The
violin is a
string instrument, usually with four
strings tuned in
perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the
violin family of string instruments, which includes the
viola and
cello.
The violin is sometimes informally called a
fiddle, regardless of the type of music played on it. The word
violin comes from the
Middle Latin word
vitula, meaning
stringed instrument;
[1] this word is also believed to be the source of the
Germanic "fiddle".
[2] The violin, while it has ancient origins, acquired most of its modern characteristics in 16th-century
Italy, with some further modifications occurring in the 18th century. Violinists and collectors particularly prize the instruments made by the
Gasparo da Salò,
Giovanni Paolo Maggini,
Stradivari,
Guarneri and
Amati families from the 16th to the 18th century in
Brescia and
Cremona and by
Jacob Stainer in
Austria. Great numbers of instruments have come from the hands of "lesser" makers, as well as still greater numbers of mass-produced commercial "trade violins" coming from cottage industries in places such as
Saxony,
Bohemia, and
Mirecourt. Many of these trade instruments were formerly sold by
Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other mass merchandisers.
A person who makes or repairs violins is called a
luthier, or simply a violin maker. The parts of a violin are usually made from different types of
wood (although electric violins may not be made of wood at all, since their sound may not be dependent on specific
acoustic characteristics of the instrument's construction), and it is usually strung with
gut,
nylon or other synthetic, or steel strings.
Someone who plays the violin is called a violinist or a fiddler. The violinist produces sound by drawing a
bow across one or more strings (which may be stopped by the fingers of the other hand to produce a full range of pitches), by plucking the strings (with either hand), or by a
variety of other techniques. The violin is played by musicians in a wide variety of musical genres, including
Baroque music,
classical,
jazz,
folk music, and
rock and roll. The violin has come to be played in many non-western music cultures all over the world.