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Violin

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Not to be confused withViola.
A violin andbowin its case

Theviolinis astring instrumentwhich has four strings and is played with abow.[1]The strings are usually tuned to thenotesG, D, A, and E.[2]It is held between the left collar bone (near theshoulder) and thechin.Different notes are made byfingering(pressing on the strings) with the lefthandwhile bowing with the right. Unlike guitar, it has nofretsor other markers on the fingerboard.

The violin is the smallest and highestpitchedstring instrument typically used in western music.[3]A person who plays the violin is called aviolinist.A person who makes or repairs violins is called aluthier.

The violin is important in European and Arabian music. No other instrument has played such an important part in Europe. The modern violin is about 400 years old. Similar string instruments have been around for almost 1000 years. By the time the modernorchestrasstarted to form in the 17th century, the violin was nearly fully developed. It became the most important orchestral instrument - in fact, nearly half of the instruments in the orchestra is made up of violins, which are divided into two parts: "first violins" and "second violins". Nearly every composer wrote for the violin, whether as asoloinstrument, inchamber music,in orchestral music, folk music, and even injazz.

The violin is sometimes called a “fiddle”.Someone who plays it is a “fiddler”. To "fiddle" means "to play the fiddle". This word can be used as anicknamefor the violin. It is properly used when talking aboutfolk music,but is used in all kinds of music.

History[change|change source]

A violin made byStradivarius

The word “violin” and the word “viol” come from the same word.[4]The violin was not made directly from the instruments calledviols.The wordviolincomes from the MiddleLatinwordvitula.It meansstringed instrument.[5]This word is also believed to be the source of theGermanic“fiddle”.[6]The modern European violin changed over time from many different bowed stringed instruments. They were brought from theMiddle East[7]and theByzantine Empire.[8][9]Most likely, the first makers of violins took ideas from three kinds of current instruments. They are therebec,in use since the 10th century,[10]theRenaissance fiddle,and thelira da braccio.[11]These instruments were held under the chin and bowed.

In the 17th century, there were several families of luthiers who were very good at making instruments.[source?]The most famous violin makers wereStradivarius,Amati,andGuarneri.Some of the instruments that these luthiers made are still here today.[source?]They are kept in museums all around the world. They are some of the best instruments in existence.[12]They can have prices over one million dollars.[13]

Construction[change|change source]

The biggest part of the violin is the wooden body. This acts as aresonatingbox. It makes thevibratingstrings sound louder. Many of the parts of the violin are named after parts of the body. The front is called the “belly”. The back is called the “back”. The sides are the “ribs”. The strings go from near the top of the “neck” down the “fingerboard” and on to the “tail piece”. The strings go across thebridgehalfway between the end of the fingerboard and the tailpiece. The bridge is not fixed onto the violin. It is held in place by the strings. The strings keep it in place because they are so tight. If the strings are completely loosened, the bridge will not stay on. The bridge helps to send the vibrations of the strings down to the body of the instrument. Inside the body there is a “soundpost”. This is a small piece of wood. It looks like a small finger. It goes from the belly to the back. The soundpost is also held in place by the strings. In the middle of the belly there are two long, curved holes. They are called “f holes”. This is because of their shape. The top of the strings are wound around pegs. The violin can betunedby turning the pegs. The very top of the neck is called the scroll. Violins today also have achinrest.This helps to hold the violin against the player's shoulder. Ashoulder restcan also be used. These are now made of foam. They have special legs to hold them on to the violin. Many beginners prefer to use aspongeand an elastic band instead.

To make it easier to tune the violin, many people find it helpful to have “adjusters” for “fine tuning” when the string is only slightly out of tune. These adjusters go through holes in the tailpiece. They stop the strings from slipping when being tuned.

Strings used to be made ofgut.They are now mostly made ofsteelornylon.Adjusters can only be used with some strings. The front of the violin body is made ofspruce.The back and sides of the body are made ofmaple.The bow can be made of several kinds of wood. An example would bepernambuco.Some players today use bows made of carbon fibre. The bow is strung with horsehair (horsehair is hair that comes from the back of the horse's head also known as the mane or from the horse'stail).

Playing[change|change source]

It takes years of practice to become a good violinist. A beginner will start with pieces and or exercises that do not require precise or complicated technique in right or left hand. Some examples of pieces that do not require great technique areTwinkle Twinkle Little Starby Mozart,Children's Song(A German folk tune), andOver the Rainbow.During these "simple" songs, the violinist will develop fundamental skills necessary for all other techniques, such as proper bow and violin holding. As the musician develops more and more confidence and skill in both left and right hand, pieces and exercises will become progressively more difficult. When necessary, they will also learn techniques and skills that will enhance their playing. Vibrato, smooth bow changes in the right hand, and shifting.

The violinist has to learn to put the fingers in exactly the right place so that the music is “in tune”. This is calledintonation.The musician will also learnvibrato.This changes the intonation of each note slightly by making it a little bit sharper (higher), then a little bit flatter (lower), producing a kind of wobble. This is important in many styles of music to createmood.

Besides plucking (pizzicato), there are many special effects. Some of them areglissando,portamento,andharmonics.There is alsodouble stopping,chords,andscordaturatuning.

The violin can be played either standing or sitting down. When playing solo music the violinist normally stands. When playing in chamber music or in orchestras the violinist sits, but this was not always the case. When sitting, the violinist may have to turn his or her right leg in so that it does not get in the way of the bow.

Music[change|change source]

The famous violinistItzhak Perlmanplaying in theWhite House.

In the 17th and 18th centuries,composerswrote a lot of music for solo violin. Many of these composers were fromItaly.They were themselves violinists. Some of these violinists areCorelli,Vitali,Vivaldi,Veracini, Geminiani, Locatelli and Tartini. InGermany,Schmelzerand Biber wrote some veryvirtuosoviolin music. Later, in the early 18th century,BachandHandelwrote many masterpieces for the violin.

In theClassical music period,the great composersHaydn,MozartandBeethovenall wrote solo works for the violin. They also wrote a large amount ofchamber music,especiallystring quartets.[source?]

In theRomantic periodmany virtuoso violin works were written.[source?]These includeconcertosbyMendelssohn,Saint-Saëns,Brahms,Bruch,Wieniawski,Tchaikovsky,andDvořák.[source?]In the 20th century, many virtuoso works were written. These includeElgar,Sibelius,Szymanowski,Bartók,Stravinsky,Berg,Prokofiev,Shostakovich,Hindemith,and Penderecki. In the 19th century,Niccolò Paganiniwas the most famous violinist. He composed and played violin music that was harder than anything that had been written before.[source?]People compared him to thedevilbecause he could play sobrilliantlyand because he looked thin and moved his body about in strange ways.[14]

In recent years the violin has also been used in jazz playing.Stéphane Grappelliwas especially famous for this.

Famous violinists[change|change source]

Some of the most famous violinists of the last century areFritz Kreisler,Jascha Heifetz,David Oistrakh,Yehudi Menuhin,Ida Haendel,andIsaac Stern.Today some of the greatest players includeItzhak Perlman,Maxim Vengerov,Vadim Repin,Nigel Kennedy,Hilary Hahn,Joshua Belland fiddlerSara Watkins.

Related pages[change|change source]

References[change|change source]

  1. ↑Adams, John S. (1865).Adams' New Musical Dictionary of Fifteen Thousand Technical Words, Phrases, Abbreviations, Initials, and Signs Employed in Musical and Rhythmical Artp. 252. S. T. Gordon and Son. Retrieved on 27 March 2010
  2. ↑"About the Violin".Archived fromthe originalon 12 April 2010.Retrieved27 March2010.
  3. ↑Hoffer, Charles (2009).Music Listening Today 3rd Editionp. 30. Schirmer Cengage LearningISBN0-495-56576-8.Retrieved on 27 March 2010
  4. ↑"THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORDS 'VIOLIN' AND 'VIOLONCELLO'".cello.org.Retrieved2022-10-09.
  5. ↑"Etymology ofviola".Online Etymology Dictionary.Retrieved2008-09-26.
  6. ↑"Etymology offiddle".Online Etymology Dictionary.Retrieved2008-09-26.
  7. ↑ Hoffman, Miles."The NPR Classical Music Companion: Terms and Concepts from A to Z".Chicago Symphony Orchestra.Archived fromthe originalon 7 December 2008.Retrieved2008-09-26.
  8. ↑Grillet 1901,p. 29
  9. ↑Margaret J. Kartomi: On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments. Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology, University of Chicago Press, 1990
  10. ↑Panum, Hortense (1939),The Stringed Instruments of the Middle Ages, Their Evolution and Development,London: William Reeves, p. 434
  11. ↑Arkenberg, Rebecca (October 2002)."Renaissance Violins".Metropolitan Museum of Art.Retrieved2006-09-22.
  12. ↑The Etude Presser's Musical Magazine,Philadelphia, PA (published August 1916), 1916, p. 274,retrieved27 March2010{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ↑"Prices of Stradivarius Violins".Stradivarius Violins.Archived fromthe originalon 12 January 2010.Retrieved29 March2010.
  14. ↑"The Violin and Viola" by Sheila Nelson,ISBN0-510-36651-1p.143

Further reading[change|change source]

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