Numerical modeling of violins, or parts of it, can be used in order to enhance the understanding on how different parameters affects the vibration properties and the characteristics of the sound emanating from it. Crucial for the results from these studies is the correctness of the input data for the numerical analysis. One very important, and not easily obtained, group of input data is the wooden material parameters for the part of the violin subjected to analysis. In this study a new method for determining these important material parameters for blanks for violin tops is proposed. In the proposed method a FEM-code is linked together with a stochastic optimization algorithm in order to, in an automatic fashion, determine the material parameters.