Editing Violin (section)

==Musical styles==
{{Main|Violin in music}}

===Classical music===
[[File:Telemann - 2violin Sonata 1-1.ogg|thumb|right|A [[sonata]] for two violins by the [[Baroque music|Baroque]] composer [[Georg Philipp Telemann|Telemann]]. A relatively typical baroque violin composition, it would probably have been performed with less use of [[vibrato]] originally.]]

[[File:Meditation from Thais - Bomsori Kim.opus|thumb|right|The ''[[Méditation (Thaïs)|Meditation]]'' from Massenet's opera ''Thais''. The very [[legato]] style of playing, with lavish use of [[portamento]], [[rubato]] and [[vibrato]] and the higher registers of the instrument is typical of violin playing in the late [[Romantic music|Romantic]] period.]]

Since the [[Baroque music|Baroque]] era, the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in [[European classical music|classical music]], for several reasons. The tone of the violin stands out above other instruments, making it appropriate for playing a melody line. In the hands of a good player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes.

Violins make up a large part of an [[orchestra]], and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins, typically a more difficult part using higher positions. In contrast, second violins play harmony, accompaniment patterns or the melody an octave lower than the first violins. A [[string quartet]] similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a [[viola]] part, and a bass instrument, such as the [[cello]] or, rarely, the [[double bass]].

===Jazz===
The earliest references to [[jazz]] [[jazz violin|performance using the violin]] as a solo instrument are documented during the first decades of the 20th century. [[Joe Venuti]], one of the first jazz violinists, is known for his work with guitarist [[Eddie Lang]] during the 1920s. Since that time there have been many [[List of jazz violinists|improvising violinists]] including [[Stéphane Grappelli]], [[Stuff Smith]], [[Eddie South]], [[Regina Carter]], [[Johnny Frigo]], [[John Blake, Jr.|John Blake]], [[Adam Taubitz]], [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]], and [[Jean-Luc Ponty]]. While not primarily jazz violinists, [[Darol Anger]] and [[Mark O'Connor]] have spent significant parts of their careers playing jazz.
The Swiss-Cuban violinist [[Yilian Cañizares]] mixes jazz with Cuban music.<ref name="NZZ">{{Cite news |url= http://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/zuercher_kultur/die-gunst-der-goetter-1.18150997 |title = Die Sängerin und Geigerin Yilian Cañizares in Moods |newspaper=[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]] | date = 16 September 2013 | access-date = 12 June 2015}}</ref>

Violins also appear in ensembles supplying orchestral backgrounds to many jazz recordings.

===Indian classical music===
The Indian violin, while essentially the same instrument as that used in Western music, is different in some senses.<ref name=FirstPost>{{cite web |first=Suryasarathi |last=Bhattacharya |work= First Post | date=December 10, 2017 |title=Violin virtuoso Dr L Subramaniam on how Indian classical music took on the world stage | url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/violin-virtuoso-dr-l-subramaniam-on-how-indian-classical-music-took-on-the-world-stage-4251501.html}}</ref> The instrument is tuned so that the IV and III strings (G and D on a western-tuned violin) and the II and I (A and E) strings are sa–pa (do–sol) pairs and sound the same but are offset by an octave, resembling common scordatura or fiddle cross-tunings such as G3–D4–G4–D5 or A3–E4–A4–E5. The tonic sa (do) is not fixed, but variably tuned to accommodate the vocalist or lead player. The way the musician holds the instrument varies from Western to Indian music. In Indian music the musician sits on the floor cross-legged with the right foot out in front of them. The scroll of the instrument rests on the foot. This position is essential to playing well due to the nature of Indian music. The hand can move all over the fingerboard and there is no set position for the left hand, so it is important for the violin to be in a steady, unmoving position.

===Popular music===
[[File:Lindsey Stirling.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Lindsey Stirling]] performing at [[TEDx]] Berkeley, 2012]]
Up through at least the 1970s, most types of popular music used bowed [[string section]]s. They were extensively used in popular music throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. With the rise of [[swing music]], however, from 1935 to 1945, the string sound was often used to add to the fullness of [[big band]] music. Following the [[swing era]], from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s, strings began to be revived in [[traditional pop]] music. This trend accelerated in the late 1960s, with a significant revival of the use of strings, especially in [[soul music]]. Popular [[Motown]] recordings of the late 1960s and 1970s relied heavily on strings as part of their trademark texture.

With the rise of [[Electronic music|electronically created music]] in the 1980s, violins declined in use, as synthesized string sounds played by a keyboardist with a [[synthesizer]] took their place. However, while the violin has had very little usage in mainstream [[rock music]], it has some history in [[progressive rock]] (e.g., [[Electric Light Orchestra]], [[King Crimson]], [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]], [[Gentle Giant]]). The instrument has a stronger place in modern [[jazz fusion]] bands, notably [[The Corrs]].

The popularity of [[crossover music]] beginning in the last years of the 20th century has brought the violin back into the popular music arena, with both electric and acoustic violins being used by popular bands. [[Dave Matthews Band]] features violinist [[Boyd Tinsley]]. [[The Flock (band)|The Flock]] featured violinist [[Jerry Goodman]] who later joined the [[jazz-rock fusion]] band, [[The Mahavishnu Orchestra]]. [[James (band)|James]]' [[Saul Davies]], who is also a [[guitar]]ist, was enlisted by the band as a violinist.

The [[folk metal]] band [[Ithilien (band)|Ithilien]] use violin extensively along their discography.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spirit-of-metal.com/groupe-groupe-Ithilien-l-en.html|title=Ithilien - discography, line-up, biography, interviews, photos|website=www.spirit-of-metal.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-12}}</ref> [[Progressive metal]] band [[Ne Obliviscaris (band)|Ne Obliviscaris]] feature a violin player, Tim Charles, in their line-up.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.facebook.com/NeObliviscarisBand/ | title=Ne Obliviscaris| website=[[Facebook]]}}</ref>

Independent artists, such as [[Owen Pallett]], [[The Shondes]], and [[Andrew Bird]], have also spurred increased interest in the instrument.<ref name=ChicagoMag>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=Golden |work= Chicago Magazine | date=December 5, 2017 |title=Andrew Bird Brings His Sweeping Symphony of Sounds to Chicago | url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/December-2017/Andrew-Bird-Echolocations-River}}</ref> [[Independent music|Indie]] bands have often embraced new and unusual arrangements, allowing them more freedom to feature the violin than many mainstream musical artists. [[Lindsey Stirling]] plays the violin in conjunction with electronic/dubstep/trance rifts and beats.<ref name="hercampus">{{cite journal |last= Self |first= Brooke |date= April 9, 2011 |title= Lindsey Stirling—hip hop violinist |url= http://www.hercampus.com/school/byu/lindsey-stirling%E2%80%94hip-hop-violinist |journal= [[Her Campus]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141205163809/http://www.hercampus.com/school/byu/lindsey-stirling-hip-hop-violinist |archive-date= 2014-12-05 |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[Eric Stanley (violinist)|Eric Stanley]] improvises on the violin with [[hip hop music]]/pop/classical elements and instrumental beats.<ref name="vh1">{{cite web |last= Tietjen |first= Alexa |url= http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2015-04-08/fetty-wap-trap-queen-violin-freestyle/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150410191820/http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2015-04-08/fetty-wap-trap-queen-violin-freestyle/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= April 10, 2015 |title= Get Your Life From This Violin Freestyle Of Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen" |publisher= [[VH1]] |website= vh1.com |access-date= May 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |last= Martinez |first= Marc |subject-link= Eric_Stanley_(violinist)|title= Eric Stanley: Hip Hop Violinist |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Vew6mIV5U | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/H_Vew6mIV5U| archive-date=2021-10-29|publisher= [[KTSP-TV]] |location= Phoenix |date= October 3, 2010 |work= Fox 10 News |access-date= December 11, 2014 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> The successful [[indie rock]] and [[baroque pop]] band [[Arcade Fire]] use violins extensively in their arrangements.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arcade Fire – 10 of the best|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2019-12-12|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/17/arcade-fire-10-of-the-best}}</ref>

===Folk music and fiddling===
{{Main|Fiddle}}
[[File:Anders Zorn - Hins Anders (1904).jpg|thumb|The [[fiddler]] Hins Anders Ersson painted by [[Anders Zorn]], 1904]]
Like many other instruments used in [[classical music]], the violin descends from remote ancestors that were used for [[folk music]]. Following a stage of intensive development in the late [[Renaissance]], largely in [[Italy]], the violin had improved (in volume, tone, and agility), to the point that it not only became a very important instrument in art music, but proved highly appealing to folk musicians as well, ultimately spreading very widely, sometimes displacing earlier bowed instruments. [[ethnomusicology|Ethnomusicologists]] have observed its widespread use in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

When played as a folk instrument, the violin is usually referred to in English as a ''fiddle'' (although the term ''fiddle'' can be used informally no matter what the genre of music). Worldwide, there are various stringed instruments such as the [[Hurdy-gurdy|wheel fiddle]] and [[Apache fiddle]] that are also called "fiddles". Fiddle music differs from classical in that the tunes are generally considered dance music,<ref name="OKHistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FI001|title=Fiddling|last=Harris |first=Rodger |publisher=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture|date=2009|website=okhistory.org|access-date=9 February 2018}}</ref> and various techniques, such as droning, shuffling, and ornamentation specific to particular styles are used. In many traditions of folk music, the tunes are not written but are memorized by successive generations of musicians and passed on<ref name="OKHistory" /> in what is known as the [[oral tradition]]. Many [[old-time music|old-time]] pieces call for [[Cross tuning|cross-tuning]], or using tunings other than standard GDAE. Some players of American styles of folk fiddling (such as [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] or old-time) have their bridge's top edge cut to a slightly flatter curve, making techniques such as a "double shuffle" less taxing on the bow arm, as it reduces the range of motion needed for alternating between [[double stop]]s on different string pairs. Fiddlers who use solid steel core strings may prefer to use a [[tailpiece]] with fine tuners on all four strings, instead of the single fine tuner on the E string used by many classical players.

===Arabic music===
As well as the Arabic [[Rebab|rababah]], the violin has been used in Arabic music.