The Origins and History of the Violin

The violin took the best aspects of many instruments dating back to the ancient lyre. However, the violin is more closely derived fromm these instruments:

The Rabob The Rabob, northern Indian musical instrument of the lute family, played in classical dance orchestras and as a solo instrument with tabla (drums) and tamboura (drone-lute) from about 950. It is played either by plucking or by bowing. The rabob has a deep body with a skin belly, a broad neck with an unfretted metal fingerboard, four melody strings, and several sympathetically vibrating strings. The melody strings are tuned c'-f'-g'-c, beginning with middle "C"

The Rebec The rebec dates back to the Arabian and Oriental thirteenth centuries. It's family contains the soprano, alto and bass members. It has three strings tuned in fifths that are secured and tightened by pegs laterally inserted in a pegbox. It's body is shaped like half a pear. The playing position for a rebec is at the breast or neck, and it is held overhand and bowed. The rebec however, has no soundpost or frets.

The Renaissance Fiddle The renaissance fiddle has five strings, one of which may be a drone. These strings are tuned by front pegs in a heart- or leaf- shaped pegbox. It is registered as a soprano instrument. The renaissance fiddle's body is either an oval or an indented shape that is contructed of a top and back with connecting ribs. Unlike other instruments, the renaissance fiddle has frets.

The Lira di Braccio The lira di braccio was a species of fiddle from the fifteenth century.It has an arched top, overhanging sides, ribs, and a soundpost. The renaissance fiddle had seven strings, two of which were drones and ran off the fingerboard. These instruments occasionally had frets, and always had turning pegs set horizontally in a heart-shaped pegbox.

The violin is the most beautifull instrument because it took all the excellent qualities of other instruments and combined them. We do not know exactly when the violin was invented because there is no definite definition for the violin. Does it have four strings? Could it have two or three strings? No one knows the answer to these peculiar and riddle-some questions. Some theories say that it could have been invented around 1520 A.D. since that was when the first painting including a violin was made, the Madonna of the Orange Trees by Gaudenzio Ferrari.

The violin evolved from many different instruments, including the Rebob, Rebec, Lira di Braccio and the Renaissance Fiddle. The violin we use today, the "new violin" was not used until 1630 in Italy. It then moved from Italy to France, then spread across the world.

[Home] [What does a violin consist of?] [Origins and History] [Famous Violin Makers] [Construction] [Pictures]

The Rabob		The Rabob, northern Indian musical instrument of the lute family, played in classical dance orchestras and as a solo instrument with tabla (drums) and tamboura (drone-lute) from about 950. It is played either by plucking or by bowing. The rabob has a deep body with a skin belly, a broad neck with an unfretted metal fingerboard, four melody strings, and several sympathetically vibrating strings. The melody strings are tuned c'-f'-g'-c, beginning with middle "C"
The Rebec		The rebec dates back to the Arabian and Oriental thirteenth centuries. It's family contains the soprano, alto and bass members. It has three strings tuned in fifths that are secured and tightened by pegs laterally inserted in a pegbox. It's body is shaped like half a pear. The playing position for a rebec is at the breast or neck, and it is held overhand and bowed. The rebec however, has no soundpost or frets.
The Renaissance Fiddle		The renaissance fiddle has five strings, one of which may be a drone. These strings are tuned by front pegs in a heart- or leaf- shaped pegbox. It is registered as a soprano instrument. The renaissance fiddle's body is either an oval or an indented shape that is contructed of a top and back with connecting ribs. Unlike other instruments, the renaissance fiddle has frets.
The Lira di Braccio		The lira di braccio was a species of fiddle from the fifteenth century.It has an arched top, overhanging sides, ribs, and a soundpost. The renaissance fiddle had seven strings, two of which were drones and ran off the fingerboard. These instruments occasionally had frets, and always had turning pegs set horizontally in a heart-shaped pegbox.