, and Art. Since these matters can not be separated from issues relating to Philosophy or the way you think about what you think about, you will also find essays relating to Philosphy. That is because I hold a general absence of coherent philosophy to be the most egregious deficiency in instrument making today. It leads to a pernicious satisfaction, even pleasure, with mediocrity.

To avoid the fault of criticizing without offering a corrective, I wrote, a few years ago, a 250 page book on the subject of the science of enhancing sound, titled "The True Art of Making Musical Instruments, a Guide to the Forgotten Craft of Enhancing Sound". In it I express my views without consideration of how they might be received, because most that I have learned over the last 33 years about acoustics conflicts with almost everything currently understood as being important concerning the subject of Acoustics. To my knowledge, no other book has ever been written on precisely this subject, though many other instrument makers have been more qualified than myself to offer incontrovertable testimony concerning the Craft of Enhancing Sound, I refer to makers such as Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppi Guarneri, Hans Ruckers, Arp Schnitger, Bartolomeo Cristofori, Pascal Taskin, Francois Blanchet, Johann Stein, Nanette Streicher, and Conrad Graf to name a few. Its contents have been largely rediscovered, reintuited, reinvented, or understood anew by me during the course of making more that 406 harpsichords, clavichords, fortepianos, and violins. Where I owe these makers and other clever researchers a debt of gratitude, I have been quick to acknowledge their contributions. However, to one musical scientist, Marianne Ploger of Ann Arbor, Michigan, I owe far more than a mere acknowledgment. Her discoveries in the area of basic acoustics and hearing perceptions made possible a clear understanding of how the ancient instrument makers thought about dimensioning their soundboards and violin plates. I offer this book for sale as an act of good faith. You will find a Table of Contents and accompanying descriptions of the various chapters if you click on the "True Art" button. Should you wish to purchase a copy of the book, you will find the price both very steep and well worth it. Email me if you wish to pursue this further.

You are welcome to visit my other websites if you are interested in seeing more photos and hearing more sound samples of my work. Click on the Buttons or on the links at the bottom of the page. If that doesn't work, here are the addresses:

Click, on "Catalogue" for information on my instruments at http://keithhillharpsichords.com

Click, on "Decorations" to view some of my decorations at http://decorations.keithhillharpsichords.com

Click, on "Violins" to read about my violins at http://violins.keithhillharpsichords.com

Click, on "Art Gallery" to view my paintings at http://artgallery.keithhillharpsichords.com

Click, on "Instrument Gallery" to view finished instruments, and antiques I have restored, that I have for sale in my shop. http://instrumentgallery.keithhillharpsichords.com

Click, on "About Music" to read our article on the Craft of Musical Communication at http://musicalratio.com

*(Here's a trick to hear the sound sample and view the site at the same time. 1.Click on the sound sample to download it. 2.Then, download one of my other sites on your browser, in effect, opening a new window. 3.Click on the SITE button, at that site, relating to this site. 4. Once you have this site accessed from the new page and window, you can to view the site and listen to the downloading sound sample for it.)