Resources
Preface
This is an eBook on the fundamentals of violin playing. It details many techniques and exercises needed to develop a solid technical foundation in violin performance. Please note that this eBook does not detail every aspect of violin music or general musical concepts. For instance, it is assumed that the reader knows what a measure is and what staff lines are. If this is not the case, there are various on- and off-line resources available to become familiar with these concepts. Such resources include: the Virginia Tech Music Dictionary, http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/, and the Naxos online dictionary, http://www.naxos.com/education/glossary.asp?char=A-C. The New Grove Music Dictionary is available online through subscription as well as in published book form. Your local library may have a copy of the New Grove Book for checkout. It is also available at book retailers like Barnes and Noble.
A skill like playing the violin can be read about, but a combination of reading and seeing it be done is much more effective. Therefore, if you are interested in seriously learning how to play the violin, you should also seek out a violin teacher. Places to find a good violin teacher include music schools in your area or the department of music at the local university or college. Luthier shops also host violin teachers who give lessons to students. If you are not near any of these resources there is at least one internet resource, the www.Fiddlerman.com, which gives online lessons via Skype.
Violin Background
History of the Violin and Bow
The modern acoustic violin is an instrument with a very long story. In India and Sri Lanka lies the first evidence of a stringed instrument being played with a bow. Called the ravanahatha or the ravanastron, it had two strings and a long bow and is still played by Buddhist monks today. Several instruments used in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance were the more immediate precursors to the violin. These instruments include the rebec, a medieval instrument; the fiddle, also from the Middle Ages; and the lira da braccio, used during the Renaissance. Initially considered a lowly instrument, the violin was used for wedding and dance occasions. It was not until the great Italian composer Claudio Montiverdi, as well as other composers like Orlando di Lasso, did the violin start to gain some prestige. Its status gain was also aided by the creation of the music ensemble, the 24 violins of the King by King Louis XIII of France.
In the 1600-1700’s, Italy saw the perfection of violin making in the luthier shops of the Amatis, the Guarneris and Antonio Stradavarius. Even today the instruments made by these masters, especially Guarneri del Jesu and Antonio Stradivarius, are the most valuable violins in the world. In fact, modern luthiers still use the patterns created by these masters to make their violins.
Like the violin, the bow started with the ravanstron, for which it could have first been used, and eventually spread to Turkey and Persia (Iran), and was used to play the kemangah and the rebab (or rebec). Under the rule of the Moors in Spain, the rebec came to Europe. In fact, initially, violin players in Europe would simply play the violin using the same bow used for the rebec or fiddle. These bows could be shorter than the more modern violin bow, being only 8 to 12 inches in length. The stick of the bow also had a strong convex curve. Players would also perform with a close-fist or an underhanded bow hand technique.
Perhaps predictably, the modern bow looks different than its predecessor. Innovations in bow-making which brought about the modern bow were created by Francois Xavier Tourte, who lived from the mid 1700’s to the early 1800’s. Besides the slight concavity to the stick and the use of more hair than was traditionally used, sophisticated mathematics and engineering went into Tourte’s bow. More will be discussed about the bow later.
The Instrument
Before playing the violin, it is good to have a basic understanding of the instrument. The violin is the smallest member of the string instrument family typically seen in modern symphony orchestras. The other members of the family, from smallest to largest, are the viola, cello and bass. The violin may be considered a soprano instrument due to the high pitches that it can produce. When reading violin music, the treble clef sign (see below) is used. Like the other instruments in its family, the violin is made of wood. Spruce and maple are common woods used in violin making. Ebony may be used for the fingerboard. The bow may be made of wood or, if an inexpensive bow, fiberglass. More recently, bows are
