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Violin Introductory Page |
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I sometimes receive enquiries about violins, as they
are tuned the same as mandolins (GDAE), and occasionally buy old violins
with old mandolins. So the time has come to put a couple of pages
together about violins.
The violin was officially designed by Andrea Amati, an Italian lute maker. Amati was asked to build the violin as a lighter alternative to the lyre, in the 1500s. It was a stringed instrument, comprising four strings tuned a fifth apart. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola, cello and double bass. The lowest string (and hence the lowest note) is the G just below middle C, then in ascending order D, A and E. |
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The violin family today encompasses 4 instruments, though in days
past the number was around 8:
Violin: tuned GDAE exists in different sizes 4/4 (35cms), 3/4 (3cms), and 1/2 (30cms)* Other smaller sized are possible but very rare. Viola: tuned CGDA again differing in size, between 2-10cms longer than violin bodies. Cello: CGDA an octave below a viola Bass: EADG one octave lower than the lowest 4 strings of the guitar. *Body length |
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| History | Gallery | Tuning | Anatomy | ||
| 19th Century French violin 'La Duchesse d'Angouleme', for sale...... | |||||
