In the hands of a good player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes. Indeed, the violin seems to lend itself to virtuosity more than any other instrument its only possible rival is the piano , and top violinists have amazed their audiences with their skill since the 17th century. The violin is also considered a very expressive instrument, which is often felt to approximate the human voice. This may be due to the possibility of vibrato and of slight expressive adjustments in pitch and timbre.
Many leading composers have contributed to the violin concerto and violin sonata repertories. Violins make up a large part of an orchestra , and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins who are often given more technically difficult music , while second violins play harmony, accompaniment patterns or the melody in a lower range than the first violins.
A string quartet similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a viola part, and a bass instrument, such as the cello or, rarely, the double bass. During the s and earlys, violins were an integral part of popular music, especially for dance music.
Fiddlers Philharmonic
With the introduction of swing music in , the violin, along with other string instruments, dropped out of popular music as they were deemed inappropriate for the swing sound. Violins would only re-emerge in popular music in the lates. While the violin has had very little usage in rock music compared to its brethren the guitar and bass guitar , it is being increasingly absorbed into mainstream pop.
Independent artists such as Final Fantasy and Andrew Bird have increased interest as well, creating a subcategory of indie rock that some have termed "violindie". The violin is also a part of the huge phenomenon called cello rock. The hugely popular Motown recordings of the s and s relied heavily on strings as part of the trademark texture. Earlier genres of pop music, at least those separate from the Rock 'n' Roll movement, tended to make use of fairly traditional Orchestras , sometimes large ones; examples include the American "Crooners" such as Bing Crosby.
When the sudden decline of disco began in the earlys, the use of strings not only dwindled in disco music, but ceased in almost all types of popular music during that time and more so immediately after disco's death. The s saw an insurgence of electronic music mimicking strings with little or no use of traditional strings in music compositions.
August Week I
Now strings are making a comeback in pop music. Indian, Pakistani, Turkish and Arabic pop music is filled with the sound of violins, both soloists and ensembles. The earliest references to jazz performance using the violin as a solo instrument are documented during the first decades of the 20th century. Like many other instruments of classical music, the violin descends from remote ancestors, cruder in form, that were used for folk music.
- Monic LiveUpdate 2005 (French Edition)?
- Pour bien entrer dans la danse: Etat des lieux de lart chorégraphique au début du XXIe siècle (Univers de la danse) (French Edition).
- Also Available Digitally!
- Account Options?
Following a stage of intensive development in the late Renaissance, largely in Italy, the violin had improved in volume, tone, and agility , to the point that it not only became a very important instrument in art music, but proved highly appealing to folk musicians as well. As a folk instrument, the violin ultimately spread very widely, sometimes displacing earlier bowed instruments, and ethnomusicologists have observed its use in many locations throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
In many traditions of folk music , the tunes are not written but are memorized by successive generations of musicians and passed on in what is known as the oral tradition.
- Lesson Plans Silence.
- Four Continents to Freedom;
- The United States Fact Book.
- Violin musical styles.
- Pioneers of Faith.
- Educational Policy in an International Context: Political Culture and Its Effects (Education Policy)!
When played as a folk instrument, the violin is ordinarily referred to in English as a fiddle. One difference between fiddles and ordinary violins may be seen in American e. In these styles, the bridge is sometimes shaved down so that it is slightly less curved. The later string bands featured original songs with violin accompaniment in a new bluesy style that takes the voice as its model, playing in loose unison or trading phrases with the singer.
Even during instrumental breaks the violin breathes, taking time for pauses and long-held notes. Tempos are generally relaxed, giving the players space to deploy a wealth of violin techniques: Taking Liberties In contrast to Western-Classical violin standards, the European-American and African-American fiddle and violin styles share a wide variety of ways that players set up and hold the instrument.
They may fatten the curve of the bridge to facilitate double stops, or cut the bridge lower than the classical norm for an easier action.
Top Selling Orchestra Titles
Some fiddle players hold the bow stick several inches up from the frog or rest the palm of the left hand against the neck. Still others use what a Classical player would consider a fairly standard setup and hold. When I perform for social occasions like weddings, I play several tunes that are hard to fit tight into either the violin or the fiddle category. Setting it this way gives easy access to plenty of double-stops using open strings for a big, bold sound, heightening the anticipation among the assembled guests.
He was a Mexican violinista born into a poor Otomi Indian family of musicians. After moving to Mexico City, Rosas achieved great success in his short life he died at 26 as a composer of salon music for the aristocracy.
Fiddlers Philharmonic: Cello & Bass Book
His works included this piece in the style of the Viennese waltzes that were all the rage at the time. Then, in , Nashville great Kenny Baker included his fiddle version with a bluegrass band on the classic album Portrait of a Bluegrass Fiddler. This beautiful book and three-CD set, written and produced by Jack Loeffler, focuses on traditional Hispanic musicians including several violinistas of New Mexico and southern Colorado.