What is a violin? The structure and functions of the violin

The violin is a tool that has had a tremendous impact on music. It was widely used in classical works, where its flowing gentle sound came in handy. Folk art also noticed this beautiful instrument, although it appeared not so long ago, but managed to take its place in ethnic music. The violin is compared with the human voice, as its sound is fluid and varied. Its shape resembles a female silhouette, which makes this tool alive and animated. Today, not everyone can imagine what a violin is. Let's correct this annoying situation.

History of the appearance of the violin

The appearance of the violin is due to many ethnic instruments, each of which has had its influence on it. Among them, one can distinguish the British krott, the Armenian bambir and the Arab rebab. The construction of the violin is by no means new, many Eastern peoples have used such instruments for centuries, performing folk music on them to this day. The viola acquired its present form in the 16th century, when its production was put on stream, great masters who created unique tools began to appear. Especially a lot of such craftsmen were in Italy, where the traditions of creating violins are still alive.

Since the XVII century, playing the violin began to acquire a modern form. It was then that there were compositions that are usually considered the first works written specifically for this gentle instrument. This is Romanesca per violino solo e basso, created by Biagio Marini and Capriccio stravagante, written by Carlo Farina. In the following years the masters of the violin began to appear as mushrooms after the rain. Especially in this respect, Italy distinguished itself, which gave birth to the greatest number of great violinists.

How the violin is arranged

The soft and deep sounding of the violin was due to its unique design. It can be divided into 3 main parts - the head, neck and body. The totality of these details allows the instrument to publish those fascinating sounds that have brought it worldwide fame. The biggest part of the violin is the body, on which all the other details are attached. It consists of two decks, connected by shells. Manufacture decks from different types of wood to achieve the most pure and beautiful sound. The top part is usually made of spruce, and for the lower part you use maple, yavor or poplar.

While playing the violin, the upper deck resonates with the rest of the instrument, creating a sound. In order for it to be alive and ringing, it is made as thin as possible. On expensive master violins the thickness of the top deck can be only a couple of millimeters. The lower deck is usually thicker and stronger than the top, and the tree from which it is made is selected so that it fits the shells connecting both decks together.

Shells and darling

Shells are the sides of a violin between the top and bottom decks. They are made of the same material as the lower deck. Moreover, often these parts use wood from the same tree, carefully selected by texture and pattern. This design holds not only on glue, but also on small pads, increasing its strength. They are called clowns and are inside the hull. Also inside is the bass beam, which transmits vibrations to the body and adds extra rigidity to the upper deck.

On the body of the violin there are two cutouts in the form of the Latin letter f, which are called efami. Not far from the right cutout is one of the most important parts of the instrument - the darling. This is a small wooden beam, serving as a spacer between the top and bottom decks and transmitting vibration. The soul got its name from the word "soul", which hints at the importance of this little detail. Masters noticed that the position, size and material of the dush seriously affect the sound of the instrument. Therefore, only an experienced violin maker can properly locate this small, but important part of the case.

String holder

The story about the violin and its construction will be incomplete, if you do not mention such an important element as a string holder, or a subgraph. It used to be carved out of wood, but today plastic is increasingly used for these purposes. It is the string holder that fixes the strings at the correct height. Also on it sometimes are machines that make setting up the instrument much easier. Before their appearance, the violin was tuned exclusively by pins, with which it is very difficult to fine-tune.

Holds the sub-tag on the button inserted into the hole on the body from the side opposite the neck. This design is constantly experiencing a serious load, so that the hole should ideally approach the button. Otherwise, the shell may crack, turning the violin into a useless piece of wood.

Griffin

On the front part of the case is attached the neck of the violin, under which is the hand of the musician during the game. The neck is fastened to the neck - a round surface of solid wood or plastic, to which the strings are pressed. Its form is thought out so that the strings do not interfere with each other when playing. In this case, it helps the stand, lifting the strings over the neck. On the stand are made slits for the strings, which you can do yourself, to your taste, as new stands are sold without slits.

Also, the striae for the strings are present on the upper flange. It is at the very end of the neck and separates the strings from each other before they enter the tin box. It contains pegs, which serve as the main instrument for tuning the violin. They are simply inserted into wooden holes and are not fixed. Thanks to this the musician can adjust the stroke of the pins to suit his needs. You can make them stiff and unyielding, lightly pressing during the adjustment. Or, on the contrary, to take out the pegs, so that they move more easily, but keep the system worse.

Strings

What is a violin without strings? A beautiful, but useless piece of wood, which is only suitable for hammering nails. Strings are a very important part of the instrument, because their sound largely depends on them. Particularly important is the role of the material from which this small but significant part of the violin is made. Like everything else in our world, the strings develop and absorb the best gifts of the technogenic era. However, their original material is difficult to call high-tech.

Strangely enough, but sheep's guts are what the ancient musical violin owes its tender sound. They were dried, processed and tightly twisted to subsequently receive a string. Masters managed to keep secret for a long time the material used in the production of strings. Products made from sheep's guts gave a very soft sound, but quickly worn out and required frequent adjustments. Today you can also find similar strings, but modern materials are much more popular.

Modern strings

Today, sheep intestines are at the disposal of their owners, since vein strings are rarely used. They were replaced by high-tech metal and synthetic products. Synthetic strings sound close to their veined predecessors. They also have a fairly mild and warm sound, but they do not have the drawbacks that their natural "colleagues" have.

Another type of string - steel, which are made from all kinds of non-ferrous and precious metals, but most often from their alloys. They sound bright and sonorous, but they lose in softness and depth. Such strings are suitable for many classical works, in which purity and brightness of sound is required. They also keep the system long and are durable enough.

Violin. Long way

For many years of its existence the violin has become popular on the whole planet. Especially glorified this wonderful instrument is classical music. The violin can brighten any work, many composers gave it the leading role in their masterpieces. Everyone knows the immortal works of Mozart or Vivaldi, in which much attention was paid to this elegant instrument. But over time the violin became a relic of the past, the lot of a narrow circle of connoisseurs or musicians. The electronic sound replaced this instrument from popular music. Smooth flowing sounds left, giving way to a vigorous and primitive bat.

Fresh notes for the violin were usually written only to accompany the films, new songs for this instrument appeared only in folklore performers, but their sound was rather monotonous. Fortunately, in recent years there have been many bands performing modern music with violin. The audience was tired of the monotonous love-like howls of another pop star, opening her heart for deep instrumental music.

Violin fox

A funny story put the violin in the song of a famous musician - Igor Sarukhanov. One day he wrote a song he planned to call "The Scrape of the Wheel." However, the work turned out to be very imaginative and vague. Therefore, the author decided to call it consonant with words, which should emphasize the atmosphere of the song. Till now on the Internet fierce battles concerning the name of this composition are conducted. But what does the author of the song, Igor Sarukhanov, say about this? The violin-fox is the real name of the song, as the musician asserts. Irony is an interesting idea, built on the game of words, only the resourceful performer knows.

Should I learn to play the violin?

I'm sure many people want to master this wonderful tool, but they throw this idea, and not start to implement it. For some reason, it is believed that learning to play the violin is a very difficult process. After all, it does not have frets, and even this bow, which should be a continuation of the hand. Of course, it's easier to start learning music from a guitar or piano, but mastering the art of playing the violin is more difficult at first. But then, when the basic skills are firmly mastered, the learning process becomes about the same as on any other instrument. The violin develops a good ear, because it does not have frets. This will be a good help in further studies in music.

If you already know what a violin is, and you have decided to master this instrument, it is important to know that they are of different sizes. For children, small models are chosen - 3/4 or 2/4. An adult needs a standard violin - 4/4. Naturally, you need to start classes under the supervision of an experienced mentor, since it's very hard to learn independently. For those who wish to try their luck in the independent development of this tool, many textbooks have been created for every taste.

A unique musical instrument

Today you learned what a violin is. It turns out that it is not an archaic remnant of the past, on which it is possible to perform only classics. Violinists are becoming more and more, many groups began to use this tool in their work. The violin is found in many literary works, especially children's books. For example, "Fenina violin" Kuznetsova, loved by many children and even their parents. A good violinist can play in any musical genre, from heavy metal to pop. It can be safely said that the violin will exist as long as there is music.