"Violin" by Stephanie Miller

The violin was first found in Italy in the 16^th century. The violin is a stringed instrument with four strings. It is in the shape of the number eight with C-shaped curves in the sides. At the left-hand base of the violin, a flat, round piece of wood called the chinrest supports the head while playing. The tailpiece, which is triangle-shaped, sits above the chinrest. At the top of the tailpiece are the pegs, which are the fine tuners of the strings. Above the pegs and below the bridge is a gap where the bow is drawn across. The bow consists of a long piece of wood with horsehair along the bottom length. The fingerboard, a long, black piece of wood that sits above the bridge, extends from the body of the violin and ends in the peg box and the scroll. The pegs in the peg box hold the strings in place and serve as a rough tuner. The scroll, which is the very end, is a decorative finish for the instrument. The violin is a work of visual art that creates audible art as well. The brown body of the violin is an excellent contrast to the black fingerboards and black tailpiece.

To play the violin, one must set it up very carefully. First, either a large, rectangular sponge or a bracket shaped cushion is inserted underneath the chinrest. Second, the bow is tightened by turning a knob located at the base of the bow. The violin is lifted up onto the shoulders and the left hand is wrapped around the fingerboard just below the peg box. To make a sound, the bow is drawn horsehair side down across the strings between the fine tuners and bridge. If no fingers are placed on the fingerboard and a string are played, the sound produced is called an “open” note. Making different notes requires placing the fingers on a specific spot on the fingerboard. Playing a song involves placing the fingers down in a certain pattern and drawing the bow across the violin in different ways. A staccato sound is made by quickly drawing the bow across the violin and stopping abruptly; a legato sound is produced by smoothly drawing the bow. To play louder, the bow is pressed down harder; to play more quietly, the pressure on the bow is lessened.

When one plays the violin, they must convey the emotion they feel tenfold in order for the audience to feel a mere fraction of that emotion. It is often heard that music is a form of art, but I believe that it is something more. Art is a form of expression oneself, but it is also a way to show who one is because all other methods fail in comparison to it. Each note, bow stroke, and trill is distinctly the individual’s; no machine could ever copy or imitate the human touch. It is true that machines will play music perfectly, right down to the last millisecond of each note. But it is the human error, the accidental prolongation of a note, a fast trill, a random vibration, or the slip of a bow that makes music challenging, exciting, and, above all, completely and unconditionally the violinist’s.

Movement is essential to a performing violinist. Nobody wants to see a person standing rock still with the same expression stuck on his face. The violinist must move to convey the tone and flow of the music. For example, if the music is smooth and flowing, then the violinist must sway to the music smoothly. However, movement only works if it matches the mood and emotion of the music. One cannot quickly sway back and forth when playing a slow song. Movement during a song often adds a new depth to the music. People like visual and audio elements smoothly grafted together. If the movement matches the mood, then the audience will feel the emotion even more strongly.

Many perhaps think that the violin only involves two senses: sight and hearing. True, the violin is a beautifully crafted instrument, and it creates a wonderful sound, but there are other senses involved with actually playing it that the audience does not experience. The pine-like smell of rosin, the musty smell of music books, and the warm scent of wood are brought to mind. These all involve the sense of smell. Playing a violin also activates touch. The strings are rough and round in texture, the wood is smooth, the pegs are corrugated, and the bow is firm but sleek. Although it might seem that taste is not involved in playing the violin, oftentimes a strong smell will make one taste whatever one smells. Rosin, for example, will bring a slightly bitter, tangy feeling to the tongue. Therefore, violinists experience all of the five senses when they play their instruments.

In this picture, a human face is the first thing that catches the viewer’s eye. From there, the eye follows the shape of the face and down to the violin itself, where several lines of perspective on the violin draw it to the bow. The viewer stops and stares at the bow, then follows the lines of perspective presented by the strings to the violinist’s hand. The slight blurs of the bow, hand, and face indicate that the violinist is playing a song. Dividing the photograph into thirds, the violinist’s face makes up the first third, from the face to the bow makes up the second third and the bow and beyond makes up the last third. The photo is also divided into bisects, or two halves, by the strings that meet the bridge. Finally, the violin, being a highly polished instrument, often reflects light, as is expressed here, just above the bridge of the violin.