Baroque Violin Shop Cincinnati Oh (2024)

FAQs

Who was the best violin maker of the Baroque era? ›

In fact, most of the most highly prized modern violins were built during the baroque era by makers like Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri.

Baroque violins are not fitted with a chin rest and are played without a shoulder rest.

Baroque violin playing has a gentler tone with hardly any vibrato. The complex nuances of bowing give it a sort of swelling-fading sound. It's very free-flowing and expressive. Some new technology improves old technology.

The sound produced from this instrument can be found in almost every genre of music across hundreds of years. The violin is also widely regarded as one of the most difficult instruments to learn. One of the reasons behind this is that there are no guides on the violin for finger placement.

Piano vs violin difficulty: a detailed analysis

For beginners, the piano might seem more approachable due to its straightforward note production – press a key, and a note sounds. The violin, with no frets to guide finger placement and the need for bow control, can present a steeper initial learning curve.

The violins of Antonio Stradivari are considered to be the world's best violins because of the tone which they are capable of producing. Even in a large concert hall with an audience of thousands of players, musicians playing on Stradivarius violins can be heard from even the furthest seats in the venue.

The twenty known Andrea Amati instruments that survive today include several rumored to have been part of a set of 38 instruments commissioned by Catherine de Medici for the French Court upon the coronation of her son, King Charles IX, in 1560.

Vibrato was also well known and much valued during baroque times in its application on the clavichord, known in German as Bebung. The depression of the key strikes the string directly thus permitting variation of touch (hard/soft), as well as a form of vibrato achieved by moving the key gently from side to side.

Moving the finger, wrist, or arm forward or backward primarily determines the tone. In common practice, violin vibrato oscillates on and below a pitch, though dramatic effect may allow for oscillation above as well as below a pitch.

Playing the violin may cause increased activity in the shoulder and forearm muscles due to techniques such as vibrato (pitch variation), double-fingering (thirds), and changes in speed and volume (piano and forte).

How many violins does a baroque orchestra have? ›

Generally the orchestra includes10 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos and violone as well as a complete assemblage of wind instruments, including baroque oboes, bassoons, flutes, trumpets, horns, recorders, and a full set of continuo instruments such as harpsichord, organ, theorbos, guitars and lutes.

A415 (A=415 Hz), on the other hand, refers to a lower pitch. It means that the A above middle C is tuned to 415 Hz. This tuning is commonly associated with historically informed performance practice, particularly music from the Baroque period and earlier.

The music characteristics of the Baroque Era included fast movement, ornamentation, dramatic alterations in tempo and volume, and expressiveness.