Are you a music lover and want to know, what is the difference between a fiddle and a violin? For what purpose fiddle and violin are used? If yes, then you are in the right place.
In this article, you will find a brief description of these musical devices. A violin is used to produce classical and jazz tunes. Due to this, it is considered the best choice for classical music. O
n the other hand, a fiddle is used to produce Folk, Cajun, bluegrass, jigs, and various other tunes. Differing from violin fiddle is the best choice for folk music.
Both instruments are apparently the same in shape, this identical trait makes them hard to identify. But still, some minor differences make them unique according to their musical class.
Below is a complete detail that helps you in differentiating both.
Table of Contents
How to Build a Violin Step by Step
When you are in love with a violin, you will think about purchasing it. But do you know that you can make your violin? I know the next question is how to build a violin?
So don’t worry here is the complete guide for making a violin. Following are the steps and some instructions which you have to keep in your mind:
Required Things
1- Wood
- 30 mm spruce
- 30 mm maple
- Wood glue
- 400 mm by 100 mm ebony
2- Tools
- Drill
- Saw
- Iron
- Hammer
- Chisels and gouges
3- Violin parts
- Strings
- Tuner pegs
- Bridge post
- End post
- Template
Steps
01. Selection of Wood
The first step is the selection of wood for the construction of your violin. Usually, Maple and Spruce wood are used for violins. But while choosing your favorite one, keep in mind that wood should be of high quality.
The wood used for making the violins should be at least five years old. The best quality violins are made of twenty years old wood.
02. Quality of Wood
The wood should be perfectly dried. Because the more the wood would be dry the more the violin will be of good quality. Normally dampness should be two to three percent.
The Maple wood is used in building the neck, ribs, and back of the violin. Since these parts of a violin should be strong so Maple wood is the best option.
For producing high-quality vibrations, you need some softer wood. So the preferred wood for this is spruce. It is used in the construction of the belly and top of the violin.
03. Selection of Mold
Now select your favorite mold for violin. Cut the wood in the shape of your mold with help of a coping saw. In this way cut the four halves of your violin.
04. Making the Wood Smooth
The next step is to cut all the negatives from the wood and make it smooth. While dealing with Maple wood, use a hammer to hold it down because it is strong wood and cannot be easily cut.
For spruce, don’t use the hammer because it is quite soft and can damage with extra stress.
05. Neck and Scroll of Violin
Now it is time to make the neck and scroll of the violin. For making the neck, cut three pieces of Maple wood. The length of them should be 25cm by 6cm.
Then use a template to draw an outline and cut it by using the coping saw. After that mark 16mm on top and then mark 10mm on the right side of it.
Then by cutting it in a circular shape using the drill will change it into the neck of the violin. Now use another template to cut the scroll. Cut it in such a way that creates a concave surface and makes a perfect scroll.
06. Pegbox
The Next step is to make a pegbox. Use the drill to make it perfect. For a perfect violin, the pegbox should be very good because it is important for tuning the violin.
07. Fingerboard
Now the next step is to make a fingerboard for the violin. For this, take the ebony and mark a middle point with its help. After that, there should be a 22 mm mark on both sides of the mark.
Draw a rough outline on the wood with help of ebony. After this, use the gouges to create a bottom trough. The cut it properly and try to make this a little bit thinner.
08. Gluing
After making all the ribs, neck, top, and bottom, glue them together with wood glue. Glue the ribs with the bottom and then glue the top on both of these.
After this watch out completely your work and find any deformation in the shape during this process. Wait for the glue to dry completely before starting the next step.
09. Holes
The next step is the making of holes on the bottom of the violin which is called f-hole. Make these holes with help of an X-ACTO knife.
10. Assembling
Now the next step is the assembling of all these parts together. For this, you should first measure the end post and then make a hole in the middle with the help of a drill.
Then you have to measure the peg and drill the same size hole at the place where it is marked. Now assemble the tailpiece. After that push the pegs into the holes and drill small holes in the middle of the pegs.
Then for the sound, you have to put a 5mm dowel and edge between the upper and lower part.
11. Strings
The next step is to introduce strings in it. It is an important step. The order of the string is small to big from right to the left-hand side.
After that, put the tailpiece between the strings and the fingerboard. Now use a violin tuner to turn the pegs.
What is the Difference Between a Fiddle and a Violin
- Both fiddle and a violin are the same but they are usually played in different ways. There is a little bit of difference between their setups too. Following are some differences:
- Violins are made up of wood and contain four strings but fiddles sometimes have one extra string.
- Fiddles usually have steel core strings while violins have a synthetic core. The strings of a violin can be moved by using horsehair or cat fur to produce good quality music.
- Violin is a classical type instrument which means it can be played on some specific tunes but fiddlers have the freedom to create much more diverse music like folks by fiddles.
- Specific tuners are present to tune both violins and fiddles according to their frequency.
How Much Does a Good Violin Cost
The price of a violin depends upon the quality of the violin. The price of violins ranges from one thousand dollars to many thousand dollars. Normally the price of a good violin ranges from $3,000-$6,000.
Usually, it is suggested that take your first violin at a rent and then buy your own if you want to buy it. Because in this way you can become familiar with the quality of violins that will help you to buy your one of better quality.
How Long Does it Take to Learn a Violin
Learning of anything depends on the time which you consume for its learning. As all of you know that learning musical instruments is not an easy job at all so is the case with violin learning.
If you just want to learn violin for having fun with friends then it will take you 3-5 years to learn with average practice. But if you want to become a professional violinist then patience and hard work are required.
For mastering it you have to be a fully dedicated and focused person. According to research, if you want to learn a new language then first you have to face difficulties while you are learning the basics of it but when you get used to it, it becomes easier to understand.
The same is the case with violin learning. It is a musical language. You have to learn all the basic things to become a master of it.
If you spend one hour daily on the practice then it will be easier for you to master it in 4-5 years. Following are steps that are usually followed in violin learning:
Buy a good quality violin along with its tuner which will help you to learn, how the different pitches sound? It is important in violin learning. Without tuning the violin will cause trouble.
In the first months of learning, all your focus should be on holding the violin. This includes learning all the postures and plucking techniques.
For the next few months, you should need to learn half notes and rests. During these months you will feel comfortable with your violin and it will make learning easier for you.
After learning about notes you would be able to play music for simple songs of your choice with your violin. It is quite exciting and will motivate you to learn.
In the next few months, the range of songs for that you can play music will become wider. Because it will make you familiar with many notes.
So in this way, after continuous learning and practicing you will become a professional in violin and you will feel yourself a violin master.
How to Identify a Violin Without a Label
It is usual practice that when you buy any instrument you use to check the label to identify the manufacturing date and the company who made it. But what will you do when there is no label present there?
Then your experience will be needed to identify the quality of the instrument. The same is the case with a violin. There is almost always a label present on a new violin and you can identify some basics by that like company name and when it is made and what is special about it.
But if you buy an old one then what is the way to identify the violin without a label? Here the required thing is your experience with violins. You can feel the quality of the violin just by a little bit playing with it and by its look.
But if you are a beginner and you want to buy a Stradivarius violin for learning then how can you identify it without a label and any experience. Following are the steps to help you:
Scroll
Identify the quality of wood used in the making of the violin. It will lead you to identify the quality of violin easily. Then you need to look at the top of the violin. Look the eye of the violin carefully it should be perfectly circular.
The next step is to carefully identify the chamfer. Chamfering is involved in the finishing edges of the violin. For best violins, these should be spiral.
Now check the thickness of the pegbox. It is a structure that is usually present in stringed instruments where strings are attached to the tuning pegs.
For Stradivarius violins, the pegbox should be thin because a thin peg box creates a beautiful and sweet sound. For melodious music, the volute of a violin is very important. Observe it, it should be large.
The turns of the violin should be tapered like flower pots. Check the neck and ribs of the violin. The holes present near the pegbox are also important to check for a good quality violin.
Varnish
Checking the varnish of the violin is very much important to identify its quality. It may be oil-based or sprit based. You have to check it carefully while buying a violin.
Varnish should be on the top and in the wood of the violin. Check the thickness and color of the varnish. Also, check the gummy nature of the violin.
The old violins usually lost their varnish and also their parts can be glued off. So be careful while observing it. Look at the softness of the varnish. For good violins, the softness of varnish is very much important.
All the above steps are important in identifying the quality of a violin when there is no label present on the violin.
How to Tune a Violin
Now the next step is the tuning of the violin. Why the tuning of a violin is important and how to tune a violin? These are the questions that can arise in your mind.
To get the desired musical sound, the tuning of a violin is important. It will allow you to identify the pitch of the instrument and you can identify how high are low the pitch can be sound?
It is better to learn the tuning of your violin by yourself because in this way you can tune it for your desired frequency.
Following are the Steps to Follow for Tuning the Violin
First of all, you need to identify the ideal pitch with which you want to match your violin’s pitch. It is usually A 440, which means it should vibrate 440 times per second.
It is also called the frequency of the violin. In a properly tuned violin, A string is present above the middle of C. Now identify the four strings of the violin.
These are concerts G, D, A, and E. The lowest string is concert G, the next one is D, then A, and then E. Now use the pegs and fine tuners for tuning the violin.
Figure out the highest or lowest sound by using your ear.
Tuning by Fine Tuners
If the pitch of your violin is very low which means it is very flat then you can improve it by tightening the strings accordingly. But if the pitch is very loud then by loosening the strings, you can fix it.
For loosening or tightening the strings, use the fine tuners. For tightening the string, use the tuner in the clockwise direction and for loosening the strings, use it in the anti-clockwise direction.
Tuning by Pegs
The same process of tuning can also be done by pegs of the violin. By turning the pegs forward or backward, the pitch of the violin can be changed.
To achieve the higher pitch, turn the pegs of the violin forward, it will tighten the strings. Similarly for getting a lower pitch, you need to loosen the strings which can be done by turning the pegs backward.
Note: Remember that you have to turn the pegs very little to achieve the highest accuracy.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, now it is clear to you that what is the difference between a fiddle and a violin? All the procedures while buying a violin are also discussed above.
As the price of a good violin is quite high but you can make your own by following the steps discussed above. Try to tune your violin daily for a better experience and keep watching the tightness of the pegs.
Always clean your violin with the help of a clean cloth, it will help to sustain the violin for a longer time. Avoid the use of alcoholic resins to clean the violin’s strings.
Make sure to place your violin in a dry place. Always lose the bows when you are not using the violin. These are instructions that you can follow to make your violin safe.
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