Violin

The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. The range of the violin is from the G just below middle C to the highest notes of the piano. more...

Home
Brass
DJ Gear & Lighting
Electronic
Equipment
Guitar
Harmonica
Instruction Books, CDs,...
Keyboard, Piano
Other Instruments
Percussion
Pro Audio
Sheet Music, Song Books
String
Accessories
Autoharp, Zither
Banjo
Bass
Cello
Harp, Dulcimer
Mandolin
Other String Instruments
Ukulele
Vintage, Pre-1980
Viola
Violin
Acoustic
1/2 Size
1/4 Size
3/4 Size
4/4 Size
Other Violins
Electric
Wholesale Lots
Woodwind

It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. (A related bowed string instrument, the double bass, technically belongs to the similar but distinct viol family.)

A violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, no matter what sort of music is played on it. The words "violin" and "fiddle" come from the same Latin root, but "violin" came through the Romance languages, meaning small violin, and "fiddle" through Germanic languages.

A person who plays violin is called a violinist or fiddler, and a person who makes or repairs them is called a luthier, or simply a violinmaker.

History of the violin

The violin first emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century. Most likely the first makers of violins borrowed from three different types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arab rebab), the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. The Indian Ravanastron is also a predecessor of the violin. The earliest explicit description 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.

It is said that the first real violin was built by Andrea Amati in the first half of the 16th century by order of the Medici family, who had asked for an instrument that could be used by street musicians, but with the quality of a lute, which was a very popular instrument among the noble in that time. 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 build a whole orchestra in the second half of the 16th century.

The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is the "Charles IX" by Andrea Amati, made in Cremona in 1564. "The Messiah" or "Le Messie" (also known as the "Salabue") made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine, never having been used. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford. The most famous violin makers, called luthiers, between the late 16th century and the 18th century included:

• Amati family of Italian violin makers, Andrea Amati (1500-1577), Antonio Amati (1540-1607), Hieronymous Amati I (1561-1630), Nicolo Amati (1596-1684), Hieronymous Amati II (1649-1740)
• Guarneri family of Italian violin makers, Andrea Guarneri (1626-1698), Pietro of Mantua (1655-1720), Giuseppe Guarneri (Joseph filius Andreae) (1666-1739), Pietro Guarneri (of Venice) (1695-1762), and Giuseppe (del Gesu) (1698-1744)
• Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) of Cremona
• Jacob Stainer (1617-1683) of Absam in Tyrol

It is still believed, perhaps erroneously, that at the beginning of the 18th century, the violin was built in a way that can be expressed as "perfect." It is commonly asserted that "Never since that time has a major improvement been made to the instrument", but changes have occurred, particularly to do with 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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org