Ali Mills

Writing Lab #2

The selection I have chosen from my past writing comes from a term paper I wrote last

semester on the evolution of the Medieval violin and bow. It was the second of two

papers I wrote for one of my music history courses.

Though it is seemingly dry to some, this work is personal for me due to its

connection to my major and my career. I thoroughly enjoyed researching this topic, and

learned quite a bit about my instrument that I did not know before. I believe that I

portrayed myself to the audience as deeply knowledgeable on this topic, however, the

specific time period was not well known to me before researching for the assignment. I

used “big” words, more transitions and sophisticated sources to prove my point and give

the audience a sense that I knew what I was talking about. Because of the nature of the

paper, the majority of my artistic proof decisions revolved around ethos. The structure of

the piece was based off of a timeline, from old to new, tracking the development of the

instrument from the early 1400s-1600s. This allowed mty audience to track along with

me, hopefully smoothing out any confusion in terms of which time period I was

discussing. I think overall I could have included a few more citations and researched a

few more articles. Similarly, I wished I had a little more stamina in terms of thinking of

fresh ideas until the end, as I feel like I “burned out” a bit as I entered the eighth and

ninth pages. I hope this class helps in that regard!

Here is a paragraph from the paper:

 If necessity truly is the mother of invention, let there be no stronger example than the

transformation of the violin from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The study of musical

evolution over time is incomplete without taking a closer look at what prompted such changes,

and how the instruments of old developed into the ones held by the musicians of today. The

violin has experienced many adjustments over time, and studying such transformations can aid in

the understanding of music and culture in that time period. First of all, the materials used for the

violin, the elements used in the making of the strings, and the style of bow used all directly

affected the tone quality and overall sound of the instrument. For the body of the violin, the type

of wood used by the luthier contributed to how the sound vibrated through the instrument.

Similarly, the strings, whether gut or a different material, influenced the timbre of the violin.

Finally, composers were more creative in their musical and ensemble decisions, as the

performer’s playing ability grew throughout history. With more complex instruments available,

music was able to adapt and move further than it had previously. Throughout the 15th, 16th, and

17th centuries, the evolution of the violin can be tracked by examining the manner in which it

was made, materials used, types of ensembles that were common in performance, and the

difficulty and style of compositions written during those periods.