Printed in England.
CONTENTS.
| PART I. | |
| The instrument. | |
| page | |
| Origin of the violin | [ 1] |
| The oldest violins | [ 1] |
| Development and perfecting of the violin | [ 2] |
| Prominent makers of the present day | [ 3] |
| Attempts at improving the violin | [ 4] |
| Search for the discovery of the old Italian makers’ secrets | [ 6] |
| Distinguishing features of the old Italian violins | [ 7] |
| Imitations of the old Italian violins | [10] |
| Constituent parts of the violin | [10] |
| Function of the soundpost and bass bar | [12] |
| Position of the bridge | [12] |
| Amount of pressure on the upper table | [13] |
| Dimensions of the violin | [13] |
| The wood | [13] |
| The varnish | [14] |
| The strings | [14] |
| Strings pure in fifths | [15] |
| The string gauge | [15] |
| Preservation of the strings | [16] |
| The bow | [16] |
| Different parts of the bow | [17] |
| Resin | [18] |
| Violin cases | [18] |
| Price of violins | [19] |
| Price of violin cases | [19] |
| Price of bows | [19] |
| Preservation of the instrument | [19] |
| Cleaning the hair of the bow | [20] |
| Names of the strings, and tuning | [20] |
| Compass of the violin | [21] |
PART II. | |
| The technique of violin playing. | |
| Position of the player | [22] |
| Holding the violin | [22] |
| Position of left hand and arm | [23] |
| Holding the bow | [25] |
| Position of right hand and arm | [25] |
| Examining the manner of holding | [25] |
| Bowing | [25] |
| Principal signs used for the left hand and for bowing | [27] |
| Employment of up and down bows | [28] |
| The first exercises | [29] |
| Placing the fingers | [30] |
| Exercise in intervals | [33] |
| Chords in arpeggio | [35] |
| Stretching the 4ᵗʰ finger | [36] |
| Various styles of bowing and their signs | [37] |
| Arpeggi | [41] |
| The close shake (vibrato) | [42] |
| The open shake | [42] |
| The mordent | [44] |
| The double shake | [44] |
| Scale playing | [45] |
| Fingering of scales | [46] |
| Chromatic scales | [47] |
| The positions | [48] |
| Changing the position | [49] |
| Movement of the fingers in changing positions | [49] |
| Diagram showing the positions | [50] |
| Double stops | [53] |
| Chords in three parts | [58] |
| Chords in four parts | [62] |
| Harmonics | [64] |
| Pizzicato | [69] |
PART III. | |
| The performance. | |
| Artistic rendering | [72] |
| Taste | [72] |
| Individuality | [73] |
| Phrasing | [73] |
APPENDIX. | |
| Pictorial representation of the bowing | [80] |
| The mute | [81] |
| The Vibrator | [82] |
| Alphabetical list of celebrated violinists of | |
| the 17ᵗʰ, 18ᵗʰ and 19ᵗʰ centuries | [84] |
| Violinists of the 20ᵗʰ century | [106] |
TRANSLATOR’S APPENDIX. | |
| The Viola | [107] |
| Guide through Violin literature | [109] |
| Guide through Viola literature | [179] |
PART I.
The instrument.
Origin of the violin.
The invention of stringed instruments is certainly of great antiquity, but exact information with regard to the origin of the violin has not come down to us. Although stringed instruments were in use before Christian times, we know that these had nothing in common with the violin, or that at any rate the bow was not then known. It is therefore presumed that its invention and use in connection with stringed instruments occurred in the first century of the Christian era.
Many are, notwithstanding, of the opinion that the use of the bow was known in pre-Christian times,—in India and in Persia. Pictures of Indian and Persian bowed instruments exist, but the period when they were employed is not exactly known. [See Fig. a and b] of page 2.
The oldest violins
known are those of the Tyrolese Lute maker Gaspard Duiffopruggar (Tieffenbrucker), made in the 16ᵗʰ century. A few of these instruments remain to the present day, and are noticeable on account of their fine, clear tone, as well as for the neatness and elegance of their workmanship.