Baroque Violin Shop Cincinnati Oh (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a violin and a baroque violin? ›

The physical differences between modern and baroque violins mean that the baroque violin is softer. The fact that the neck is angled back on the modern instrument means that the tension of the strings can be much higher without breaking the neck.

Baroque violin playing has a gentler tone with hardly any vibrato. The complex nuances of bowing give it a sort of swelling-fading sound. It's very free-flowing and expressive. Some new technology improves old technology.

Influential Baroque violinist Francesco Geminiani recommended that the vibrato be applied continuously, even on short notes.

Modern bow design and musical demands have encouraged power and continuity of sound, while the tapering of the Baroque bow favours the release of sound, its lightness and lower balance point assisting phrasing off with air between the strokes, as well as articulations which maintain a thread of sound between notes, ...

The violin is also widely regarded as one of the most difficult instruments to learn. One of the reasons behind this is that there are no guides on the violin for finger placement.

Learning violin and piano can both become great challenges but will produce amazing talent if committed to. Yet violin is undoubtedly more challenging at the start of your musical journey. Although both instruments will prove to have big demands, it is undeniably worth the lifelong musical talent and knowledge.

Instrumentation: Many historical instruments, such as Baroque violins, violas, viols, and cellos, are designed to be played at A415 tuning. These instruments often have different construction and materials compared to their modern counterparts and produce a warmer, richer sound when tuned to A415.

Baroque violins, for example, were physically larger yet projected a lesser sound than the more modern versions that followed them, owing largely to the construction of the instruments: the neck of Baroque violins were set at a more shallow angle relative to the body, which put less pressure on the bridge from the ...

The strings are usually tuned to: G3 - D4 - A4 - E5 (interval pattern of P5 - P5 - P5), however some works require the player to tune certain strings to other pitches (such tunings are called scordatura). The practical range of the instrument is G3 to E7, a little under four octaves.

Vibrato is the subtle and controlled pitch fluctuation that enhances the richness and expressiveness of a note on the violin. Because it isn't a skill you can master overnight, many violinists consider it elusive and challenging. It certainly requires patience, practice, and proper technique.

Does anyone sing while playing violin? ›

In the last 20 years or so it has become increasingly common, particularly on the English folk scene, to see singers accompanying themselves on the fiddle, so I thought it would be interesting to look into the history of this practice, see in which other musical cultures it happens, and examine some of the practical ...

The most difficult bow for novice archers to use would likely be the Compound Bow.

In summary, the quality of your violin bow does matter. A good bow enhances your technique, makes playing more comfortable, and most importantly, contributes to the richness and variety of sound that you can produce. Regardless of your playing level, investing in a quality bow is investing in your musical future.

Baroque violins, for example, were physically larger yet projected a lesser sound than the more modern versions that followed them, owing largely to the construction of the instruments: the neck of Baroque violins were set at a more shallow angle relative to the body, which put less pressure on the bridge from the ...

The energetic playing should come from “more bow speed, less pressure/weight.” In most baroque music with a succession of eighth notes, suggest they play stepwise motion as legato (not adding slurs, but rather smooth-but-alternating down/up bow strokes, unless slurs are printed in that passage).

Baroque violin tuning

Apart from classical violin, if you ever decided to play the baroque violin, you would tune it to A-415 Hz. The baroque pitch used during the Baroque period in the 17th century sounds almost like a “G” sharp in standard A-440 tuning.

In the Baroque period, these instruments were smaller and did not come with additional devices such as chin rests, endpins, or shoulder rests. Strings were made of animal gut, not metal, and bows were convex, rather than concave.