Violins
Basic
The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello and sometimes the double bass.
A violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, no matter what kind of music is played on it. The word "violin" comes to us through the Romance languages from the Middle Latin word vitula, meaning "stringed instrument”.
A person who plays the violin is called a violinist or fiddler, and a person who makes or repairs them is called a luthier, or simply a violin maker.
History
The earliest stringed instruments were mostly plucked. Bowed instruments may have originated in the cultures of Central Asia, an example being the Mongolian instrument Morin huur:
Turkic and Mongolian horsemen from Inner Asia were probably the world’s earliest fiddlers. Their two stringed upright fiddles are strung with horsehair strings, played with horsehair bows, and often feature a carved horse’s head at the end of the neck. ... The violins, violas, and cellos we play today, and whose bows are still strung with horsehair, are a legacy of the nomads.
It is believed that these instruments eventually spread to China, India, and the Middle East, where they developed into instruments such as the Erhu (Chinese) and Rebab (Middle East), and Esraj (India). The violin in its present form emerged in the early 16th century, in Northern Italy, where the port towns of Venice and Genoa maintained extensive ties through the trade routes of the Mongol Empire.
Most likely, the first makers of violins were formed from three types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arabic rebab), the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. One of the earliest descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, was in the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyon in 1556. By this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe.
The oldest documented violin to have four strings, like the modern violin, was constructed in 1555 by Andrea Amati. The violin immediately became very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility, illustrated by the fact that the French king Charles IX ordered Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is from this set, and is known as the "Charles IX," made in Cremona c. 1560. "The Messiah" or "Le Messie" made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine, never having been used. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford.
Significant changes occurred in the construction of the violin in the 18th century, particularly in the length and angle of the neck, as well as a heavier bass bar. The majority of old instruments have undergone these modifications, and hence are in a significantly different state than when they left the hands of their makers, doubtless with differences in sound and response. But these instruments in their present condition set the standard for perfection in violin craftsmanship and sound, and violin makers all over the world try to come as close to this ideal as possible.
To this day, the Violin is a precious and essential instrument to the history of music because it has been evolved from various kinds of instruments.
TUNING
Violins are tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox under the scroll, or by adjusting the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece. All violins have pegs; fine tuners (also called fine adjusters) are optional. Most fine tuners consist of a metal screw that moves a lever to which the string is attached. They permit very small pitch adjustments with much more ease than the pegs.
Fine tuners are usually used with solid metal or composite strings that may be difficult to tune with pegs alone; they are not used with gut strings, which are more elastic and don't respond adequately to the very small movements of fine tuners. Some violinists have fine tuners on all 4 strings; most classical players have only a single fine tuner on the E string. Most violinists prefer one fine tuner because fine tuners often can damage the top of the violin.
To tune a violin, the A string is first tuned to a standard pitch (usually 440 Hz), using either a tuning device or another instrument. (When accompanying a fixed-pitch instrument such as a piano or accordion, the violin tunes to it.) The other strings are then tuned against each other in intervals of perfect fifths by bowing them in pairs. A minutely higher tuning is sometimes employed for solo playing to give the instrument a brighter sound; conversely, Baroque music is sometimes played using lower tunings to make the violin's sound more gentle. After tuning, the instrument's bridge may be examined to ensure that it is standing straight and centered between the inner nicks of the f-holes; a crooked bridge may significantly affect the sound of an otherwise well-made violin.
The tuning G-D-A-E is used for most violin music. Other tunings are occasionally employed; the G string, for example, can be tuned up to A. The use of nonstandard tunings in classical music is known as scordatura; in some folk styles, it is called "cross-tuning." One famous example of scordatura in classical music is Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre, where the solo violin's E string is tuned down to E flat to impart an eerie dissonance to the composition. Another example would be in the third movement of Contrasts, by Béla Bartók, where the E string is tuned down to E flat and the G tuned to a G sharp.
While most violins have four strings, there are some instruments with five,[11] six, or even seven strings. The extra strings on such violins typically are lower in pitch than the G-string; these strings are usually tuned to C, F, and B flat. If the instrument's playing length, or string length from nut to bridge, is equal to that of an ordinary full-scale violin (i.e., a bit less than 13 inches, or 330 mm), then it may be properly termed a violin. Some such instruments are somewhat longer and should be regarded as violas. Violins with five strings or more are often used in jazz or folk music.
Violin has to be constructed to with stand the strong downward force exerted by its 4 strings on the bridge, which can weigh to as much as 7.7kg!
Here is a list of famous violin composers.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Baltazar
Bannister
Bela Bartok
Ludwig van Beethoven
Johannes Brahms
George Enescu
Fritz Kreisler
Rodolphe Kreutzer
Felix Mendelssohn
Claudio Monteverdi
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Niccolo Paganini
Basic
The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello and sometimes the double bass.
A violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, no matter what kind of music is played on it. The word "violin" comes to us through the Romance languages from the Middle Latin word vitula, meaning "stringed instrument”.
A person who plays the violin is called a violinist or fiddler, and a person who makes or repairs them is called a luthier, or simply a violin maker.
History
The earliest stringed instruments were mostly plucked. Bowed instruments may have originated in the cultures of Central Asia, an example being the Mongolian instrument Morin huur:
Turkic and Mongolian horsemen from Inner Asia were probably the world’s earliest fiddlers. Their two stringed upright fiddles are strung with horsehair strings, played with horsehair bows, and often feature a carved horse’s head at the end of the neck. ... The violins, violas, and cellos we play today, and whose bows are still strung with horsehair, are a legacy of the nomads.
It is believed that these instruments eventually spread to China, India, and the Middle East, where they developed into instruments such as the Erhu (Chinese) and Rebab (Middle East), and Esraj (India). The violin in its present form emerged in the early 16th century, in Northern Italy, where the port towns of Venice and Genoa maintained extensive ties through the trade routes of the Mongol Empire.
Most likely, the first makers of violins were formed from three types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arabic rebab), the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. One of the earliest descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, was in the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyon in 1556. By this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe.
The oldest documented violin to have four strings, like the modern violin, was constructed in 1555 by Andrea Amati. The violin immediately became very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility, illustrated by the fact that the French king Charles IX ordered Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is from this set, and is known as the "Charles IX," made in Cremona c. 1560. "The Messiah" or "Le Messie" made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine, never having been used. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford.
Significant changes occurred in the construction of the violin in the 18th century, particularly in the length and angle of the neck, as well as a heavier bass bar. The majority of old instruments have undergone these modifications, and hence are in a significantly different state than when they left the hands of their makers, doubtless with differences in sound and response. But these instruments in their present condition set the standard for perfection in violin craftsmanship and sound, and violin makers all over the world try to come as close to this ideal as possible.
To this day, the Violin is a precious and essential instrument to the history of music because it has been evolved from various kinds of instruments.
TUNING
Violins are tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox under the scroll, or by adjusting the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece. All violins have pegs; fine tuners (also called fine adjusters) are optional. Most fine tuners consist of a metal screw that moves a lever to which the string is attached. They permit very small pitch adjustments with much more ease than the pegs.
Fine tuners are usually used with solid metal or composite strings that may be difficult to tune with pegs alone; they are not used with gut strings, which are more elastic and don't respond adequately to the very small movements of fine tuners. Some violinists have fine tuners on all 4 strings; most classical players have only a single fine tuner on the E string. Most violinists prefer one fine tuner because fine tuners often can damage the top of the violin.
To tune a violin, the A string is first tuned to a standard pitch (usually 440 Hz), using either a tuning device or another instrument. (When accompanying a fixed-pitch instrument such as a piano or accordion, the violin tunes to it.) The other strings are then tuned against each other in intervals of perfect fifths by bowing them in pairs. A minutely higher tuning is sometimes employed for solo playing to give the instrument a brighter sound; conversely, Baroque music is sometimes played using lower tunings to make the violin's sound more gentle. After tuning, the instrument's bridge may be examined to ensure that it is standing straight and centered between the inner nicks of the f-holes; a crooked bridge may significantly affect the sound of an otherwise well-made violin.
The tuning G-D-A-E is used for most violin music. Other tunings are occasionally employed; the G string, for example, can be tuned up to A. The use of nonstandard tunings in classical music is known as scordatura; in some folk styles, it is called "cross-tuning." One famous example of scordatura in classical music is Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre, where the solo violin's E string is tuned down to E flat to impart an eerie dissonance to the composition. Another example would be in the third movement of Contrasts, by Béla Bartók, where the E string is tuned down to E flat and the G tuned to a G sharp.
While most violins have four strings, there are some instruments with five,[11] six, or even seven strings. The extra strings on such violins typically are lower in pitch than the G-string; these strings are usually tuned to C, F, and B flat. If the instrument's playing length, or string length from nut to bridge, is equal to that of an ordinary full-scale violin (i.e., a bit less than 13 inches, or 330 mm), then it may be properly termed a violin. Some such instruments are somewhat longer and should be regarded as violas. Violins with five strings or more are often used in jazz or folk music.
Violin has to be constructed to with stand the strong downward force exerted by its 4 strings on the bridge, which can weigh to as much as 7.7kg!
Here is a list of famous violin composers.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Baltazar
Bannister
Bela Bartok
Ludwig van Beethoven
Johannes Brahms
George Enescu
Fritz Kreisler
Rodolphe Kreutzer
Felix Mendelssohn
Claudio Monteverdi
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Niccolo Paganini
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