The Violin Research Paper

There is a four-stringed musical instrument which has been making the history of music in Europe musically rich. This instrument is called the violin. This four-stringed instrument has been immensely used in both Classical and modern music. It has been a timeless instrument that has been present in European music history. Musicians adore it because of its delightful musical capabilities. As a background, Peter Gammond stressed that, “The violin is capable of great agility and violinists like to show off their dazzling technique, so most violin concertos and other violin compositions give opportunity for virtuosity to delight the violinist and his audience.” (54) Surprisingly, aside from the fact that it has been the leading instrument during
the Classical Period, the violin has found itself adapting to modern music in Europe. Its design and structure has been transformed to suit the demands of modern non-classical musicians. Hence, violin has been an important instrument in the Classical Period that has influenced modern music in Europe. There are several reasons why this timeless instrument is special. It was made with magnificent anatomy. Its foundation was created wisely. The violin’s belly (top), ribs (sides), and back are usually made from wood. The neck, which has the fingerboard, is used by the musician by placing his finger to make the pitch of notes. The scroll, which contains the tuning pegs, is found at the tip of the neck. The pegs are used to tune the violin. The strings stretch across the pegs and bridge (The Story of Music Volume 9 7). To be specific, the pitch of note produced by a string is affected by three factors. These are thickness, length, and tension. Thick strings produce low sounds because they vibrate slowly. To produce a wide range of notes, a stringed instrument has a minimum of four strings of different thicknesses. The thinner strings produce high sounds (Gammond 50). Aside from knowing the parts of a violin, another thing of equal importance is having the knowledge of how to play it. To play the violin, the player should rest his chin on a piece of plastic on the front of the violin. The right hand holds the bow, while the left hand controls the pitch by pressing the strings. When moving the bow across the string, these two parts create a vibration which is amplified by the body called sound box. The bow controls the volume and projection. These are enhanced by two f-shape sound holes (The Story of Music Volume 9 7-8). On that account, the violin has a belly. It is made up of two holes that are similar to the letter “f.” These are the wooden sounding box (Palmer 94). Violin has the capacity to produce splendorous sounds. Specifically, the bow is a very important part because it helps produce the pitch of notes. In the same way, “The violin is unique among all stringed instruments in its ability to produce-at a wave of a magic wand-steadily sustained tones, and even tones which become louder as they continue.” (Siegmeister 79) This wand refers to the bow. It has strings of fine white horsehairs. Rosin helps it increase surface tension. Vibration is produced when it is moved across the strings. Using a bow, a player can manipulate intensity, quality and duration of the sound produced (Siegmeister 79). Furthermore, there are different sounds produced each string. A violin that is tuned correctly produces the right notes for each open string. The first open string produces E. The second open string produces A. The third open string should produce D. Lastly, the fourth string produces G (Palmer 94). Naturally, tone is affected by the violin’s shape and body proportion. It is also affected by choice of wood. Among all violins created by different countries, the Italians have been the leading violin craftsmen (Gammond 53). Moreover, since violin is the smallest among stringed instruments, it produces the highest tune (Gammond 50). Classical Period was the time when classical orchestra became one of the leading forms of entertainment. As a background, just like the weather, the mood of classical composition varies. Its fluctuating mood includes changes within a single theme. It may change gradually or suddenly. A composition may also have rhythmic patterns. There are unexpected pauses and gradual changes from long notes to shorter notes. The texture also changes from smooth to rough texture. Its melodies are memorable (Kamien 201). In addition, the composers during the Classical Period maximized the use of orchestral instruments. Rich tones and constant changes in the rhythm composed classical compositions. The orchestra was divided into several sections. The violins were significant because they played dominant tune. Classical orchestra became an important factor in enabling musicians to maximize the use of each orchestral instrument (Kamien 202). […] the violin became the basic instrument in the orchestra and in the chamber of music, a position in which it is still unchallenged because of the beauty and the expressiveness of its sound and its unrivaled agility. Its capacity to draw a silvery line of tone and to play with great brilliance and rapidity make it specially prized as a solo instrument. (Sadie and Latham, The Cambridge Music Guide 35) In the same way, violin has been an important instrument in the classical form music. The
Classical form usually follows a four-movement pattern. The four movements are the fast movement, slow movement, dance-related movement and fast movement. Classical sonata uses one or two instruments. It may use two, three or four instruments (Kamien 203). The sonata form has three main parts: exposition, development, and recapitulation. The exposition “exposes,” [sic] or introduces, [sic] the musical themes of the piece to the listener. In the development part [sic] the themes are “developed,” [sic] or explored in a contrasting style to the exposition. […] The recapitulation “recapitulates,” [sic] repeats the musical themes, more or less as they were in the exposition but with slight changes (The Story of Music Volume 1 53).
Symphonies follow the four-movement pattern. It is made for the orchestra (Kamien 203). Consequently, in a symphony orchestra, majority of the instruments are bowed strings. They make up two-thirds of an orchestra. Since string tone is the most frequently used in the timbre of orchestral music, bowed instruments lead the musical texture (Siegmeister 79). In addition, string quartet also follows the four-movement pattern. It is made for four instruments (Kamien 203). To be specific, in a string quartet, the violin has two roles. The first violin serves as the soprano; the second violin serves as the alto. The other two instruments such as viola and cello, serve as tenor and bass respectively (Siegmeister 81). Likewise, it was improved by Joseph Haydn who made compositions intended to be played by stringed instruments. The first violin played the melody, while the second violin blended the melody. The sound was heard farther in an open air than other stringed instruments (The Story of Music Volume 1 55). The history of music in Europe has been truly attached to the violin. It has been consistently used from classical music to modern music. The violin has found itself as an instrument for modern musical styles too. As background, during the 20th century, there was an expansion in the vocabulary of music. Musical tunes were focused on irregularity and unexpectedness. Rhythm was used to execute power, drive and suspense. It was governed by fast beats at unpredictable times (Kamien 258). From 1660 to 1990, musical structure followed a fundamental law of having similar techniques in the formation of pitches involved in a central tone. After 1990, musical compositions were not governed by a single principle of pitch. Each system of pitch is unique. This kind of technique gave an advantage of making the listeners feel suspense, drama and surprise instead of hearing the same quality of sound. This kind of approach makes the 20th century music extraordinary (Kamien 250). Twentieth century pitch and rhythm were immensely influenced by new organization techniques and strategies. Melody didn’t rely on traditional music. It contains a variety of leaps. It was irregular and unexpected. It became rich on tone (Kamien 259). Moreover, to play a violin in modern music, instead of moving the bow across the strings, notes are produced by plucking the strings to produce sound. This is called pizzicato (Palmer 98). Twentieth century music uses unusual techniques such as playing stringed instruments by hitting sharply the strings using a bow. This is very rare because bow is usually used by moving it across the strings. Modern orchestra gives focus on the sound produced by each instrument. To be able to do this, the composer appoints each line to a dissimilar sound quality. As a whole, less importance is given on blended sound (Kamien 254). The creation of electric violin clearly shows that modern music is greatly affected by technological advancements. It was made during the 1930s. Musicians of modern times choose electric violin over an acoustic violin. Electric violin produces a different tone and amplification. It can make a louder sound, makes the sound travel to an amplifier and are often used in contemporary music. It is popular because of its various musical abilities (About the Electric Violin n.p.). Violin has also been used as instrumental background music for modern songs. Violin has been widely used in playing the main melody in orchestras. It had been used by classical musicians during the Classical Period because of its musical capabilities. Among all stringed instruments, violin is the highest pitched member. It is capable of producing agile and clear sounds. This is the reason why it became the leading instrument of the modern orchestra (Gammond 53). “[…] the classical orchestra had developed into a flexible and colorful instrument to which composers could entrust their most powerful and dramatic conceptions.” (Kamien 202) Given the information in the previous pages, the violin served as an excellent soloist in both classical orchestra and modern orchestra. There are also several differences in the way violin is used in classical music and modern music in Europe.
In a classical music, the violin is played by moving the bow across the strings. Vibrations are created by the friction produced when the horsehairs of the bow and strings get in contact. On the contrary, violin is used in modern music by hitting the strings sharply using the bow. On classical orchestra, violin plays the main melody while the other instruments play as the accompaniment to produce blended sound. Unlike modern music, less emphasis is given to blended sound. During the Classical Period, the violin’s sound served as the star of classical music. Nevertheless, in modern music, every instrument’s tone color is utilized. Furthermore, the wooden violin was widely used during the Classical Period. Although wooden violins are still used in modern times, the electric violin has also been a benefit to modern music because of its capability to produce tone and project sound that suits contemporary music. In addition, the violin has been frequently used not as a soloist but as instrumental background music in modern
songs. Europeans have found a way to adapt the use of violin as an instrument for classical music to modern music. The way of playing the violin in the modern music proves that, “[…] modern music is an adventure.” (Kamien 251) Musicians have found a way to adapt the way of playing the violin to modern songs that usually require suspense and surprise. Violin has also been adapted as an instrument for classical form music like string quartet. The format of string quartet was made during the 18th century. The first violin played the main melody while the other three instruments served as accompaniments. String quartet still exists in modern times. It proved to be the most adaptable (The Story of Music Volume 9 12). The electric violin was adapted from the wooden violin. The violin was first developed in the Italy in the 16th century (Gammond 53). Electric violin popularly used by non-classical musicians during the modern period. The electric violin was popular to pop and rock musicians. Its body comes in different designs. It requires an amplifier to project the sound clearly and loudly. It also allows the volume to be manipulated (Uhl n.p.). Violin has been important in the development of music in Europe.
It made musicians of both classical and modern music enrich the history of music in Europe by being a timeless instrument. “[…] people have always regarded the word ‘classical’ as implying a model of excellence. […] it is a superior example of its kind, still praised, admired and suitable to be considered a model.” (Sadie and Latham, Brief Guide to Music 144) Violin’s general role in both classical music and modern European music is being a model of excellence as an instrument musically capable of producing excellent music. Though the violin of the modern times comes in different designs to suit contemporary music, it still embodies the European’s rich musical history of both classical and non-classical
music.