Bowed Stringed Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Guide
Material They Are Made Of
Precious woods are the basic raw material for the construction of bowed stringed instruments. Different woods are used depending on the part of the instrument. For example, pine or fir is used for the body, while ebony is used for the fingerboard. The sound quality is achieved thanks to a good raw material.
The strings are usually made of metal or gut.
With Rub Where the Strings? Name and Material
Bowed string instruments are part of the cordophone family. Their sound is generated thanks to the vibration produced by the strings being bowed with a bow.
The bow consists of a rod with a tip and heel. At the ends are attached between 150 and 250 horse manes (cerdas), which are stretched through a screw graduation.
Types of Bowed Stringed Instruments
The Violin
The violin is a bowed string instrument, the most acute of its family.
The violin is an instrument of ancient origin: the prehistoric ancestors of the violin were plant fibers that, when pinched, made sounds with vibrations.
The Egyptians explained that their former King Tooth, after a flooding of the Nile River, found the shell on the shore of a dead turtle that contained only the tendons and nerves; by naturally pinching those cords, the king caused a sound which was expanded by the shell of the tortoise. The ancient Greeks argued, however, that Mercury was the god of wit, who emptied the shell of a turtle, applied two horns and goat strings among some cane stalks. So the god Apollo, patron of music and poetry, listening to the vibrations of the strings in his bow of silver, thought the perfect instrument devised by Mercury. The Asian countries sought since antiquity to harness the vibrations of bowed strings between two hollow pumpkins that amplified the sound.
The Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument, played the role of the alto vocal quartet.
It appeared in the fourteenth and fifteenth century as the inheritor of the vielha, a violin-like instrument but with strings that vibrate through a keyboard, replaced by a polished rope il’arc. The appearance of this instrument marked a huge trend for stringed instruments.
The viola had three or four variants corresponding to the extension and human voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass). The viola did not escape this habit and therefore we know the viola Quinton (most acute soprano), spalla viola (viola shoulder), viola da braccio (arm viola), which is what most resembles the current viola, and viola da gamba (viola leg) of similar tessitura and playing mode to the cello.
The viola added strings and frets among others that amplified the sonority of the instrument and also gave it a special buzz and metallic sound common to the lower strings.
The viola came to help the voices and especially the serious ones for the tessitura.
The Cello
The cello is a stringed instrument. It has four strings and plays the Do Re Sol Arquet made of horsetail hair.
The cello’s precursors appeared in the first half of the seventeenth century in Italy, as the violin family, were born as the bass viola da braccio in 1530, several years after the violin. For the manufacture of these new instruments, other features were used, such as the fiddle. For the first time, the housing is more similar to instruments like the cello Violón that was used as basso continuo. In addition, there were others like violonzino or basset. There also existed the viola, reminiscent of the cello in its interpretation with arch support.
At first, it is argued that it was held with a rope at the waist or over the shoulder or between the legs or the ground. There were different cellos from the tenors, other higher sizes, with different tonality and form of restraint.
The Bass
The bass is a bowed string instrument. It is the lowest of this family.
The bass acquired a separate entity within the group of bowed strings in the eighteenth century. It is not yet known with clarity from what instrument it derives and its emergence has come late in the music world. This may be due to its shape, size, pitch, and bow, which were variable.
The bass can be defined as the second most serious instrument of the violin family, although it presents considerable differences with respect to these.
The origin of the bass begins in the sixteenth century and was an evolution of the viola da gamba and violone low. Its large size prevented it from entering the string quartet. Some people say that the bass cannot be considered a true member of the violin family.
Currently, the bass does belong to the violin family.
Physical
The Violin
The Viola
The Cello
The Bass
Technical
The Violin
The violin is the soprano instrument of the family which takes its name, made up of cello, viola, and bass.
It is a bowed string instrument. The vibration of the strings is produced by the friction of the manes of horses on the bow string.
The violin has a smooth fingerboard, fretless (except for the electric violin). The fingerboard is a thin plate of wood that extends over the box. To make the strings sound, pressure must be applied to the fingerboard.
The pitch of the strings is achieved through the pegs. They are usually made of ebony, a hard wood in which it is difficult to make slots and stack them and the strings are broken.
The strings are currently wound or metal, although they were initially large bowel. Its length is more or less than 325cm. The strings produce sounds of different heights by varying the degree of tension and thickness.
The Viola
The Cello
The Bass
Each Function Within the Orchestra
Stringed bowed instruments are the foundation of the orchestra. Most chamber music is written for strings and there is almost no orchestral work in which the family does not have an important role.
The Violin
In a symphony orchestra, violins are divided into first and second. The instruments are identical, but the first ones play more acute notes and the second ones more serious notes, so they are two voices. In an orchestra, there are twelve to sixteen first violins and twelve to fourteen second violins.
The Viola
The violas are placed next to the other orchestral families, to balance the overall sound of the orchestra. Usually between the violins and cellos, with the Director. In a symphony orchestra, there are between ten and twelve violas.
The Cello
The cello in the orchestra is in front of all, next to the violas. In the orchestra, there are eight or ten cellos.
The Bass
In a symphony orchestra and all bowed string instruments, basses lie in front of everything, and there are six or eight basses.
Featured Artists
-The Violin
Menuhinà Also known as Lord Yehudi Menuhin of Stoke d’Abernon, was born on 22 April 1916, in New York. He was a violinist and conductor of Russian origin and dual nationality, British and estadunidense.
Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa on 27 October 1782, was a violinist, guitarist and composer, considered among the most famous virtuosi of his time, recognized as one of the best violinists who have been with perfect intonation and an absolute ear, arc expressive techniques and new uses of technology.
Isaac Stern was born in Kremenetz, Ukraine, on 21 July 1920. Estadunidense was a violinist, considered one of the best of the twentieth century.
Vanessa-Mae Nicholson Vanakorn Known as Vanessa Mae, born October 27, 1978 in Singapore, is a classically trained violinist, but famous for his recordings in which mixed classical pieces with pop, jazz, techno and other modern rhythms . The recording that gave him fame was The Violin Player al1994.
The viola –
Jordi Savall was born in Igualada, Barcelona, 1941. It is a violation gambista, Spanish conductor and musicologist specializing in music history.
Lionel Tertisà Born in Hartlepool, on 29 December 1876. It was a violation of English, perhaps one of the first artists to draw attention to the viola as a solo instrument.
Paul Hindemith was born in Hanau on 16 November 1895. It was a German composer and musicologist.
The cello –
Casalsà Paul was a cellist, to his great contribution to the world of music was innovative in the interpretation with the cello. His interpretation of the songs of birds has become a symbol of peace and freedom around the world, and so much more significant in scope Catalan.
Leopóldovich Mstislav Rostropovich was born in Baku on 27 March 1927 was a Russian musician, considered the greatest cellist of his generation.
Pierre Fournierà born 24 June 1906. Heaven was a French novelist who called the aristocrat of the sky writers, for his elegant musicality and its majestic sound.
Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini was born in Lucca on 19 February 1743, was a composer and Tuscan chelista with Spanish nationality.
The bass –
Franco Petracchi Considered one of the most prestigious bass and teachers of the instrument.
Portfolio Ron was born on 4 May 1937 in Ferndale, Michigan. It is a jazz bassist. Its particular swing made him a great musician. One of the most recorded musicians in the world.
Mingusà Charles was born in Arizona, 22 April 1922, was a estadunidense jazz bassist, composer, conductor and pianist. He was also known as an activist against racial injustice.
Born in Scott LaFaroà Rocco 3 April 1936, was an American jazz bassist, he joined the original group of Bill Evans and decisive for the history of his instrument.
· Anecdotes
Hearing comments
The Trout Piano: Daniel Barenboim
Franz Schubert Violin: Itzhak Perlman
Viola: Pinchas Zukerman
Cello: Jacqueline du Pré
Bass: Zubin Mehta
It is a piece for piano with string quartet which includes the full range of bowed stringed instruments.