What is the difference between a baroque violin and a modern violin?

Answer 1

First of all Baroque music has completely different instruments, the baroque orchestra was tiny it consisted of a harpsichord, a viola, a violin and a violin cello. If you listen to the hallelujah chorus from handels messiah you can hear the terraced dynamics which were used in that era. If you then listen to a song by Jay Z it is pretty easy to tell the difference

Answer 2

The difference is less than you might think. The body of the instrument is the same -- indeed instruments made in the 17th century by Amati, Stradivarius, and others have always remained in favor. Originally those instruments would have been held between the player's calves; the endpin is a more modern invention. The size of the instrument was also less standardized; some particularly small instruments, known as the cello da spalla, were even held on the shoulder like a violin or viola (roughly speaking), although they were tuned like a normal cello.

A baroque cello is strung with gut strings, and the lower strings were often wrapped with silver. A modern instrument is usually strung with steel or steel-wrapped nylon strings. A baroque bow arches outward (away from the hairs), while a modern bow holds more hair and curves slightly inward. The modern designs allow both the bow and the strings to be strung at a higher tension.

There are subtle differences in construction, too. For instance, the neck of a modern instrument is more slender and more angled back from the instrument. Many older instruments were subsequently modified according to modern standards. A Baroque cello is therefore either an unmodified old instrument, an old instrument whose modernizations have been reversed, or a new instrument built to the original standards.

Finally, baroque and modern instruments have different associated performance practices. For example, a baroque instrument is typically played with less vibrato.

Answer 3

The bow for a baroque violin is differently curved, it is bend outwards to the hair (convex in shape) instead of convex like a modern bow.

<><><>

The VIOLIN is the highestest pitched, or 'TREBLE' member, of the VIOLIN Family and is related to the VIOLA and the VIOLONCELLO.( 'CELLO for short. )

The DOUBLE BASS is NOT related to the VIOLIN!

The VIOLA is played exactly the same way as a VIOLIN but its strings are set to different, lower notes and its music written on a different type of CLEF(Key) However, the technique & finger positions are practically identical on the VIOLIN and VIOLA. Although the VIOLA is a little larger than the violin, in the easiest playing position, the first three fingers of the left hand hold down each string to play a different note.

The 'cello is the lowest pitched, or 'Bass' member, of the VIOLIN Family and although it is tuned like a VIOLA (but lower), its size means that the little finger on the left hand is required to reach the same note as the 3rd finger can reach on the VIOLA!

These instruments developed from medieval instruments called VIOLS which came in a number of sizes. By the 17th Century, composers were writing specifically for members of the VIOLIN family as their sound was clearer, sweeter and LOUDER!

THE DOUBLE BASS IS IN FACT A BASS VIOL. WITH ITS SLOPING SHOULDERS AND SHORTER ARCHED BOW IT IS THE ONLY VIOL STILL IN COMMON USE TODAY, ALTHOUGH MANY SPECIALISTS PLAY OLDER 15th CENTURY PIECES ON VIOLS.

MEMBERS OF THE VIOLIN FAMILY HAVE THEIR STRINGS TUNED 5 NOTES APART

When composers write for a string quartet they are essentially writing for FOUR VOICES they allocate the two highest voices to TWO VIOLINS, the TENOR to the VIOLA and the BASS to the CELLO.

You may get confused; A SOPRANO is a female TREBLE SINGER. SINGERS ARE CALLED SOPRANO, ALTO, TENOR & BASS

VIOLIN music is written on the TREBLE CLEF, VIOLA music is written on the ALTO CLEF and 'CELLO MUSIC is written on the BASS CLEF, TENOR CLEF & TREBLE CLEF
THE STRINGS on the VIOLIN, VIOLA & CELLO cover 5 notes.

The VIOLIN STRINGS ARE G D A E (the top string is 5 notes higher than the VIOLA)

The VIOLA STRINGS ARE C G D A (The top string is the same as the 3rd Violin String)

The CELLO STRINGS ARE C G D A (The same strings as a VIOLA but 8 notes lower)

THE DOUBLE BASS IS TUNED E A D G - these notes are just four tones apart.

THE REASON THAT I INSIST THAT THE DOUBLE BASS IS NOT RELATED TO THE VIOLIN IS THAT IT IS TUNED IN FOURTHS, NOT FIFTHS.MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE DOUBLE BASS IS A TYPE OF VIOL AND YOU MAY WISH TO READ ABOUT VIOLS ELSEWHERE! HOWEVER, BRIEFLY, IF YOU LOOK AT A VIOLIN, VIOLA & CELLO, THEY SHARE THE SAME CURVY SHAPE. NOW LOOK AT A DOUBLE BASS, IT HAS SLOPING SHOULDERS JUST LIKE THE OLD FASHIONED VIOLS!

Answer 4

There are a few key differences between the modern viola and its earlier ancestor, the baroque viola.
On the baroque viola, the neck is parallel to the body, while on the modern viola it is slightly more angled back. The finger board is shorter than the modern viola, and because of the straight neck angle, it stays closer to the body of the instrument. A shorter fingerboard means a smaller overall range of notes than on the modern viola. The bridge on the baroque viola is lower and can be thinner than on a modern viola. The tailpiece will have no fine tuners. The baroque viola is strung with two unwound sheep or beef gut strings for the A and D strings, and silver wound gut strings for the G and C strings. Gut strings have a distinctive sound-- warmer and quieter than modern viola strings which are made of synthetic (nylon) core wrapped in metal.
The baroque viola is set up with less tension than a modern viola (because of the lower bridge, type of strings, neck angle and tail piece. The bass bar and sound post, which are inside the viola and not easy to see, are also more delicate than on modern viola.) This results in an instrument that projects less loudly than a modern instrument.
The size of modern and baroque violas can vary, roughly between 15 and 18 inches for the body length. There is not one standardized measurement for either kind.
Many violas currently set up as "modern" violas may have started out their life as "baroque" instruments, if they were made in the late 17th to mid-18th centuries.
Conversely, several modern instruments, made in the 20th or 21st century are copies of baroque violas, and can be set up with historical strings and fittings to play baroque repertoire, or with modern fittings to play repertoire from the 19th century or later.
One last difference to keep in mind is that each kind of viola is played with its own kind of bow. The baroque bow is curved and often shorter than a modern bow. It has less horse hair, and weighs less than a modern bow, which has a straighter stick and longer length. Both use the same types of rosin.

Answer 5

the baroque Oboe didnt have keys just holes that were covered by the fingers