- It is believed that Turkish and Mongolian nomads invented the first fiddles. These fiddles had only two strings, made from horsehair. The bows were also made from horsehair, which is still what violin bows are made from today.
- Violins are typically made from spruce and maple wood and have an hourglass-styled shape and four strings tuned in fifths. All violins have an "f" shaped cut-out called a purfling on both sides of the instrument, which prevents cracks in the wood. Some purflings are painted on, but they are signs of inferior instruments.
- There is no standard size for violins, and the sizes often vary between violin makers. However, there are fractional sizes of the instrument for children, from three-fourths the size to one-sixteenth.
- A violinst holds the instrument's neck with the left hand, rests the body on the left shoulder, and rests the left side of the jaw on the chinrest. The left hand presses down the appropriate strings on the neck to play specific notes, and the right hand manipulates the bow over the strings for technique, rhythm, and tone quality.
- The violin has been one of the most important instruments in classical music, but it is used in a variety of music. Violins comprise one of the largest parts of a symphony orchestra but are also found in jazz, pop music, folk music and country western music.
- A fiddle is not technically different from a violin, but is typically called a fiddle when it is used to play folk, country, or bluegrass music.
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Electric ViolinElectric violins are basically the electric guitar equivalent to a concert violin. These violins have the same quality of sound as an acoustic violin, but they do not rely on the body of the instrument or the strings to control volume or produce the same quality of sound. As such, most electric violins have varying shapes and colors and some even have more strings than acoustic violins.
