Are there different types of violins

Fiddle and violin are the same instruments, but the difference is in their context and style of play. Fiddler music can refer to music from many different countries.

Undoubtedly, many classical violins contain four strings tuned to G, D, A, and E, while the five-string option includes a C string. Typically, you cannot use five-string violins to play classical music. Musicians use the extra pitch to improvise their sound. This is a Norwegian instrument with five strings underneath the bridge that rings sympathetically if you play notes relating to them.

When you play them right, they can ring independently to your fingers, hence creating a drone underneath the tune. Related : 14 Types of Saxophones and Their Uses. The pochette is the smallest type of violin. This wood-like instrument is very small, leading to the name pochette because it can fit well in your pocket. You can find the best type of violin depending on how much money you intend to spend on your instrument.

Also, consider the genre of music you intend to play before you purchase your violin. And lastly, ensure you get the right size of the violin. These will allow you to play your violin without any problem comfortably. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password?

Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Recover your password. Table of Contents. Please enter your comment! In this way the instrument has the range of a violin and a viola. Most of the times these instruments are electric violins. If can be fun as you can play a bass line on the low C string, loop it and play a melody on the higher strings.

Some electric violins are called silent violins. They sound a bit like a normal violin with a mute. The idea is that you can practice without bothering your neighbors.

Silent violins usually have a good sound on ear plugs, but lots of times a bit less sound quality on an amplifier. When buying an electric or silent violin, make sure you know for what purpose you want to use it and test it in all situation practicing at home, amplified and on stage.

Classical violinist helping you overcome technical struggles and play with feeling by improving your bow technique. Children can start on the violin from a very early age. Some violinists even started at two years old! The average age to start with the violin is six to nine years old. This is suitable for most children. An earlier age depends on the character and concentration span of the child. This depends on the length of the arm, hand and fingers. There are size charts online and they can differ a bit.

It can be very personal. Some adults find that they have to stretch too much, for example with their pinky. The difference between two sizes is about an inch. Yup, kids can start right away on the viola or the cello! An adult size is a sound box size of 15 or 16 inch. What fact was most interesting to you? Leave a comment below.

Thank you Zlata, It was all very interesting but the most interesting for me was the bit about five string violins, I have seen people playing them and wondered what that fifth string did. I love playing the violin with worship at church but what I feel is my instrument is swallowed by playing the notes that is givin to me.

The instrument itself is exactly the same as the violin. However, fiddlists play folk, country, or bluegrass music rather than classical.

So, the only real difference between the fiddle and the violin is whoever is playing it. Fiddle players love a bit of improv. They add hundreds of grace notes those short little twiddly notes before the main ones and like to play on more than one string sometimes.

I actually love playing both folk and classical music these days. So, whether you play the fiddle or the violin really just comes down to personal preference.

Because fiddle players like to play chords over two strings, they sometimes prefer a flatter bridge. The bridge elevates each string to a different height, making it easier to play one string without hitting another. So, having a slighting flatter bridge makes it easier to play two strings at once.

Electric violins came about fairly recently. Performers use them for a bit of extra volume and they come in loads of different shapes and sizes. They will require an electric violin amp in order to be heard. All of the sound created by an electric violin is amplified electronically. Companies can experiment with the shape and color of electric violins. Some look just like acoustic ones and others look like something straight out of star wars.

However, a lot of electric violins allow you to adjust the tone of your playing. So, you can easily change things up and add a whole new element to your music.

Plus, they fit into almost any musical genre. Acoustic-electric violins can be played either with or without a pickup. Acoustic-electric violins have a much more organic sound. Other string-players prefer to use external pick-ups, such as contact-mics which stick to the outside of their bridge or on the face of the instruments like the one below.

The main advantage to semi-acoustic violins over electric instruments is the ability to maintain a smooth, well-rounded violin sound even while amplified. With electric instruments, many musicians find that they have to change their approach drastically to find the sound they like. The Hardanger Fiddle or Hardingfele is a Norwegian instrument that has 5 strings underneath the bridge that ring sympathetically if you play notes that relate to them, such as unisons, octaves, or perfect fifths.

A post shared by 5 String Theory 5. While they have gained recent popularity, especially with electric violinists, five stringed instruments have long been members of the violin family. Another oddity of the music world, the Stroh violin is the bright, brassy combination of a violin and a trumpet. The instrument was originally billed as a good option for recording violinists, as they could aim their sound more directly at the microphone.

Instead of generating sound in a hollow body, or using an electric pickup, the Stroh violin feeds the vibrations into a metal chamber connected to a horn. Last updated 23rd September