FAQ: The Instrument

The origin of the Violin A brief history of the Violin		Is it a Fiddle or a Violin? How does a Hardanger fiddle differ from a traditional fiddle?

The violin adopted the best aspects of many instruments dating back to the ancient lyre. However, the violin is more closely derived from these instruments:

The Rabob: Northern Indian musical instrument of the lute family, played in classical dance orchestras and as a solo instrument with tabla (drums) and tamboura (drone-lute) from about 950 CE. It is played either by plucking or by bowing. The rabob has a deep body with a skin belly, a broad neck with an unfretted metal fingerboard, four melody strings, and several sympathetically vibrating strings. The melody strings are tuned c'-f'-g'-c, beginning with middle C.

The Rebec: dates back to the Arabian and Oriental thirteenth centuries. Its family contains the soprano, alto, and bass members. It has three strings tuned in fifths, that are secured and tightened by pegs laterally inserted in a pegbox. Its body is shaped like half a pear. The playing position for a rebec is at the breast or neck and it is held overhand and bowed. The rebec, however, has no soundpost or frets.

The Renaissance Fiddle: has five strings, one of which may be a drone. These strings are tuned by front pegs in a heart- or leaf- shaped pegbox. It is registered as a soprano instrument. The renaissance fiddle's body is either an oval or an indented shape that is contructed of a top and back with connecting ribs. Unlike other instruments, the renaissance fiddle has frets. The Lira di Braccio was a species of fiddle from the fifteenth century.It had an arched top, overhanging sides, ribs, and a soundpost. The renaissance fiddle had seven strings, two of which were drones and ran off the fingerboard. These instruments occasionally had frets and always had turning pegs set horizontally in a heart-shaped pegbox.

The violin evolved from many different instruments, including the Rebob, Rebec, Lira di braccio, and the Renaissance Fiddle. The violin we use today, the new violin, was not used until 1630 CE in Italy. It moved from Italy to France, then spread across the world. The violin is the most beautiful instrument because it took all the excellent qualities of the other instruments and combined them. We do not know exactly when the violin was invented because there is no definite "definition" for the violin. Does it have four strings? Could it have two or three strings? No one knows the answer to these peculiar and riddle-some questions. Some theories say that it could have been invented around 1520 CE since that is the date of the first painting which depicts a violin: The Madonna of the Orange Trees by Gaudenzio Ferrari.

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The violin is a descendant of the Viol family of instruments. This includes any stringed instrument that is fretted and/or bowed. Its predecessors include the medieval fiddle, the rebec, and the lira da braccio. We can assume from paintings of that era that the three-string violin was in existence by at least 1520 CE. By 1550, the top E string had been added and the Viola and Cello had emerged as part of the family of bowed string instruments still in use today.

It is thought by many that the violin probably went through its greatest transformation in Italy from 1520 through 1650 CE. Famous violin makers such as the Amati family were pivotal in establishing the basic proportions of the violin, viola, and cello. This family’s contributions to the art of violin making were evident not only in the improvement of the instrument itself, but also in the apprenticeships of subsequent gifted makers including Andrea Guarneri, Francesco Rugeri, and Antonio Stradivari. Stradivari, recognized as the greatest violin maker in history, went on to finalize and refine the violin’s form and symmetry. Makers including Stradivari, however, continued to experiment through the 19th century with archings, the overall length, the angle of the neck, and the height of the bridge. As violin repertoire became more demanding, the instrument evolved to meet the requirements of the soloist and the larger concert hall. The changing styles in music played off of the advancement of the instrument and visa versa. In the 19th century, the modern violin became established.

The modern bow had been invented by Francois Tourte (1747-1835). Its weight, length, and balance allowed the player to produce power and brilliance in the higher ranges. It was Louis Spohr’s invention of the chin rest around 1820 that made it possible for the player to hold the violin comfortably and play in the higher positions. Spohr’s chin rest also resulted in a significant advancement of playing technique and allowed the violin repertoire to reach its virtuoso level. The advent of the shoulder rest (no known date) was also an important contribution to the ease of playing.

Players in Bach’s day held the violin by placing a chamois on their shoulder so the violin would not slip, but stay in place by gentle pressure from the chin and shoulder. The instrument was angled towards the floor, constricting movement of the arm underneath the neck and thereby prohibiting playing in the upper positions. The Bach E Major Violin Concerto was composed at a time (ca. 1720) when the violin had no chin or shoulder rest, had a shorter fingerboard, and was strung entirely of gut strings. Players also used little or no vibrato. All this, combined with the bow then in use (shorter and lighter than the present day Tourte bow), made for a soft, muddy, rough sound. Today’s performances sound louder in volume, but softer in texture. The sound has a brilliance and clarity to it that would not have been possible in Bach’s day. Despite the fact that violins in Bach’s time were not modern by today’s standards, his solo string instrument compositions are among the most challenging repertoire for any serious student of the violin, viola, or cello.

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Q.		Is it a Fiddle or a Violin?
A.		This question is commonly asked by traditionally trained players who are interested in fiddling music. Most musicians who dub themselves “fiddlers” will answer, that the fiddle and violin are one and the same as far as the instrument itself goes. The real difference lies in the way the instrument is played. Violinists play from a written piece of music, allowing the pre-orchestrated notes and phrases to dictate what is being played. Their primary concerns lie in their ability to sight read and in the tone and timbre of their instrument. A fiddler will often play within a basic musical structure, but with no pre-written music for him/her to follow. Fiddlers' concerns are with the quality, creativity, and originality of their improvisation. Although the instrument itself is of less importance in this difference, modifications have been recognized that will define an instrument as more of a fiddle. A traditional fiddle has a lower bridge, causing the strings to be closer to the fingerboard for faster runs and slurs. The bridge can also be flattened, allowing for easier double stops. These modifications can affect the tone of the instrument, but are more suitable for the needs of a true fiddler. - top -
Q.		How does a Hardanger fiddle differ from a traditional fiddle?
A.		The Norwegian Hardingfele, or Hardanger fiddle, actually differs quite notably from any other fiddle. The instrument has either eight or nine strings, four of which are played like a violin, while the others resonate sympathetically. These sympathetic strings are not meant to be bowed, and provide the style with a continuous droning sound. The Hardanger can be played in traditional tuning, but sounds best in a slightly higher register, with the strings tuned to “troll tuning” (A-E-A-C#, understrings tuned to B-D-E-F#-A). The Hardanger fiddling style uses a smoother, bouncier bowing technique with somewhat of a lighter touch.