Every day musical instruments enrich the lives of people around the world and continue to promote culture and art throughout every society and community, no matter what size or structure. Even those people of the world who live outside the realm of technology enjoy and use musical instruments to tell stories or entertain. Someone who has never played musical instruments but is interested in trying one has quite a selection to choose from
Playing the violin is a wonderful experience and relatively easy to learn if you take it step by step. Firstly however you need to understand the mechanics of the violin so you know where to put your fingers and why.
The main components of the violin are the front, also called the belly, top, or soundboard, usually made of well-seasoned spruce; the back, usually made of well-seasoned maple; and the ribs, neck, fingerboard, pegbox, scroll, bridge, tailpiece, and f-holes, or soundholes. The front, back, and ribs are joined together to form a hollow sound box. The sound box contains the sound post, a thin, dowel-like stick of wood wedged inside underneath the right side of the bridge and connecting the front and back of the violin; and the bass-bar, a long strip of wood glued to the inside of the front under the left side of the bridge. The sound post and bass-bar are important for the transmission of sound, and they also give additional support to the construction. The strings are fastened to the tailpiece, rest on the bridge, are suspended over the fingerboard, and run to the pegbox, where they are attached to tuning pegs that can be turned to change the pitch of the string.
A violinist makes different pitches by placing the left-hand fingers on the string and pressing against the fingerboard. The strings are set in vibration and produce sound when the player draws the bow across them at a right angle near the bridge.
Among the most decorated characteristics of the violin are its singing tone and its potential to play rapid, brilliant figurations as well as lyrical melodies. Violinists can easily create special effects by means of the following techniques: pizzicato, plucking the strings; tremolo, moving the bow rapidly back and forth on a string; sul ponticello, playing with the bow extremely close to the bridge to produce a thin, glassy sound; col legno, playing with the wooden part of the bow instead of with the hair; harmonics, placing the fingers of the left hand lightly on certain points of the string to obtain a light, flutelike sound; and glissando, steadily gliding the left-hand fingers up and down along the string to produce an upward- or downward-sliding pitch.
Among composers of major solo and chamber works for the violin are Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven in the baroque and classical eras; the Austrian Franz Schubert, the Germans Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann, and the Russian Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky in the romantic era; and the French Claude Debussy, the Austrian Arnold Schoenberg, the Hungarian Béla Bartók, and the Russian-born Igor Stravinsky in the 20th century.
You are certainly joining an elite group when you pick up a violin.
Looking for information about the violin? Go to: http://www.mrviolin.com
'Mr Violin' is published by Helen Baxter - The Complete A to Z Of Violin Resources! Check out more violin articles at: http://www.mrviolin.com/archive
Lately, I haven't been using my guitar pick all that... Read More
While composers had already begun to write music for the... Read More
President Harry S. Truman, the man in the White House... Read More
In the late 1940's, the 45-RPM record replaced the 78-RPM... Read More
It's really not your fault. You see, you've been taught... Read More
If you are outraged by the prices software giants demand... Read More
"My 6 year old daughter really loves the piano and... Read More
Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in... Read More
Back in the 90's we had a local Southern Gospel... Read More
If you're a recent vintage guitar collector, the stories you've... Read More
Congratulations, you just bought you first guitar! Now that you've... Read More
Did you know that the health and beauty of your... Read More
There are basically two ways you can compose a piece... Read More
This article gives the essential basics for how to play... Read More
"The real communicating artists seek unique expression. They are not... Read More
The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way... Read More
You've got your recording (or songwriting) contract in hand and... Read More
When I first started playing the piano I wanted to... Read More
The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in... Read More
Celebrities now such as Outkast, a fashion wear can be... Read More
Technically, it's illegal to remove DRM from WMA protected music.... Read More
For most of us, making any major purchase, such as... Read More
Guitar amplifiers are a major part of your tone. Some... Read More
IntroductionThe fact that you are holding this in your hands... Read More
Should you copyright your song? If you're a songwriter, sooner... Read More
The idea of actually creating a complete piece of music... Read More
I have always had a big problem with my addiction... Read More
The Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky once said: " A good... Read More
Did you ever wish that it was your song playing... Read More
If you're a digital music fan, you probably have problems... Read More
The new competition package available for the BMW M3 is... Read More
Michael Jackson was born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29,... Read More
Different styles of music have different "sounds." We can all... Read More
Music is the art of arranging sounds in periodic time... Read More
Not since the heyday of Dance/Pop Artists like Taylor Dayne... Read More
It has become increasingly popular for U.S. military veterans and... Read More
The Rickenbacker 4003 electric bass guitar is one of the... Read More
The idea originated with singer Jon Bon Jovi. Jon kept... Read More
Do you ramble on endlessly with your improvisations? If so,... Read More
Chopin used them extensively. So did Beethoven and Mozart. Arpeggios... Read More
We all want to be in the moment. That's where... Read More
Most of us like to use what we learn right... Read More
IntroductionThe fact that you are holding this in your hands... Read More
Learning piano chords can help you in all your piano... Read More
As a vocal coach, I hear it all the time.... Read More
So you want to be more creative when playing piano.... Read More
Yowza! Did you hear that hideous noise? It sounded like... Read More
Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in... Read More
Have you ever dreamed of penning your own compositions? Writing... Read More
John Lennon wasn't always my favorite Beatle; at first it... Read More
We all know that music can be inspiring, entertaining, and... Read More
Music licensing can be a very confusing subject. My... Read More
It sounds like a side show, doesn't it? It does... Read More
Changing your guitar strings might make you feel a litte... Read More
As a full-time guitar instructor, I am constantly faced with... Read More
Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a... Read More
Gibson guitars have been around forever. It's funny, but although... Read More
You know your songs are great (and so does your... Read More
"Turn it down!"How often have you heard that command in... Read More
We don't simply wear a theatrical costume; we wear the... Read More
The guitar is considered the friendliest musical instrument there is.... Read More
My friend, guitarist Brian Hughes, toured with the Chieftain's in... Read More
The idea that studying music improves the social development of... Read More
The Suzuki violin method has come to dominate the way... Read More
Let's face it. The world will not end if there... Read More
Many students ask me a question that goes something like... Read More
Music & MP3 |