Cris Forster’s Instruments and Music

Acoustic music is the most difficult music. Building musical instruments from the ground up is an expression of freedom and, therefore, an expression of imagination. Nothing about this art is hewn in stone. The creative builder examines all aspects of musical instrument construction, and on a case-by-case basis decides which traditions to keep, and which to throw out.

I build because the tunings and timbres I want to hear do not exist on store shelves. Robinson Crusoe built because he had no choice. And yet, his creations also had no critics, and so his imagination became his life. Often when I hike through forests or climb mountains, I am reminded that only man knows what time it is. When I enter Crusoe’s world, or when in building an instrument time ceases to exist, I live with the knowledge that success is only a function of thought, work, and patience.

The desire for perfection is the juggernaut of creativity. All my instruments are flawed. A bar may not ring as long as another bar; a canon bridge may be too high or too low; or a tone hole may be too wide or too narrow. I know where all the flaws are, and could find many more. But what is the point? The only thing that matters is to build and to make a music that is sustainable in time. I was born a musician, and have built musical instruments since 1975. In the words of Walt Whitman (1819–1892), “I . . . begin, hoping to cease not till death.”

 


Cris Forster with Chrysalis I (1981)
Photo by Norman Seeff

 

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We are pleased to announce that Cris Forster’s book,
Musical Mathematics: On the Art and Science of Acoustic Instruments,
is available at Amazon.com and AbeBooks.com.

 

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Musical Mathematics is also available in 170 libraries in the US, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Macau, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.

Musical Mathematics is the definitive tome for the adventurous musician. Integrating mathematics, music history, and hands-on experience, this volume serves as a comprehensive guide to the tunings and scales of acoustic instruments from around the world. Author, composer, and builder Cris Forster illuminates the mathematical principles of acoustic music, offering practical information and new discoveries about both traditional and innovative instruments. With this knowledge readers can improve, or begin to build, their own instruments inspired by Forster’s creations shown in the 16 color plates. For those ready to step outside musical conventions and those whose curiosity about the science of sound is never satisfied, Musical Mathematics is the map to a new musical world.

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Release Date: July 14, 2010
• Hardcover, cloth case, and dust jacket
• Sewn binding
• 8¾ x 11⅛ x 1.9 in
• 944 pp
• 249 figures
• 105 tables
• 16 color plates
• 4 bibliographies
• 8 appendices
• Comprehensive index

Table of Contents [PDF]

Look Inside! [PDF]

Bibliography [PDF]

Index [PDF]

Seven Extensive Reviews [PDF]

Thirteen Short Reviews [PDF]

85+ Online PDF Citations

The Chrysalis Foundation