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Violins Through The Ages

by samgreen on Feb.28, 2010, under Music

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Violins are in the musical family of string instruments, specifically bowed string instruments.

A violin may be acoustic or electric. When someone is just starting to learn how to play the violin, an acoustic type is better to learn on.

As hinted by the name, an electronic signal output is used to make the musical sound on an electric violin, resulting in a sharper sound than that of the acoustic violin.

There are various sizes of violins from 1/16 to 4/4, to accommodate different ages and arm lengths. The 1/16 can be used by a child as young as three years old. There are five more sizes between the smallest and the 4/4, which is a full size for older children and for adults.

Violins went through changes over the years and, as a result, some with a specific shape related to a certain era are the Baroque, Classical and the Modern violins. If a violin has originated from a certain country, it may be put in a classification having to do with that country. When folk music is played on an acoustic violin, it is sometimes called a fiddle, in that case.

History tells us that the first violin was made around the early 1500s and developed by Andrea Amati, who lived in Cremona, Italy. There were differences in this early violin compared to modern violins, namely a shorter, thicker neck, flatter bridge and, of course, the strings were made from a different material than used today (the first violin strings were made of gut). Amati made his violins in matched sets, including a set that he made for the court of Charles IV in France.

It took awhile for the violin to come into popular use but by the middle of the eighteenth century, it had become a part of music ensembles.

A surviving example of Andrea Amati’s violin, circa 1560, has been housed at The Rawlins Gallery of the National Music Museum, one of only fourteen instruments made by Amati that are known to have survived the years.

The National Music Museum is on the campus of The University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD. If you will be in the area and wish to have the experience of viewing the exhibitions of this high-quality museum, it is open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. More information can be viewed at the museum web site – orgs.usd.edu/nmm/index.html including the hours that they are open and more details on the types of music-related displays that you could see there.

If you are specifically interested in learning more about the historical violins, seven instruments by Andrea Amati have been featured in one of the exhibitions at the National Music Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (www.netmuseum.org) has also had displays of Andrea Amati’s violins. And yet another in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England.

Godinger, a maker of beautiful fine crystal, has created a crystal violin figurine, which would be a treasured gift for any violinist, as well as enjoyed by other musicians and by collectors of figurines or crystal items.

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:1500s, Acoustic Violin, Andrea Amati, Case History, Cremona Italy, Eighteenth Century, Electric Violin, Electronic Signal, First Violin, How To Play The Violin, Music Ensembles, Music Museum, National Music, Rawlins Gallery, Signal Output, string instruments, University Of South Dakota, Vermillion Sd, violin, Violin Strings, Violins

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