The violin is a soprano member of the string family, which also includes the viola, violoncello, and double bass, from highest to lowest. In scores, it is abbreviated Vln. to distinguish it from the viola, which is abbreviated Vla. In a string quartet, there are two violins, a viola, and a cello, and in orchestras, there are sections of both first and second violins, possibly 30 in total.
Like the viola, the violin is held under the chin and rests on the left shoulder of the player. The left hand, which is used for fingering, holds the neck, while the right hand holds the bow. The violin has four strings tuned in fifths at G3, D4, A4, and E5. It is a non-transposing instrument with four strings tuned in fifths at G3, D4, A4, and E5. The E-string, which has the highest pitch, is referred to as the first string.
The left hand’s fingers press the strings to control the vibrato and pitch, as well as to create effects like artificial and natural harmonics, finger tremolo, glissando, multiple stops, portamento, and trills. The left hand plucks a string in finger pizzicato, but plucking and bowing are usually done by the right hand.
The right hand draws, strikes, or bounces the bow across the strings, shaping the movement to the desired effect — bow tremolo, détaché, louré, martelé, portato, spiccato, staccato, and sul ponticello, for example — or plucks the strings to create pizzicato. In some cases, the violin bow’s wood is used, either drawn against the string in col legno tratto or tapped on the strings in col legno battuto — col legno means “with the wood.”
The violin is a member of the core ensemble in orchestras of all sizes and types, as well as one of the most prominent solo instruments. Jazz, blues, klezmer, Hungarian gypsy music, and other genres all feature solo violin. Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Paganini all composed famous violin concertos. Midori, Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Yehudi Menuhin, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Niccolo Paganini, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, and Pinchas Zuckerman are some well-known violinists.