Introduction

The violin is the upper voice in the stringed instrument family. The early history of the violin is rather vague. Chances are likely that an early predecessor came from China and India, and migrated somehow to Italy, where it came to be known as an arm viol, and around 1700, was updated from the Baroque version to what we know as the modern version, suitable to the large concert halls which developed in response to the industrial revolution.

Figure 1: These are the open strings of the violin.

Open Strings

The violin has a human shape and a human voice, appropriate for the country of its modern origin; Italy, the land of opera and the celebration of the human voice. It’s very accessible, easy to carry around, and has been used and is used in all sorts of musics; folk music of all sorts from all cultures, and art music of the very highest genre. See: Early Baroque Violin Practice (1520-1650).

The violin plays a profound role in chamber music, orchestral music, opera, ballet, and the solo repertoire. Orchestral scores are written with violin sections one and two; the classical quartet has two violins (and one viola and one cello). The first chair, first violin in an orchestra (called concertmaster, even if female) plays a key leadership role in the group, secondary only to the conductor, and works with the principle players who sit first chair in the second violin, viola, cello and bass sections.

Thus the inner circle of stands in the strings—the first chair players in each string section—forms a sort of string quartet, surrounding the conductor, and this body of players in leadership positions works in conjunction with the first chair players in the wind, brass and percussion sections, particularly with first oboe, who also plays a key leadership role. The orchestra tunes to the oboe’s A 440, which is the pitch standard in orchestras throughout the world.

If you examine an orchestral score, you will see the organization of the score is, from the top, first the lines of the woodwinds, then the brass, then the percussion, and then the strings, continuing in the order of top to bottom: violin I, violin II, viola, cellos, and bass. If there is a soloist, there will be a separate line for that. In the sonata literature for violin and piano, the score consists of three lines: the top line in treble clef for the violin, and beneath that (in the score) the piano grand staff, which consists of two lines, a treble clef and a bass clef. The violin and piano will also have separate parts for reading and performance purposes. The standard string quartet will also have separate parts for performance, but for purposes of study, the score (often a miniature score) will be seen to have the parts written out in a standard format similar to the lower four lines of an orchestral score, i.e., violin I, violin II, viola and cello, in descending order on the page.

Modern orchestras typically have around 100 players, about two-thirds of which are strings. Baroque or Early Music chamber groups will be much smaller: as music developed over the past several centuries, orchestras have gotten larger and larger, due to the requirements of the larger halls. Mahler and Wagner, for example, have very much larger orchestral sections (particularly in the brass) than do, say, Haydn and Mozart. Thus the solo responsibilities of the leadership positions in the relatively smaller sections of brass, woodwinds and percussion require a very high level of virtuosity.

This is not to suggest that the string players are not also held to a very high standard. Orchestral positions in major orchestras are extremely difficult to win. ICSOM (International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians) statistics are initially rather discouraging:

Young musicians should not be discouraged by this, however, but should be made aware of the many job possibilities in the world of music, aside from positions in major orchestras. There is a huge shortage of string teachers. According to ASTA (American String Teachers Association) statistics: “24% of string positions went unfilled in 1999-2000, and 43% percent of school districts with string programs had string positions that were not filled in 2000-2001." See article: Discussion: Careers in Music.

Figure 2

Vuillaume violin (1862)

Frequently Asked Questions

How to locate teachers and violin shops:

Personally, I would never send a child to a randomly chosen teacher, no matter how highly recommended, without attending the lessons myself in order to determine if: (a) the teacher treats the child with respect; (b) the environment is comfortable for the child; and (c) the teacher has an instrument and is able to adequately demonstrate on it.

Are the violin and the fiddle the same instrument? Well, yes and no, it depends. What it depends on is who's playing it, and in what cultural context you're speaking. Supposing that one is from the Midwestern United States, “fiddle” may refer to country and western fiddle. However, you hear violinists of the highest caliber, like Stern and Perlman, for example, refer to the violin as a fiddle...but their cultural context is Eastern European, which included gypsy-like so-called "fiddle" music, which is not the same at all as the American genre. The instrument itself may be the same, though folk players of violin (and other players who are playing something besides art music) may take more liberties with respect to the way the instrument is held, its fittings, and so on. Aside from some small details, however, the instrument is pretty much the same; there is no separate genre, fiddle, which is not also a violin. This question gets asked a lot.

What's the difference between the violin and the viola?A lot of people ask this, particularly parents who are trying to decide what instrument their child should study. One of the first things that musicians might think about in this connection are violin/viola jokes. The viola plays a somewhat different role in the orchestra than the violins do, and there is some gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle teasing between the sections. Musicians' jokes aside, the viola is a somewhat larger (longer, heavier) instrument and it is a fifth lower than the violin (five pitches, in other words). Many string players play both instruments, making their careers more flexible in terms of what they can offer. I would encourage anyone to play viola; the literature is a little different, but the viola has a deep, gorgeous tone and is quite as wonderful as the violin. There have been many eminent viola players (Pinchas Zukerman is a great example, and he's a genius who also plays violin and conducts. See ArtsAlive Pinchas Zukerman videoconference masterclass). You might want to take into consideration also, that if your child likes the instrument and wants to play it, and especially if the child is tall and has long arms and larger hands, the instrument may be an excellent idea; I think it's fair to say that fewer people are drawn to the viola and therefore it may offer more opportunities for a child to play in school groups, and perhaps even later prove to be a career advantage. In the long run, both violin and viola are perhaps the most difficult of all instruments, and they provide immense advantages in terms of physical and mental training. See: The Much-Maligned Viola by Kim Kashkashian.

How can I determine if this violin is the right size for my daughter/son? Regarding measuring children for violin or viola, there are two methods but the second probably works better and is more exact. At one time what we did was to stretch the child's left arm under the instrument, and have them grasp the scroll with their fingers wrapped around the scroll. If the elbow was slightly bent but not too bent or too straight, it was a fit. However, a more reliable method is to stretch the child's arm straight out under the instrument, and under the scroll, and if the instrument's scroll ends flush with the pulse, it is just right. According to the build of the student, it can be a little shorter or longer. A sturdy child can take a little longer; it will mean less bend at the elbow when they play--which is tiring but can be tolerable--but if the candidate is weak, then better not, and one chooses rather a little shorter instrument. This rule is for kids during the time they grow, i.e. until early teenage. For "grown ups" it no longer applies. Violins come usually short and violas usually long.

How can I get my child to practice? This is often, for parents, a very serious and sometimes troubling issue in music study. They should be told that it is normal for students to not want to practice, and home practice should be supervised by the parents until the child is older and has developed more independence. There is an excellent book about this: How to get your child to practice without resorting to violence by Cynthia Richards. In general, the recommendations in the book include:

Also recommended:

What is the best way to protect the violin from extremes of temperature and humidity? There is a lot of disagreement about whether the two items used to manage this problem are necessary: hygrometers measure humidity levels; humidifiers correct dryness. Hygrometers in cases are either digital or analog (dial), and are not always accurate; in some cases the hygrometer has to be recalibrated regularly. Sometimes there is a plastic vial (a humistat) which contains water and supplies humidity for the case. It clips in place somewhere down around the pegbox/scroll portion of the case and can be adjusted to allow more or less water vapor to escape. If there is not one of these vials accompanying the hygrometer itself, you can purchase a humidifier to put in the f holes of the violin. Both Strettos and Dampits seem to work well, although Dampits are more of a hassle since you have to resoak them frequently. Many musicians keep a humidifier in the music studio (aim for a steady 50-60% humidity), which protects stringed instruments and pianos. Certainly there are players who question the usefulness of these products and wonder whether any kind of humidification is a good idea for string instruments, in terms of avoiding cracks. Humidifying an instrument in its case may be unnecessary except in extremely dry environments. It's conceivable that too much humidity could cause problems with insects and otherwise damage the wood. The constant changing of the moisture content of the wood can't be good for the instrument; if the maker has selected well seasoned wood, the best thing to do is let the instrument adjust to the prevailing humidity or lack thereof. For example: like Italy, Los Angeles is classed as a Mediterranean clime by geologists. Violins sound better in L.A. then they do in the humidity of NYC, but players often don't have any problems- or use humidifiers. Dryness may be good for fiddles - avoiding extremes, of course.

What is the best way to achieve good intonation in string playing? As a practical matter, there are a few concepts that teachers use, including the "ringing tones" in Suzuki. These are the fourth finger/lower open string and third finger/upper open string pitches which should match, and also the notion of "frame" formed, initially, by the first and third fingers (with a "high" or a "low" 2), and somewhat later, the frame formed by the octave reach of first and fourth finger (around the 3rd Suzuki book, along with the Wohlfahrt studies).

An additional concept may also be introduced, having to do with the roles that pitch steps (of the scale) play within the context of any given key, (tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone). Stringed instruments are not equally tempered the way the piano is, and thus, key context is everything when it comes to intonation on a stringed instrument. The leading tone, for example, is higher, and half-steps can be smaller, within the context of the key (than they are on piano). Playing with piano, one may attempt to adjust to the equally tempered notes, but this is not accurate for the violinist.

How do I break into the music business (i.e., get gigs?) Any or some combination of the following recommendations will probably work for you:

What is the best way to avoid being nervous at a jury or an audition?

Also see the following: