Information About Violins

Learn about the violin.

The violin plays an important role in orchestra and symphony string sections as well as in smaller chamber music ensembles. This instrument also has a wide variety of distinguished solo repertoire associated with it. Violins and related string instruments have existed in Western culture for centuries. Thinkquest.org traces the origins of bow instruments to the 11th century.

Classification

The violin belongs to the family of string instruments that also includes the viola and the violincello, more commonly referred to simply as the cello. The violin, a smaller instrument than either the viola or the cello, produces the highest pitched sound of any of these string instruments. Musicians play the violin, viola and cello with a bow. In symphonies and orchestras, the violins fall into two categories, including the "first violins" and "second violins." These two groups might play slightly different parts in the music.

Parts

Violins contain several parts, including the hollow wooden body, the neck or "scroll" and strings that run from the base of the violin to the top of the scroll. A wooden bridge suspends the strings above the body of the violin. The violin's neck contains the fingerboard, where the violinist controls the pitch of the instrument's sounds with her fingers. The top of the scroll also contains the instrument's tuning pegs, which allow the violinist to adjust the instrument's tuning.

Materials

Violin makers traditionally use a light spruce wood to make the front of the violin's body and a harder maple to make the back, sides, neck, scroll and bridge. Ebony makes up the fingerboard. Modern strings contain steel and other metals at their cores.

Sound

When the violinist moves the bow across the instrument's strings, the sound reverberates through the instrument's hollow core and projects out of the instrument off of the internal sound post. The violin has four strings, including the G, D, A and E strings. The G string produces the lowest pitches and the E string produces the highest pitch. The violinist can also adjust the pitch produced by each string by holding his finger down on the string in different placements along the fingerboard.

Advanced Techniques

Advanced violin repertoire often requires specialized techniques such as double-stopping, in which the violinist plays two strings at the same time; pizzicato, in which the violinist plucks the string with his finger; and vibrato, in which the violinist moves her finger back and forth across the string at the fingerboard to vary a note's pitch up and down.

References

• The Violin Site: About the Violin
• The Violin Guide: Violin Information
• Think Quest: The Violin