http://www.jessmukkah.com/violin-fiddle/
Some say the difference is that you never cry when you spill beer on a fiddle. Others say it’s a fiddle when you buy it, but a violin when you sell it. Others say that if you can dance to it, then it’s a fiddle.
The bottom line is there functionally is no difference between a fiddle and a violin — they’re the same physical instrument. Typically, the difference is one of attitude, not of physical difference. There’s a sense that a fiddle is a low-cost instrument meant for folk enjoyment whereas a violin is more costly and meant for more cultured usage.
The word <B>fiddle</b> didn’t always have this folksy connotation. Early classical masters commonly referred to violinists as fiddlers. The origin of the word is obscure — although the early Latin <I>vitula</I> is probably a common root of both <B>fiddle</B> and <B>viola</B>.
No, <B>fiddle</B> refers more to the usage than the instrument. If you’re considering <I>folk music</I> — whether it’s bluegrass, country and western, irish, gypsy, etc — then you’re probably thinking fiddle playing. If you think of cultured classical music — chamber music, symphonic orchestra, the great masters — then you’re thinking violin.
There are some differences in the playing styles — a fiddler normally stays in first position, where a classical violinist will play up and down the fingerboard. Fiddlers may hold their instrument against the crook of their elbow rather than under their chin like a violinist. Fiddlers don’t normally incorporate the entire scale of bowing techniques that a classical violinist might use.
Still — in all cases — the physical instrument is the same basic instrument. There is no stigma in playing fiddle music — or in playing classical violin music!
About the Author:
Joey Robichaux operates Celtic Sheet Music, where fiddle players can freely download over 3,000 celtic fiddle tunes!
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Fiddle or Violin — What’s the Difference
VIOLIN/FIDDLE LESSONS – HOW TO PLAY VIOLIN/FIDDLE – VARIATIONS ON A FOLK TUNE
