History of the violin
History of the violin:
The violin is a stringed instrument that has four strings. The word “violin” comes from a Latin word ‘vitula’,
which means stringed instrument. The history of the violin runs parallel to other instruments from the same family.
The violin as we know it today was built in the early 16th century. It is believed that the violin originated in Italy. The early violin had heavy influences of Middle Eastern and Asian stringed instruments such as rebab, esra and erhu.
It is believed that the European violin actually evolved from rebec, the Renaissance fiddle and the lira da braccio.
The early form of the violin was very different from what we know today. Initially, the neck of the violin was thicker and shorter. Also, it was less angled. Correspondingly, the bridge was flatter and the fingerboard shorter. Initially, the violin wasn’t very popular. In fact, it was considered a low status musical instrument and had no social prestige.
The first violin to have four strings, much like the modern one, is said to have been created by Andrea Amati in 1555. This claim is highly controversial as Gasparo da Saló was also a candidate along with several Brescian craftsmen.
Other violins documented before this had three strings and were called “violetta”. In the 1550s, the violin became very popular and King Charles IV asked Amati to make 24 violins for him.
Once the popularity of the violin grew, violin making also travelled quickly across Europe. By the 1800s, it was used in many opera performances. Musical instruments similar to the violin were found in France and Poland thanks to the far reaches of the Italian Renaissance. The changes that the violin underwent after the 1600s were mostly decorative in nature.
Initially the violin could be either ½ inch longer or ¼ inch shorter than the modern violin which measures 14 inches. The pegboxes did not extend into scroll every time, and sometimes they ended in carved heads. The short and thick neck of the violins did not allow playing in the upper positions and made it extremely difficult to use the fourth finger.
The early violin bows varied in shape and the modern frog design was preceded by many attempts to solve the problem of holding the narrow ribbon of hair in the correct place. The degree of curvature of the bows started decreasing by the end of the 17th century.
In the early 16th century, better fingering techniques, better sonority and easier tuning and playing techniques were discovered. The new instruments were also easier to carry around.
Though the strings of a violin were thicker and stronger than those of the viol, the strings were gut, and gauges were unknown.
There was no tuning system and no standards of pitch. The distinction between harmonic pairs of notes also worked opposite to what it is today. Also, there was no accepted way of holding the bow of the violin. The violin was held at the neck for serious music and on the arm or breast for dance music. The bow was also held in 2 different styles- the French and the Italian.
The history of the violin is a fascinating account of the journey of the instrument from its origin to the popularity that it enjoys today.
The violin is used in a wide variety of music such as jazz, classical, rock and more.
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