The ''Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau'' ("ZfI") (''Journal for the Construction of Musical Instruments'') was a

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

dealing in large part with the manufacture of

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s. It was published in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

from 1880 through 1943 and serves as a chronicler of the musical world and as an intelligent reporter on some of the more technical aspects of instrument development.

History

The founder and guiding light of this journal was Paul de Wit, a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

player whose instrument collecting activities eventually formed the basis for the Heyer Collection in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and the Royal Collection in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The outlook of the journal, though centered in

, was never limited to the Germanic world; rather, there was a determined effort to report musical news from all over the world, from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, from

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. There is particularly good coverage of those countries to which German instruments were exported. Consequently, one finds a great deal of interest in American musical life and the American music trade. Throughout its history, the format of the ''ZfI'' changed but little, nor did the subject matter. The journal existed expressly for the music trade, that is, for instrument builders, purveyors of music-related products of all sorts, music professionals (e.g., piano tuners, instrument dealers). The ''ZfI'' regularly reported on musical instrument exhibits in the major metropolitan centers of Europe and the world. Reports about new inventions and discoveries enliven the pages; newly registered

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s for inventions, often illustrated by very clear line drawings, are a standard feature. Through the pages of the ''ZfI'' one can follow the development and evolution of many musical instruments (particularly the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

). A lot of attention is given to the

Jankó keyboard The Jankó keyboard is a musical keyboard layout for a piano designed by Paul von Jankó, a Hungarian pianist and engineer, in 1882. It was designed to overcome two limitations on the traditional piano keyboard: the large-scale geometry of the ...

, for example. One sees changes wrought by the introduction, first of

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

, then of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, to the musical world. The journal typically begins with an

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, usually original, but sometimes a translation from English (

Edward Heron-Allen Edward Heron-Allen FRS (born ''Edward Heron Allen'') (17 December 1861 – 26 March 1943) was an English polymath, writer, scientist and Persian scholar who translated the works of Omar Khayyam. Life Heron-Allen was born in London, the young ...

) or French ( Antoine Vidal). As each issue of the ZfI was relatively short, these essays were often spread over two numbers. A great deal of attention is given to sales of instruments (new and antique), auctions, and instrument repairs.

Organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

building, a major musical industry, always received broad coverage. Important new organs from many countries are discussed at some length with the dispositions given completely and organ prospects neatly illustrated, enabling one to trace the succession of styles and tastes. A section of miscellany kept the reader abreast of important personalities in the world of musical instrument building. Performances, too, were listed and sometimes criticized, but the comments are perhaps more useful for the technical details of the instruments used than for details of the performances. In the pages of ZfI one can trace the development of standard pitch in the various countries of Europe and its significance for various aspects of musical activity. The journal is quite useful from a music-sociological point of view. Through it one can gain a better understanding of the music trade, its attitudes towards unionization, the improvement of the workplace,

management styles Management consists of the planning, prioritizing, and organizing work efforts to accomplish objectives within a business organization. A management style is the particular way managers go about accomplishing these objectives. It encompasses the wa ...

and concerns, the division of labor (is

piano tuning Piano tuning is the process of adjusting the tension of the strings of an acoustic piano so that the musical intervals between strings are in tune. The meaning of the term 'in tune', in the context of piano tuning, is not simply a particular fi ...

a proper occupation for women?). The advertisements too furnish a wealth of sociological information. Even

folk instrument A folk instrument is a traditional musical instrument that has remained largely restricted to traditional folk music, and is not usually used in the classical music or other elite and formal musical genres of the culture concerned, though relate ...

s such as the

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

and the

ocarina The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...

find their place in the ''ZfI''. Imports of ethnic instruments from Asia and the Pacific are frequently reported, probably due to Paul de Wit's interest in rare and exotic instruments. It was his influence as well that led to the frequent reporting on historical instruments of every type. The ''Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau'' is a useful source for any development in the musical world of the period before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It is reliable as a source, given that its pro-industry biases are clearly stated.

Archived editions

The ''Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau'' was digitised by the Digital Library Department of the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

in 2006. All editions from 1880 to 1943 are completely available online, page by page.Digital Library Department
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References

1880 establishments in Germany 1943 disestablishments in Germany Defunct magazines published in Germany German-language magazines Magazines established in 1880 Magazines disestablished in 1943 Magazines published in Leipzig Musical instruments Music magazines published in Germany {{italic title