A standard modern violin shown from the front and the side |
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| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 321.322-71 (Composite chordophone sounded by a bow) |
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| Developed | Early 16th century | |||||||||||
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The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin.[1] It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music. Fiddle playing, or fiddling, refers to various styles of music.
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The medieval fiddle emerged in 10th-century Europe, deriving from the Byzantine lira (Greek:λύρα, Latin:lira, English:lyre), a bowed string instrument of the Byzantine Empire and ancestor of most European bowed instruments.[2][3] The first recorded reference to the bowed lira was in the 9th century by the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911); in his lexicographical discussion of instruments he cited the lira (lūrā) as a typical instrument of the Byzantines and equivalent to the rabāb played in the Islamic Empires.[4] Lira spread widely westward to Europe; in the 11th and 12th centuries European writers use the terms fiddle and lira interchangeably when referring to bowed instruments (Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009).
Over the centuries, Europe continued to have two distinct types of fiddles: one, relatively square-shaped, held in the arms, became known as the lira da braccio (arm viol) family and evolved into the violin; the other, with sloping shoulders and held between the knees, was the lira da gamba (leg viol) group. During the Renaissance the gambas were important and elegant instruments; they eventually lost ground to the louder (and originally less aristocratic) lira da braccio family.[5]
Fiddle, when used as a noun signifying an instrument, can have a more generalized meaning than violin. For example Chicken Fiddle, refers to a viola used as a fiddle, while a Turkey Fiddle, refers to the cello.
It can refer to a larger instrument of the viol family: * the double bass ("bull fiddle" or "bass fiddle")
Fiddle may also be used (loosely) to refer to any stringed instrument played with a bow. Examples of this usage are:
The etymology of fiddle is uncertain: the Germanic fiddle may derive from the same early Romance word as does violin, or it may be natively Germanic.[6] The name seems however to be related to Icelandic Fiðla. A native Germanic ancestor of fiddle may even be the ancestor of the early Romance form of violin.[7] Historically, fiddle also referred to a predecessor of today's violin. Like the violin, it tended to have four strings, but came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Another family of instruments which contributed to the development of the modern fiddle are the viols, which are held between the legs and played vertically, and have fretted fingerboards.
Common distinctions between violins and fiddles reflect the differences in the instruments used to play classical and folk music. However, it is not uncommon for classically trained violinists to play folk music, and today many fiddle players have some classical training. A lot of traditional (folk) styles are aural traditions, so are taught 'by ear' rather than with written music.
In construction, fiddles and violins are essentially identical (with the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle excepted as a special case). The medieval fiddle had rear tuning pegs set in a flat headstock similarly to the Byzantine lyra and unlike the rabāb and rebec.
Some (folk) fiddle traditions fit the instrument with a flatter bridge than classical violinists use. The difference between "round" and "flat" is not more than about a quarter or half a millimeter variation in the height of one or two strings, but is sufficient to reduce the range of right-arm motion required for the rapid string-crossings found in some styles, and those who use flatter bridges say it makes playing double stops and shuffles (long short-short long short-short rhythms) easier. It can also make triple stops possible, allowing one to play chords. In old-time music, for example, the top of the bridge is sometimes cut so that it is very slightly flattened; the Hardanger fiddle uses an even flatter bridge, and the bridge of the kontra or bracsa (a three-string viola used in Hungarian and Transylvanian folk music) is flat enough that all three strings can easily be played simultaneously.
Most classical violinists prefer a more rounded curve to the top of the bridge, feeling that this allows them to articulate each note more easily and clearly. Many fiddle players use the same top curve as well; most fiddles are fitted with a standard classical bridge, regardless of the style of music played on the instrument. Since the bridge may be changed, it does not permanently define an instrument as fiddle or violin.
Since some genres of fiddling favor different tone than what most violinists might prefer, soundpost position and tension will vary according to the use of the instrument.
Fiddle is more likely to be used than violin if the instrument's strings are steel rather than gut or synthetic, as the sound of steel strings better suits some fiddling styles. Tuning steel strings is easier with fine tuners (small screw mechanisms attached or built into the tailpiece) so fiddlers may favor instruments with fine tuners on all four strings; it is very uncommon to see four fine tuners on full-size instruments played by classical musicians. Strings are subject to regular replacement, fine tuners may be added or removed, and tailpieces may be changed, so, like flattened bridges, they do not make an irreversible difference.
In performance, a solo fiddler, or one fiddler or two with a group of other instrumentalists, is the norm, though twin fiddling is represented in some North American, Scandinavian, Scottish and Irish styles. Violins, on the other hand, are commonly grouped in sections. These contrasting traditions may be vestiges of historical performance settings: large concert halls in which violins were played required more instruments, before electronic amplification, than did more intimate dance halls and houses fiddles were played in. The difference was likely compounded by the different sounds expected of violin music and fiddle music. Historically, the majority of fiddle music was dance music, while violin music had either grown out of dance music or was something else entirely. Violin music came to value a smoothness which fiddling, with its dance-driven clear beat, did not always follow - in situations that required greater volume, a fiddler (as long as they kept the beat) could push their instrument harder than could a violinist. (Different fiddle traditions had different values, as detailed below; these explanations are meant to present the differences between fiddle music and violin music generally.)
Following the folk revivals of the second half of the 20th century, however, it has become common for less formal situations to find large groups of fiddlers playing together—see for example the Calgary Fiddlers, and Swedish Spelmanslag folk-musician clubs, and the worldwide[8] phenomenon of Irish sessions.
In the very late 20th century, a few artists have successfully attempted a reconstruction of the Scottish tradition of violin and "big fiddle," or cello. Notable recorded examples include Iain Fraser and Christine Hanson, Amelia Kaminski and Christine Hanson's Bonnie Lasses[9] and Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas' Fire and Grace.[10]
Most fiddling styles that use the standard violin also use the standard violin bow, the same as classical players; the bow stick may be usually made from wood, but bows made from fiberglass and other materials are becoming more common, as they are much cheaper and less fragile. However, there are a few styles which use other bows. One notable example is the folk music from Hungary and Transylvania used in the táncház tradition. While the violinist uses a standard bow, both the kontra and bass are played with heavy and crude "folk bows", consisting of a stout stick, usually hand-hewn, with the hank of horsehair attached at the tip and tied around the frog. Some players tension the hair by squeezing it when playing.
Scottish fiddlers emulating 18th century playing styles sometimes use a replica of the type of bow used in that period, which is a few inches shorter, and weighs significantly more.
To a greater extent than classical violin playing, fiddle playing is characterized by a huge variety of ethnic or folk music traditions, each of which has its own distinctive sound, including, but not limited to:
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