Editing Violin (section)

===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.