Case Study 2: A Stradivarius for $1,000!? — How the MCE Model Created an E String Tone Praised by Yehudi Menuhin
#12 MCE Model_Case2
Creative Organized Technology for Product Managers
Beyond Genius:Leveraging Diverse Ad-hoc Teams for Innovation
Case Study 2: A Stradivarius for $1,000!? — How the MCE Model Created an E String Tone Praised by Yehudi Menuhin
Is it possible to create a violin with the sound quality of a Stradivarius for just $1,000? That bold challenge quietly began in a laboratory at the University of Tokyo. It all started with a single remark from a graduate student: “I want to build a violin with professional-level sound quality using only about $1,000 worth of materials.”
The person who took on this challenge was Dr. Hideo Itokawa, known as the father of Japan’s rocket and space development. He would later go on to propose the MCE Model, which became a core element of Creative Organized Technology (CreativeOrgTech).
The completed violin was eventually played by world-renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who praised the instrument, especially the rich resonance of its E string. This article explores the process behind the creation of this remarkable violin, following the framework of the MCE Model. The account is based in part on Dr. Itokawa’s book “Aria at Eighty” (published by NESCO Bungeishunju).
● Mission Framework
What is a violin, and for whom should it produce its sound? This is the fundamental question and the starting point. At this stage, there is no need to consider traditional structures or manufacturing techniques. The first step is to face the essential question: “Who truly needs the sound of a violin?”
For example, when someone buys a violin and begins taking lessons, what kind of music do they hope to play? In many cases, beginners are drawn to pieces like Schumann’s Träumerei or Humoresque. As their skills improve, they often move on to masterworks such as Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen or Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs.
In this sense, what comes first is the desire to play specific pieces of music. The violin exists to fulfill that desire. It is therefore natural to think of the first customer of the violin not as the player, but as the composer who created the music to be played.
While violins are often seen as instruments for violinists, the violinist is actually a messenger who conveys the composer’s vision to the audience.
From this perspective, the primary customers of the violin are composers like Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven.
1. Insight
Even if the primary customers are composers, they are no longer alive.
We cannot interview Mozart, Mendelssohn, or Beethoven to ask them directly what they wanted. Faced with this challenge, Dr. Itokawa took a unique approach. He turned to the scores the composers left behind and sought to uncover their intentions and desires. In other words, he tried to understand what kind of sound they hoped to deliver to their audiences. What kind of tone did they expect from a violin? That, precisely, is the insight of the composers.
2. Environmental Research and Technology Information Bank
Environmental Research refers to the process of analyzing and forecasting the social context and public trends at the time a product or service is introduced. This also includes analyzing competitors. A technology information bank is a system that organizes the technical knowledge necessary for creating value, making it easier to access and use.
In the violin world, Stradivarius instruments are considered the finest by professionals. To better understand this key competitor, the team conducted a detailed investigation of the Stradivarius sound. They first developed a method to accurately measure the sound of a Stradivarius that they had managed to obtain. Then, they analyzed the sound from two main perspectives: the power of the sound and its tonal quality.
The results were unexpected. The lower tones, such as A₃ and D₄, were strong and clear. However, the higher tones, like A₄ and E₄, were surprisingly weak. This same pattern was found not only in the Stradivarius but also in every other violin they analyzed. This means that even though the violin is meant to carry the soprano role in the string family, high notes often did not resonate well. Whether or not the high tones could be heard clearly depended heavily on the skill of the violinist. These findings revealed a gap between the sound that composers intended and the actual performance of traditional violins.
Choosing the right wood for the violin required a high level of technical knowledge. Dr. Itokawa sent letters to lumber suppliers across Japan, asking them to send samples of wood that might be suitable for violin making. As a result, the lab received a wide variety of wood types, including maple, pine, cypress, cedar, and cherry. The laboratory storage became completely filled with wood, resembling a kind of technology information bank.
The properties of wood vary depending on the environment in which the tree grew. For example, wood from trees that slowly formed growth rings while enduring harsh winters in cold regions tended to be very dense and produced a beautiful tone when tapped with a hammer. Trees that grew on north-facing slopes or between rocks had even finer rings and produced better sound quality. Eventually, the team narrowed down the samples to about 50 pieces, giving them a clear idea of which boards were best suited for making violins.
3. Target Setting
The goal was clear from the beginning: to build a violin with a sound quality that even professionals would approve of, using materials that cost around $1,000. This idea was originally proposed by a graduate student and became the foundation of the entire project.
4. Mission Analysis
By investigating the insights, meaning the sounds composers wanted the audience to hear, we can clarify the mission of the violin. To do this, all the violin music scores played on radio music programs were collected. For each note, based on the metronome marks, the duration of every sound was carefully recorded over the course of one year.
Get CreativeOrgTech by Inoo Tanaka’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
As a result, it became clear that the sounds composers wanted the audience to hear the longest were four notes in C major: A4 (high A), E4 (high E, the highest string on the violin), D4 (high D), and A3 (low A). Compared to other notes, these four had significantly longer playing times, while other notes were played for roughly half that duration. Today, AI could be used for such analysis, but back then, all this work was done manually, taking a huge amount of time. This shows that listeners focus most on the strength and beauty of the high-pitched E4 and A4 notes, and when these are excellent, violinists are naturally rated highly.
Thus, the MCE model’s Mission framework was developed by working backward from the composers’ intentions, while carefully considering materials and social conditions. As a result, a solid foundation was built to create violins that professionals would recognize.
There is no need to strictly follow the order of steps such as Insight, Environmental Research and Technology Information Bank, Goal Setting, and Mission Analysis. It is fine to start where it is easiest. Once all these steps are completed, the Mission framework process is finished. From there, you only need to start the creative engine based on the identified Mission.
● Combination Framework
The Mission Framework identified the mission as producing strong and clear sounds at the high notes E₄ and A₄. An important quality for performance is that the sound quality does not change even when heard from a distance. After this mission was defined, the next step was to follow this guiding principle and turn it into a concrete design for the violin.
1. Current Status Analysis
The violin has a shape like a narrow-waisted gourd, which helps prevent the bow from hitting the instrument during playing. The sound of the violin mainly depends on the vibrations of the top plate and the back plate. Therefore, the main parts are the top plate, back plate, ribs (side plates), bridge, four strings (from low to high: G, D, A, E), tuning pegs, f-holes, the sound post located just below the bridge, and the bass bar attached to the back of the top plate on the G-string side.
The way it works is that the bow vibrates the strings, which transfers the vibration to the bridge. The bridge passes the vibration to the top plate, then through the sound post to the back plate. Since the bridge is an important mediator that transmits the string vibrations to the body, its design greatly affects the violin’s sound.
2. Combining with the Wave Equation
In the Combination Framework, the process usually begins by identifying multiple options for each component. These options are then combined in all possible ways through system synthesis to generate a wide range of potential designs. Each combination is then evaluated through system analysis to identify the most promising ones. Finally, failure studies are conducted to assess the realistic feasibility of those selected ideas.
Dr. Itokawa followed this approach. After analyzing the current structure of the violin, he used wave equation simulations to explore which shapes or structures would help the E string produce a more powerful sound. He experimented with different alternatives for various parts, such as changing the position of the sound post or altering the shape of the f-holes to make them more oval. For each variation, he measured the resulting sound frequencies.
One change proved especially effective. He added a reinforcing bar under the top plate on the E-string side. This was positioned opposite the existing bass bar on the G-string side. This additional structure, called a high bar, significantly improved the strength and clarity of the E string’s sound.
In short, a new alternative was added to the component responsible for transmitting sound from the bridge. This high bar served as a supporting structure for high-frequency sound. Measurements confirmed that this violin design met the mission defined in the Mission Framework. With that, the Combination Framework stage of the MCE model was successfully completed.
● Experiment Framework
Based on the system analysis of the measurement results, the idea of adding a reinforcing bar under the E string, known as a “high bar,” was selected. This concept, later patented, aimed to improve the acoustic performance of the E string. With this decision, the actual process of building the violin began.
Research from the technology information bank led to the selection of materials. Spruce from Hokkaido was chosen for the top plate, and maple for the back plate. Following a design based on the wave equation, the construction progressed smoothly, and a prototype violin was completed in about two weeks. The project then entered the evaluation phase, where a professional violinist would test the instrument.
However, the addition of the high bar increased the weight of the violin, making the violinist hesitant to play it. As a result, repeated adjustments and efforts to reduce weight were carried out. These refinements eventually led to a breakthrough. On March 30, 1992, the violin was finally played by the world-famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
After playing it, Menuhin simply said, “The E string sounds really good.” This short remark confirmed that the mission had been fulfilled. The violin had achieved its goal of producing a strong and beautiful sound on the E string.
This one-of-a-kind instrument was named the “Hideo Itokawa Model” and was also played during Dr. Itokawa’s 80th birthday concert.
