It is one of the most popular instruments to play all over the world and it's been around since the 16th century (the 1500s). Let's learn more about this instrument that can be enjoyed by people of all ages everywhere.
Which Violin Is Right for Me?
The violin is the smallest in size and the highest pitched of all of the instruments in the string family. The violin actually comes in a range of sizes so kids can more easily learn how to play it from a young age. In order to decide which size is right for you is you stretch out your arm and have someone measure the distance from your neck to the middle of your hand. If you're in between sizes you should choose the smaller one.
Get out a measuring tape and discover which size is best for you. At our school you can start playing in the orchestra (strings class) in fourth grade. Some kids start playing at a much younger age with one of the many great private teachers in our area.
Check out this video of these young kids playing. They are amazing! They are prodigies! A prodigy is someone who shows amazing talent at a very young age. Can you think of any other prodigies? It doesn't have to be a musician. Mozart is another musical prodigy who began playing the piano at age 3 and writing his first music at age 4. We are not talking about plunking out "Mary Had a Little Lamb," folks. He was playing songs that at age 6 had him touring Europe and amazing kings and queens everywhere.
How the Violin Is Made and How It Makes Sound
Have you ever thought about how a violin makes the sounds you hear? To start off with, sound happens when there is a vibration. You pluck the strings or rub a bow (stick for playing the violin) across them and those vibrations are drawn from the bridge (the thing that holds the strings at the bottom of the violin) to the sound post (a little stick under the bridge inside of the violin you can't see). The inside of the violin is called the sound box and it gives space for the sound to echo and be louder and the holes on the front of the violin allow the sound to come out.
Check out this video that shows how a violin is made. It's fascinating to see all of the steps that go into making these amazing instruments.
Violins are typically made of wood, usually spruce or maple, but some creative people have made them out of other materials. Electric violins can be made of all kinds of things because they use an amplifier. An amplifier is a speaker that produces sound for electric instruments like an electric guitar.
Electric Violin Amplifier ("amp")
Fiddle or Violin? What's the Difference?
They're the same. It's just that simple. What makes the difference is the style. We usually call it a "fiddle" if we're talking about a country style of music, other than that it's a "violin."
As time has passed some fiddle players have "fiddled around" with the instrument to change the sound so it suits their playing style better. Some have even added a fifth string (a violin has four strings), especially on electric fiddles, to play lower notes. Fiddle players and electric violinists most often choose steel strings for a sharp, crisp sound.
Check out Carson Peters, a 10-year-old fiddle playing prodigy from Piney Flats, Tennessee. He's an awesome country-style singer, too. In another video of him at the Grand Ole Opry, the most famous country music performance hall, he is quoted as joking the difference between a violin and a fiddle is that a violin has "strings" and the fiddle has "straings" (imagine a country accent pronouncing "strings" haha).
The Most Famous Violins
The violin's existence is traced back to over 500 years ago. That is a lot of history for one humble instrument! The oldest violins today are so famous they each have their own name. The "Carlo IX" violin was made in Italy in 1564. The most famous violin is the "Messiah Stradivarius" and was made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716. It is the most famous because it is over 300 years old and still looks like it is brand new.
Stradivarius violins are the most expensive and have sold for as much as $15.9 million dollars. If you watched the "How It's Made Video" you saw that there is a lot of labor that goes into making a violin but . . . fortunately there are much more reasonably priced options for us regular folks. Most violin teachers recommend renting a violin for $20-$30 a month because until you're full-grown you don't need a full-sized instrument. If you are lucky enough to attend a school that has lots of instruments to borrow it's even more affordable.
In 2019 "Il Cannone," another very famous violin visited Columbus, Ohio. The 276-year-old instrument came for a visit from Genoa, Italy. Genoa is a special "sister city" to Columbus because Christopher Columbus, whom our great city was named for, was born in Genoa. The instrument was built in 1743 and was owned by Paganini, a famous Italian virtuoso (person with superior talent far above others). Joanna Frankel, the head violinist (concertmaster) of the Columbus Symphony, had the honor of playing this instrument for a special performance.
More Violin
If you love hearing the violin and watching amazing performances of all different types of music, check out this playlist on my YouTube channel. Feel free to send me your suggestions to add, as well!
I liked "Hey Mama"
The violins are really pretty and the people playing them are really good at it.