Violin
The smallest and highest member of the string family, played with a bow, and at home in both Western orchestras and Carnatic concerts.
A violin is a wooden box that sings. The strings start the song, the bridge passes it on, and the hollow body makes it loud enough for a whole hall to hear.
Take it apart
Tap Look inside to separate the violin into its parts. Tap any part, on the drawing or in the list, to find out what it does and hear it.
Tap a name to learn about it
Tap any label or part of the violin to see what it does and hear it. Then press “Look inside” and the violin comes apart into its 18 pieces, including the hidden ones.
How a violin makes its sound
- The bow grips the string. Rosin on the horsehair makes it sticky, so the hair pulls the string sideways until it slips back, hundreds of times a second.
- The bridge passes the shaking on. The string can't move much air by itself, so the bridge carries its vibration down into the top plate.
- The body makes it loud. The top and back vibrate together through the soundpost, and the air inside the hollow box adds its own resonance. The sound comes out through the f-holes.
- Your fingers choose the note. Pressing a string onto the fingerboard shortens the part that vibrates, so it shakes faster and sounds higher.
The bow
Tap a part of the bow to find out what it does.
Sizes for every age
Violins come in sizes, so even young children can play one that fits. The usual sizes are 4/4 (full size, for most teenagers and adults), 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and even 1/16 for the youngest beginners. A teacher measures the arm, from the neck to the middle of the palm with the arm stretched out, to find the right one.
One instrument, two traditions
In Western music the violin sits under the chin and leads the orchestra. In South India it has been part of Carnatic music for about two hundred years: the player sits cross-legged and rests the scroll on the foot, which leaves the left hand free to slide between notes for the curving gamakas that ragas need. Same instrument, held differently, for a different kind of music.