The Violin

Abstract

This research papers covers the entire history of a unique musical instrument commonly known as “violin”. It will aim to cover its discovery and the people who led to this beautiful creation. It will also put light on its unique uses which differs this musical instrument from other instruments and will also provide information on the famous violinists and the most valuable models created up till now. It will also discuss the importance of this instrument, which is not only limited to music but also to the player and the listener.

The Violin

Introduction

When I was 12 years old I used to spend my spare time with many different activities which were not very productive. It was my 13th birthday when my father brought me a violin as a surprise birthday gift. Initially I hated the gift, because being a 13 year old I had more interest in bicycles and skating boards. It was not until I became 14 years old and in 8th grade everyone had to choose extracurricular activities. All my friends chose music and I was on the only who did not. My friends started a band. The music genre focused by the band was classic. When they would jam in the back yard, I would just sit idle listening to their songs. One day I was very sad because all my friends would jam most of the times and would not come with me for cycling and skating. I went home that day and was very upset, until I saw the violin hanging on the wall as a show piece. I grabbed it and started playing and initially it sounded terrible but with the passage of time it became better. I took lessons online and even joined the school orchestra and practiced playing it day and night. I would often miss cycling sessions to play the violin with my friends. I became passionate about it, as it took me away from all my troubles and helped in releasing the stress of my final exams at school.

Discussion

My passion about this music instrument forced me to go into the depth of its history, how was it made and who was it made by. I found out that Violin is said to be a descendent Viol family. This includes all the stringed instruments which are fretted or bowed (Starr, 1976). Historical paintings have proved the existence of the three string violin since the 1520 (Rolland, 1979). By 1550, there was an addition of the E string which made Viola and Cello a part of the bowed string family. These two instruments are still used today. It is often argued that the creation of violin has gone through a major transformation (Flesch, 2000). This transformation took place in Italy from 1520 to 1650. There were many famous violin makers for example the Amati family. The Amati family contributed a lot in establishing the major proportions and parts of the violin. This family not only contributed in the creation but also contributed ...