A fiddle is a bowed string instrument, often a violin or a bass. The word "fiddle" is a common name for the violin, used by musicians in many types of music, including classical music. While the violin and fiddle are often the same, the type of music played can lead to differences in how they are built. For example, fiddles may have a bridge that is less curved to make certain techniques, like the double shuffle (a fast method of playing two nearby strings), easier to perform. To create a brighter sound than the deeper tones from gut or synthetic strings, fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) music styles, which are usually taught by listening rather than through written music.

Fiddling means playing the fiddle, and fiddlers are musicians who play it. In many musical styles, fiddling focuses on rhythms that help people dance, with quick changes between notes. Classical music, on the other hand, often includes more vibrato (a shaking sound) and longer, held notes. Fiddling allows players to add their own ideas and decorations to the music, while classical performances follow the composer's written notes closely. It is less common for classically trained violinists to play folk music, but many fiddlers today, such as Alasdair Fraser, Brittany Haas, and Alison Krauss, have received classical training.

History

The medieval fiddle appeared in Europe during the 10th century. It came from the Byzantine lira, a bowed string instrument used in the Byzantine Empire and the ancestor of many European bowed instruments.

The lira spread to many places in Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, European writers used the words "fiddle" and "lira" to describe bowed instruments in the same way.

The violin, as it is known today, appeared in northern Italy around the early 1500s. The first pictures of violins, which had three strings, were drawn in northern Italy about 1530. At the same time, the words "violino" and "vyollon" appeared in Italian and French writings. A detailed description of the violin, including how it was tuned, was written in Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, a book published in Lyon in 1556. By this time, the violin had already become popular across Europe. The fiddle was widely used by both street musicians and nobles. In 1560, French king Charles IX asked Andrea Amati to make 24 violins for him. One of these violins, called the Charles IX, is the oldest surviving violin.

Over time, Europe had two main types of fiddles. One was square-shaped and held under the arm. This type became known as the viola da braccio family and later evolved into the violin. The other type had sloped sides and was played between the legs. This group was called the viola da gamba family. During the Renaissance, the gambas were important and elegant instruments. However, they eventually became less popular than the louder viola da braccio family.

Etymology

The origin of the word "fiddle" is not clearly known. It may come from the Latin word "fidula," which was an early name for the violin, or it could have developed from Germanic languages.

The word "fiddle" is connected to similar words in Icelandic, such as "fiðla," and in Old English, like "fiðele." A Germanic version of the word might be the source of the early Romance language name for the violin.

During medieval times, "fiddle" was used to describe an earlier version of the modern violin. Like the violin, it usually had four strings, but it came in many different shapes and sizes. Another group of instruments that helped shape the modern fiddle is the viols. These instruments are played while held between the legs and have fingerboards with frets.

Ensembles

In performances, a single fiddler or a small group of musicians is common, although some styles from North America, Scandinavia, Scotland, and Ireland include two fiddlers playing together. After folk music revival movements in the second half of the 20th century, it became more common for many fiddlers to play together in informal settings. Examples include the Calgary Fiddlers, Swedish Spelmanslag folk-musician groups, and Irish music sessions around the world.

Orchestral violins are often grouped into sections, or "chairs," within an orchestra. These differences may reflect historical performance settings. Large concert halls, where violins were played before electronic amplification was available, required more instruments than smaller dance halls or homes where fiddlers performed.

The difference in sound between violin music and fiddle music may also explain these traditions. Most fiddle music was originally dance music, while violin music either evolved from dance music or developed as something different. Violin music often focused on smooth, flowing sounds, while fiddling, driven by dance rhythms, emphasized clear beats. In situations needing louder music, a fiddler could play harder while keeping the beat, unlike a violinist. Different fiddle traditions value these aspects in varying ways.

In the late 20th century, some musicians revived the Scottish tradition of using both violin and "big fiddle," or cello. Examples of this include recordings by Iain Fraser and Christine Hanson, Amelia Kaminski and Christine Hanson’s Bonnie Lasses, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas’s Fire and Grace, and Tim Macdonald and Jeremy Ward’s The Wilds.

In Hungary, Slovenia, and Romania, fiddle players often perform with a three-stringed viola variant called the kontra and a double bass. These instruments are part of traditional folk ensembles. In Hungary, the kontra has a flat bridge that allows the musician to play three-string chords. A three-stringed double bass is also used in some settings. Cimbalom and clarinet are sometimes included in these groups, though they are not as common as the kontra and double bass.

Styles

Fiddle playing has many different ethnic or folk music traditions, each with its own unique sound. These traditions vary more than classical violin playing.

• English folk music fiddling includes: Northumbrian fiddle style, which includes "seconding"—a harmony part played by a second fiddler that is made up on the spot. Lakeland or Cumbrian fiddling focuses on hornpipes but also includes reels and jigs. Yorkshire fiddling combines two styles: one with clear, separated notes and sometimes open string drones, similar to Cotswold Morris and Southern English country dance music; the other with more flowing notes and irregular slurs that shift the rhythm between beats, similar to Northumbrian fiddle music.

• Scottish fiddling includes: Shetland fiddling, which features "trowie" tunes believed to come from traditional folk music. This style uses "ringing strings" and rhythms that start on unexpected beats. A North East tradition (Aberdeenshire and Moray) uses techniques from baroque violin music, such as staccato and Scotch snap bowing, and double stops. A Scottish Borders tradition focuses on hornpipes and uses double stops. A Highland tradition is influenced by the Great Highland Bagpipe, with smooth bowing and a swinging 6/8 jig rhythm. A West Highland and Hebridean tradition is closely related to the Highland style but influenced by Gaelic song traditions. An Orkney tradition uses simpler bowing and ornamentation but includes accidentals in the music.

• Welsh fiddling (Welsh Ffidil; see Ar Log) is a tradition that has been brought back to life recently.

• Irish folk music fiddling includes: Donegal fiddling from northwest Ulster, which features mazurkas and Scottish-influenced dances like Strathspey and Highland Fling. Fiddlers often play fast and use staccato bowing; sometimes a second fiddler plays the melody an octave lower. Sligo fiddling from northern Connacht is also fast but has a bouncier bowing style. Galway fiddling from southern Connacht is slower, with more ornamentation. Tunes are sometimes played in Eb or Bb to match flat pipes. Clare fiddling from northern Munster is played at a slower tempo than Galway but focuses more on the melody. Sliabh Luachra fiddling from southwest Munster includes polkas and slides, uses double stops and drones, and plays melodies in two octaves like Donegal.

• Norwegian fiddling (including Hardanger fiddling; see also Bygdedans and Gammaldans) includes traditions from: Røros and Nord-Noreg, which use standard fiddles; Finnskogen, which uses standard fiddles but includes notes influenced by Finnish folk music; Voss and Telemark, which use Hardanger fiddles; and Setesdal, which uses both standard and Hardanger fiddles.

• Swedish fiddling (including Låtfiol playing; see also Spelmanslag and Gammaldans) includes traditions from: Jämtland and Dalarna.

• Finnish fiddling includes regional styles like Kaustinen and Ostrobothnia, which are influenced by Swedish fiddling.

• Austrian fiddling
• French fiddling, including an old tradition from Corrèze and a revived one from Brittany
• Hungarian folk music traditions
• Italian fiddling
• Klezmer fiddling
• Polish fiddling
• Mainland Portuguese and Azorean fiddling
• Romanian fiddling

American fiddling includes many styles:

• Blues fiddling
• Cajun and Zydeco fiddling
• Native American fiddling, including: Cherokee, Creek, and Tohono O'odham waila music, which is influenced by Mexican fiddling and uses irregular rhythms and harmonies in thirds, fourths, and sixths.
• Old time fiddling, including: Appalachian fiddling, the most well-known style, which uses droning, double-stops, and syncopated bowing; Athabaskan fiddling from Interior Alaska; Midwestern fiddling, influenced by Scandinavian music; Ozarks fiddling, which is faster and has crisper bowing than Appalachian fiddling; Texas fiddling, influenced by Mexican fiddling and focused on competition; Bluegrass fiddler Kenny Baker; New England fiddling, influenced by Québécois/French Canadian and British music; and Northwest fiddling, influenced by Ozark and Midwestern styles but with a competitive focus like Texas fiddling.

• Bluegrass fiddling
• Country fiddling
• Western swing style fiddling

Fiddling is popular in Canada, and its local styles are an important part of the country's culture, as shown during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

• Cape Breton fiddling, which has a strong Scottish influence
• French Canadian fiddling, which includes "crooked tunes" with irregular beat patterns
• Métis fiddling, found in central and western Canada, with strong French Canadian influence and even more "crooked" tunes
• Newfoundland fiddling, which includes many "crooked" tunes called "singles" or "doubles"
• Maritimes, Acadian, or Downeast fiddling, which is similar to Cape Breton fiddling
• English Canadian or Anglo-Canadian fiddling

Mexican fiddling includes:

• Danza indígena
• Mariachi
• Son arribeño
• Son calentano
• Son huasteco
• Son planeco
• Violín-tambora
• Violín tuxtleco
• Violín mixteco

• Forró, a type of music from Brazil, including the rabeca fiddle tradition
• Peruvian violin

• African fiddle

Related instruments

• Hardanger fiddle
• Stroh violin, also called phonofiddle, and in Romania it is known as Vioara cu goarnă.

• Cello
• Double bass
• Kontra
• Låtfiol
• Rebec
• Rabeca
• Viola

• Apache fiddle
• Byzantine lyra, the medieval bowed instrument of the Byzantine Empire
• Cretan Lyra
• Crwth
• Gadulka
• Gudok
• Gusle
• Hurdy-gurdy, also called the wheel fiddle
• Kamancheh
• Lijerica
• Nyckelharpa
• Rebab
• Erhu
• Morin khuur