Violin History Essay

Stringed instruments such as the violin and its accompanying variations have been used in music for thousands of years. The first officially recorded use of the violin was during medieval European times. The earliest form of the violin was referred to as a Fiddle and the person playing it was termed as a Fiddler. During the 15th century though, the violins began taking on a new shape and began to carve its own history in music. The evolution of the violin continued into the 16th century when it developed what was to become its final look and shape.It is this artistic representation of a violin that we still recognize and use in our present time. An Italian from Cremona named Andrea Amati, is recognized as the founder of the most famous violin making school. The violin making school is not a structure per se but more of a school
The most famous of these violin making families are the Amati, Guarneri, Antonio Stradivari, Rugerri, and Bergonzi.In the music world, the finest musicians openly acknowledge the Stradivari and Guarneri violins to be the best violins ever made over the past 150 years. The Violin is a member of the string instrument family and is capable of producing a 3 octave sound range when played by skilled musicians. The sound a violin creates depends on a number of factors, the most important of which are the type of wood used to produce the body of the instrument and the type of metal strings used..It is usually 14 inches in length and uses metal strings tightened to various degrees on tuning pegs, to produce its exceptional sound quality. A typical violin is composed of the following parts: Chin rest, F-hole, strings, tuning pegs, scroll, tailpiece, fine tuners, bridge, belly, fingerboard, neck, and back plate. The sound is produced by the instrumentalists skimming a bow over the metal