Fiddle
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{{wiktionary|Fiddle}} {{wiktionary|Violin}}
{{Infobox Instrument
|name=Fiddle
|names=
|image=Violin VL100.jpg
|classification=[[String instrument]] ([[Bow (music)|bowed]])
|range=[[Image:Range violin.png|130px|center]]
|related=
*'''[[Violin family]]''' ([[viola]], [[cello]])
*[[Viol]] family (includes [[double bass]])
|musicians=
*[[List of fiddlers]]
|builders=
*[[:Category:Bowed string instrument makers|Luthiers]]
|articles={{Violin}}
}}
The term '''fiddle''' refers to a [[violin]]; it is a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including [[European classical music|classical music]]. '''Fiddle playing''', or '''fiddling''', is a style of music.
==Violin vs. fiddle==
Any violin may be informally called a fiddle, regardless of the kind of music being played with it. The [[etymology]] of ''fiddle'' is uncertain: the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ''fiddle'' may derive from the same early [[Romance languages|Romance]] word as does ''violin'', or it may be natively Germanic.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
| url = http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50084343?query_type=word&queryword=fiddle&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=aqCu-MRFGqf-11482&hilite=50084343
| title = fiddle, n.
| encyclopedia = Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| date= 1989
| accessdate = 2008-03-28
}}
: ''(as access to the OED online is not free, the relevant excerpt is provided)'' "The ultimate origin is obscure. The <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Germanic languages|Teutonic]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> word bears a singular resemblance in sound to its <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[medieval]] [[Latin language|Latin]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> synonym ''vitula'', ''vidula'', whence <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Old French]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> ''viole'', Pr. viula, and (by adoption from these <nowiki>[</nowiki>languages<nowiki>]</nowiki>) <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Italian language|Italian]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>, <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Spanish language|Spanish]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>, <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> ''viola'': see <nowiki>[</nowiki>''viol''<nowiki>[</nowiki>. The supposition that the early <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Romance languages|Romance]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> ''vidula'' was adopted independently in more than one <nowiki>[</nowiki>Teutonic language<nowiki>]</nowiki> would account adequately for all the <nowiki>[</nowiki>Teutonic<nowiki>]</nowiki> forms; on the other hand, ''*fiÞulôn-'' may be an <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Proto-Germanic|Old Teutonic]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> word of native etymology, though no satisfactory <nowiki>[</nowiki>Teutonic<nowiki>]</nowiki> derivation has been found."
</ref> A native Germanic ancestor of ''fiddle'' may even be the ancestor of the early Romance form of ''violin.''<ref>[[Mario Pei]], ''The Story of the English Language'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967), p. 109.</ref> Historically, ''fiddle'' also referred to a predecessor of today's violin. Like the violin, it tended to have four strings, but came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Another family of instruments which contributed to the development of the modern fiddle are the [[viol]]s, which are held between the legs and played vertically, and have fretted fingerboards.
Common distinctions between violins and fiddles reflect the differences in the instruments used to play classical and folk music. However, it is not uncommon for classically trained violinists to play fiddle music, and today many fiddle players have some classical training. As might be expected from the differences between the classical and [[traditional music|folk music]] cultures, more musicians with no formal training play fiddle music than play classical music.
Some (folk) fiddle traditions fit the instrument with a flatter bridge than classical violinists use. The difference between "round" and "flat" is not great —about a quarter or half a millimeter variation in the height of one or two [[strings (music)|strings]]— but this is enough to noticeably reduce the range of right-arm motion required for the rapid string-crossings found in some styles, and those who use flatter bridges say it makes playing [[double stop]]s and shuffles ([[bariolage]]) easier. It can also make [[triple stop]]s possible, allowing one to play [[chord (music)|chord]]s. In [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] and [[old-time music]], for example, the top of the bridge is sometimes cut so that it is very slightly less curved; the [[Norway|Norwegian]] [[Hardanger fiddle]] uses an even flatter bridge, and the bridge of the ''kontra'' or ''bracsa'' (a three-string viola used in [[Hungarian folk music|Hungarian]] and [[Transylvania]]n folk music) is flat enough that all three strings can easily be played simultaneously.
Most fiddles are, however, fitted with a standard classical bridge, regardless of the style of music played on the instrument. Indeed, one bridge can be exchanged for another with relative ease. Most classical violinists prefer a more rounded curve to the top of the bridge, feeling that this allows them to articulate each note more easily and clearly, but many fiddle players do as well.
''Fiddle'' is more likely to be used than ''violin'' if the instrument's strings are [[piano wire|steel]] rather than [[catgut|gut]] or synthetic, as fiddle players are more likely to favor the sound of steel strings than are classical violinists. Instruments with fine tuners on all four strings are more likely to be played by fiddle players, and so are more likely to be called fiddle than violin; it is very uncommon to see four fine tuners on instruments played by classical musicians. (Fine tuners are small screw mechanisms attached or built into the [[tailpiece]] which make small [[tuning (music)|tuning]] adjustments easier.) But strings and tailpieces are easily changed so, like flattened bridges, these differences do not permanently distinguish violins and fiddles.
In construction, fiddles and violins are exactly the same (with the Hardanger fiddle excepted as a special case).
Various clichés describe the difference between fiddle and violin: "When you are buying it, it's a fiddle. When you are selling it, it's a violin." "The violin sings, the fiddle dances." "A fiddle is a violin with attitude." "No one cries when they spill beer on a fiddle." According to the performer [[Shoji Tabuchi]], the difference lies "in how you fiddle around with it."
==Fiddling==
In performance, solo fiddling is the norm, though twin fiddling is represented in some North American, Scandinavian, and Irish styles. Violins, on the other hand, are commonly grouped in sections. These contrasting traditions may be vestiges of historical performance settings: large concert halls in which violins were played required more instruments, before electronic amplification, than did more intimate dance halls and houses fiddles were played in. The difference was likely compounded by the different sounds expected of violin music and fiddle music. Historically, the majority of fiddle music was dance music, while violin music had either grown out of dance music or was something else entirely. Violin music came to value a smoothness which fiddling, with its dance-driven clear beat, did not always follow - in situations that required greater volume, a fiddler (as long as they kept the beat) could push their instrument harder than could a violinist. (Different fiddle traditions had different values, as detailed below; these explanations are meant to present the differences between fiddle music and violin music generally.)
Following the folk revivals of the second half of the 20th century, however, it has become common for less formal situations to find large groups of fiddlers playing together -- see for example the [[Music of Sweden|Swedish]] [[Spelmanslag]] folk-musician clubs, and the world-wide<ref>
{{cite web | authorlink = http://www.thesession.org | url = http://www.thesession.org/sessions/index.php | title = The Session: Sessions | accessdaymonth = 28 August | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> phenomenon of [[pub session|Irish sessions]].
In the very late 20th century, a few artists have successfully attempted a reconstruction of the Scottish tradition of violin and "big fiddle," or cello. Notable recorded examples include Amelia Kaminski and Christine Hanson's [http://www.willockandsaxgallery.com/kaminski.htm Bonnie Lasses] and [[Alasdair Fraser]] and [[Natalie Haas]]' [http://www.culburnie.com/albums/AlasdairFraser/fire_and_grace.htm Fire and Grace].
===Bows used in fiddling===
Most fiddling styles that use the standard violin also use the standard violin [[Bow (music)|bow]], the same as classical players. However, there are a few styles which use other bows. One notable example is the folk music from Hungary and Transylvania used in the [[táncház]] tradition. While the violinist uses a standard bow, both the [[kontra]] ([[3-string viola]]) and bass are played with heavy and crude "folk bows", consisting of a stout stick, usually hand-hewn, with the hank of horsehair attached at the tip and tied around the frog. The player tensions the hair by squeezing it when playing.
Violin bows used by fiddlers are usually made from wood, but bows made from fiberglass and other materials are becoming more common.
Scottish fiddlers emulating 18th century playing styles sometimes use a replica of the type of bow used in that period, which is a few inches shorter, and weighs significantly more.{{fact|date=May 2007}}
===Fiddling styles===
To a greater extent than classical [[violin]] playing, fiddle playing is characterized by a huge variety of ethnic or [[folk music]] traditions, each of which has its own distinctive sound, including, but not limited to:
* [[American fiddling]], including
**[[Blues]] fiddling
**[[Bluegrass music]] fiddling
**[[Cajun music|Cajun]] fiddling
**[[Country music]] fiddling
**[[List of U.S. state dances|Folk Dance]] fiddling, including [[Square dancing|Square Dance]] and [[Contra dance|Contra Dance]] fiddling
**[[Jazz]] fiddling
**[[Old-time music|Old time music]] fiddling
**[[Western swing|Western Swing]] style fiddling [http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/westernswing/wswingframe.html]
**[[Zydeco]] style fiddling
* [[Balkan music]], including [[Tanchaz|Táncház]] (Hungarian music), [[Romanian music]], [[Romani music|Gypsy music]] [http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/easterneurope/Easterneurope%20frame.html]
* [[Canadian fiddling]], including [[Image:Paddy-moran.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Newfoundland fiddle player [[Patrick Moran (musician)|Patrick Moran]]]]
**[[Cape Breton fiddling]], with a distinct Scottish and Acadian influence
**[[French-Canadian]] fiddling, influenced from the [[Brittany]] area of northern France
**[[Métis|Métis people (Canada)]] fiddling, of central and western Canada, with French influence
**[[Newfoundland and Labrador]] fiddling, with a strong Irish [[Sliabh Luachra]] style of playing
**[[Maritimes]] or Downeast style of fiddling which has many similarities to [[Cape Breton fiddling]]
**[[English-Canadian]] fiddling or Anglo-Canadian fiddling, which is a combination of English, Scottish, Irish, French, Ukrainian and German fiddling styles
* Eastern European Jewish [[Klezmer]] fiddling [http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/klezmer/Klezmer%20frame.html]
* [[Folk music of England|English Folk music]] fiddling
* [[French fiddling]] (including a rich [[Music of Brittany|Breton music]] fiddling tradition)
* [[Folk music of Ireland|Irish Folk music]] fiddling including, among others,
**[[Clare fiddling]], from the central west
**[[Donegal fiddle tradition|Donegal]] fiddling, from the northwest
**[[Sliabh Luachra]] fiddling, from the southwest
**[[Sligo fiddling]], from a bit south of the northwest
* [[Tierra Caliente (music)|Mexican fiddling]] from the Tierra Caliente region of Mexico
* Middle Eastern and Mediterranean fiddling [http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/med/Med+mid%20frame.html]
* [[Norwegian fiddling]] (including [[Hardingfele|Hardanger]] fiddling)
* [[Peruvian violin]]
* [[Scottish fiddling]]
* [[Slovenian fiddling]]
* [[Swedish fiddling]]
* [[South Indian Carnatic fiddling]]
==References==
<references/>
==See also==
* [[List of fiddlers]]
* [[Donegal fiddle tradition]]
* [[List of All-Ireland Champions]]
==Bibliography==
* ''The Fiddle Book'', by Marion Thede, (1970), Oak Publications. ISBN 0-8256-0145-2.
* ''The Fiddler's Fakebook'', by David Brody, (1983), Oak Publications. US ISBN 0-8256-0238-6; UK ISBN 0-7119-0309-3.
* ''Oldtime Fiddling Across America'', by David Reiner and Peter Anick (1989), Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 0-87166-766-5. Has transcriptions (standard notation) and analysis of tunes from multiple regional and ethnic styles.
==External links==
* [http://www.fiddleforum.com Folk and Alternative Strings Community]
* Voyager Records' catalog, [http://www.voyagerrecords.com/catstyle.htm organized by region], has clips of many North American styles.
* [http://www.violonbleu.com A French Violin fiddle method website] - video, text, and forum with explanation (with tablatures).
* [http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc/ The Fiddler's Companion], an encyclopedia of historical notes on tunes from British, Celtic, and American traditions.
{{Bluegrassmusic}}
[[Category:Violins]]
[[Category:Bowed instruments]]
[[Category:Cajun]]
[[Category:Czech musical instruments]]
[[Category:Celtic folk instruments]]
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