Baroque violin

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A baroque violin is, in common usage, any violin whose neck, fingerboard, bridge, and tailpiece are of the type used during the baroque period. Such an instrument may be an original built during the baroque and never changed to modern form; or a modern replica built as a baroque violin; or an older instrument which has been converted (or re-converted) to baroque form.

Baroque mounted Jakobus Stainer violin from 1658

Following period practices, most baroque violinists use gut strings. This lends a certain purity and at times earthiness to the sound. Baroque violinists commonly play their instruments without a chin rest or shoulder rest, as they had not yet been invented in the baroque period. The relaxed and natural baroque violin posture is quite different as compared with the more poised modern violin position. The baroque violin is usually positioned more in front of the player than the modern violin, with the strings often running perpendicular to the player's collarbone. This causes the player's bow arm to be positioned differently as well, facilitating articulations which would be difficult and less natural in a modern violin posture. Some players do not touch their chin to the instrument at all. However, when used, the player's chin is usually placed on the treble side of the tailpiece.

Other typical differences from the modern violin include: a smaller bass bar, a differently shaped bridge which is thinner at the base and thicker at the top, a shorter fingerboard, a fuller neck, and the absence of fine tuners. The biggest difference between the modern and baroque violins is the bow, however. The modern violin bow curves downward in the middle while the baroque bow will look straight or bent outwards under tension. The baroque bow is thinner near the tip which comes to an exaggerated point. The common myth that the baroque bow had a huge exaggerated arch shape so as to play all four strings at once remains unsubstantiated. [1] Although the convex bows found in paintings may appear to be for the purpose of playing all four strings at once, the testing of period and replica convex bows quickly shows that this is an impossibility.

There is some debate on subjects such as the possibilities of lower string tension, low string angle over the bridge, and shorter string lengths on the baroque violin.

Baroque violins have surged in popularity since the 1980s as part of the growing interest in authentic performance. Their renewed use reflects an attempt to rediscover the original style of violin playing in the baroque period. As is always the case with period instruments, merely having authentic equipment does not necessarily guarantee an authentic sound. Typically, period instrument players receive extensive university training in the style and often use original treatises as a resource.