This article is part of the Fiddle & Violin series.

Violin construction

Playing the violin

Making and maintenance

History of the violin

Musical styles

Violinists

Fiddlers

Image File history File links Scroll_and_ear. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ... A violin The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... This article covers the anatomy of a violin and some of its accessories. ... // Playing the violin See also: How to play the violin The violin is usually held under the chin and supported by the left shoulder. ... Making violins Just a few tools There is a three-dimensional geometric underlying construction that explains the main properties and placement of the different parts and proportions. ... // History Beginnings, and Golden Age An intricately carved 17th century (believed 1660) British Royal Family violin, on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ... This is a list of notable violinists. ... This list of fiddlers shows some crossover with the List of violinists since the instruments used are quite similar, if not identical (given that each violin or fiddle has its own individual character. ...

Jazz

The earliest references to jazz performance using the violin as a solo instrument are documented during the first decades of the 20th century. The first great jazz violinist was Joe Venuti who is best known for his work with guitarist Eddie Lang during the 1920s. Since that time there have been many superb improvising violinists including Stéphane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Ray Perry, Ray Nance, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Leroy Jenkins, Billy Bang, Mat Maneri, Malcolm Goldstein, and others. Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... Giuseppe Venuti (Joe) (September 16, 1903 - August 14, 1978) was a U.S. jazz musician and violinist. ... Eddie Lang (October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was a jazz guitarist, considered by many the finest of his era. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Social issues of the 1920s. ... Django (left) & Grappelli (right). ... Stuff Smith was one of the big three of pre-bop violinists along with Joe Venuti and Stephane Grappelli. ... Ray Perry, although little known, was influential as a violin jazz artist of the 1940s. ... Ray Willis Nance (1913 - 1976) was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. ... Claude Williams (February 22, 1908 - April 26, 2004) was an American jazz violinist and guitarist. ... This article contains information on the musician Leroy Jenkins. ... Billy Bang (b. ... Mat Maneri (born 1969) is an American jazz violin and viola player. ... Malcolm Goldstein (b. ...

Classical music

Since the Baroque era the violin (Baroque violin) has been one of the most important of all instruments in classical music, for several reasons. The tone of the violin stands out above other instruments, making it appropriate for playing a melody line. In the hands of a good player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes. Indeed, the violin seems to lend itself to virtuosity more than any other instrument (its only possible rival is the piano), and top violinists have amazed their audiences with their wizardry since the 17th century. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 to 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... A Baroque violin is, in common usage, any violin whose neck, fingerboard, bridge, and tailpiece are of the type used during the baroque period. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... A baby grand piano, with the lid up. ...

The violin is also considered a very expressive instrument, which is often felt to approximate the human voice. This may be due to the possibility of vibrato and of slight expressive adjustments in pitch and timbre. Many leading composers have contributed to the violin concerto and violin sonata repertories. A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and orchestra. ... A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo violin, often (but not always) accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque. ...

Violins make up a large part of an orchestra, and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins (who are often given more technically difficult music), while second violins play harmony, accompaniment patterns or the melody an octave lower than the first violins. A string quartet similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a viola part, and a bass instrument, such as the cello or, rarely, the bass. The Boston Pops orchestra performing on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. ... The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... The viola (in French, alto; in German bratsche) is a stringed musical instrument played with a bow which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the higher violin (soprano register) and the lower lines played by the deeper cello (bass) and double... A cello The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello (the c is pronounced /tʃ/ as the ch in church), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ...

Indian classical (Carnatic) music

The violin is a very important part of South Indian classical music (Carnatic music). It is believed to have been introduced to the South Indian tradition by Baluswamy Dikshitar. The violin is primarily used as support for a vocalist, as the sound of a violin complements that of the singer. The doyens of Carnatic violin include Thirukodikaval Krishna Iyer, Govindaswamy Pillai, Mysore T. Chowdiah, Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu, T. N. Krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman, and M. S. Gopalakrishnan. The children of the last three are also successful violinists in their own right. The next generation of violinists includes M. Chandrasekhar, V. V. Subramaniam, Mysore Nagaraj, Manjunath and Ganesh-Kumaresh. Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman and...

The child prodigy L. Athira Krishna from Kerala is the most acclaimed young violinist from India in the South Indian classical violin solo genre. She has won many national and international music awards.

In solo violin concerts, the violinist is accompanied by percussion instruments, usually the mridangam and the ghatam. The mridangam is a percussion instrument from South India. ... T.H.Vinayakaram playing the Ghatam A ghatam is a percussion instrument, used in South Indian Carnatic music. ...

The violin is also a principal instrument for South Indian film music. V. S. Narasimhan is among the undisputed violin wizards in the South Indian film industry, with many hits in the film world.

Popular music

While the violin has had very little usage in rock music compared to its brethren the guitar and bass guitar, it is being increasingly absorbed into mainstream pop. Independent artists such as Final Fantasy and Andrew Bird have increased interest as well, creating a subcategory of indie rock that some have termed "violindie". Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... The acoustic archtop guitar, used in Jazz music, features steel strings. ... It has been suggested that DADG tuning be merged into this article or section. ... Owen Pallett is a violinist and singer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Andrew Bird Andrew Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ...

The violin is also used in mainstream pop acts like Vanessa Mae, Bond, Miri Ben-Ari, Yellowcard, Nigel Kennedy, and Dave Matthews Band with Boyd Tinsley and Jean-Luc Ponty; U2 also frequently uses the violin, especially the electric violin. The violin is also a part of the huge phenomenon called cello rock. The hugely popular Motown recordings of the 60's and 70's relied heavily on strings as part of the trademark texture. Earlier genres of pop music, at least those separate from the Rock 'n' Roll movement, tended to make use of fairly traditional Orchestras, sometimes large ones; examples include the American "Crooners" such as Bing Crosby. Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson (born October 27, 1978 in Singapore), known on stage as Vanessa-Mae (in Chinese: 陈美, Chén Měi) is an internationally known classical and pop musician. ... In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and interest (the coupon). ... Miri Ben-Ari Miri Ben-Ari (born in 1978 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is a classically trained violinist known primarily for her work on several hip-hop projects. ... Yellowcard is a rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. ... Nigel Kennedy (born December 28, 1956 in Brighton, England) is a violinist and violist. ... A close-up of Dave Matthews, Boyd Tinsley, and Butch Taylor in Melbourne during their first and (to date) only tour of Australia Dave Matthews Band (a. ... Boyd Tinsley (b. ... Grappelli (left) and Jean-Luc Ponty (right). ... U2 are an Irish rock band featuring Bono (Paul David Hewson) on vocals, guitar and harmonica, The Edge (David Howell Evans) on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, and Larry Mullen, Jr. ... This electric violin, made by Fender, has a non-traditional design. ... Apocalyptica in concert, three cellists visible Cello rock is a genre of music characterized by the use of cellos and other stringed instruments such as violin and viola to create a sound, beat, and texture similar to that of familiar rock music, but distinctly reshaped by the unique timbres and... Motown Records, Inc. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... The Boston Pops orchestra performing on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Crooner is an epithet given to a male singer of a certain style of popular songs, dubbed Pop standards. ...

Though bowed strings were heavily popular and relied upon in almost all types of music genre recordings in the 60's and 70's, disco music, which surged aggressively onto the music scene in the early to mid 1970's, also relied heavily upon strings within its compositions; in fact, almost all disco/dance music of that era incorporated the use of strings within its compositions and arrangements. After the sudden decline of disco began in the late 70's and early 80's, the use of strings not only dwindled in disco music, but ceased in almost all types of popular music during that time and more so immediately after disco's death. The 1980's saw an insurgence of electronic music mimicking strings with little or no use of traditional strings in music compositions. Now strings are making a comeback in pop music.

Indian and Arabic pop music is filled with the sound of violins, both soloists and ensembles.

Folk music

Like many other instruments of classical music, the violin descends from remote ancestors, cruder in form, that were used for folk music. Following a stage of intensive development in the late Renaissance, largely in Italy, the violin had improved (in volume, tone, and agility), to the point that it not only became a very important instrument in art music, but proved highly appealing to folk musicians as well. As a folk instrument, the violin ultimately spread very widely, sometimes displacing earlier bowed instruments, and ethnomusicologists have observed its use in many locations throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Folk Music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the common people. ... Ethnomusicology (from the Greek ethnos = nation and mousike = music), formerly comparative musicology, is the study of music in its cultural context, cultural musicology. ...

In many traditions of folk music, the tunes are not written but are memorized by successive generations of musicians and passed on in what is known as the oral tradition. Folk Music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the common people. ... it comes from tribal times and it was passed down by mouth ...

Fiddle

Main article: Fiddle

When played as a folk instrument, the violin is ordinarily referred to in English as a fiddle. The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ...

One very slight difference between "fiddles" and ordinary violins may be seen in American (e.g., bluegrass and old-time music) fiddling: in these styles, the bridge is often shaved down so that it is less curved. This makes it easier to play double stops, and often makes triple stops possible, allowing one to play chords. Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music with its own roots in the English, Irish and Scottish traditional music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. ... Old-time music is a form of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, most notably: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Africa. ... A double stop, in music terminology, is where a musician plays two notes simultaneously on a stringed instrument, for example a violin, a viola, a cello or a guitar. ... A double stop, in music terminology, is where a musician plays two notes simultaneously on a stringed instrument, for example a violin, a viola or a cello. ... Fingering for a C-major trichord on a guitar in standard tuning (assuming all six strings are played). ...

There is quite often only a single fiddle playing in any given venue, although twin fiddling is represented in some styles. By contrast, violins often play in sections, since sound reinforcement (before electronic amplification) was only possible by adding instruments. The Italian ripieno may be translated as "filling" (or "stuffing" in the culinary sense) since many instruments "fill out" the sound. Ripieno (Italian for stuffing) or tutti (Italian for everybody) is the larger of the two ensembles in the concerto grosso. ...

See also

• List of violinists
• List of fiddlers

This is a list of notable violinists. ... This list of fiddlers shows some crossover with the List of violinists since the instruments used are quite similar, if not identical (given that each violin or fiddle has its own individual character. ...

External links

• Hungarian fiddling - Beata Salamon