Electric violin
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![]() Front, back and headstock detail of a Leo Fender's Electric Violin | |
Classification | |
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An electric violin is a
History
Electrically amplified violins have been used in one form or another since the 1920s; jazz and blues artist
Barcus Berry have been producing electric violins since the mid-1960s[5] and in the early 1970s Max Mathews began developing an electric violin[6] which reached completion in 1984[7] During the 1980s more companies were formed producing their own brand of electric violin, such as RAAD[8] or The Amazing Electric Violin[9] and ZETA.[10] There has been a great deal more commercial success for manufacturers of electric violins since the 1990s, both for well known, established companies and new independent makers too.
Description
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Acoustic violins may be used with an add-on
To avoid feedback from the resonances of the hollow body under high amplification on stage, many instruments have a solid body instead. The timbre (tone color) of a standard unamplified violin is due in large part to these resonances, but so depending on how the signal is picked up, an electric violin may have a "rawer" or "sharper" sound than an acoustic. This raw sound is often preferred in rock, pop and some avant-garde genres. Several "semi-hollow" designs exist, containing a sealed, but hollow resonating chamber that provides some approximation of acoustic violin sound while reducing susceptibility to feedback.
Solid-body electric violins typically have a non-traditional, minimalistic design to keep weight down. Lately, materials such as kevlar, glass and carbon fibres, are used in the build process.
They are often seen as "experimental" instruments, being less established than
Acoustic 5-string violins are becoming more common, and it is not unusual for an electric violin to have 5, 6, 7 or more strings. The typical solid body also accommodates the extra tension caused by more strings without stressing the instrument too much. The extra strings are usually a low C string for 5-strings, a low C and low F for 6, and a low C, F and B♭ for 7.
Electric violin signals usually pass through electronic
Today electric violins are even being used to reinvigorate music education. NBC, for example, recently featured a "music camp that combines rock and orchestra" by Mark Wood, who was chosen as the "person of the day" and featured on
Pickups
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Piezo_violin_bridge.jpg/220px-Piezo_violin_bridge.jpg)
Electric violins may use
Generally, piezoelectric pickups are inexpensive and more common. Piezo elements come in the shape of ceramic discs, cylinders or a plastic film. They detect physical vibrations directly, sometimes placed in or on the body, or in some cases actual string vibrations directly, but more commonly general bridge vibrations are sensed. Some piezo setups have a separate pickup (or two, or even four in the case of some Barbera Transducer Systems pickups) within the bridge under each string.[12] A few systems use transducers oriented in various directions to differentiate between bowed and plucked string motion. Operating a switch then selects the preferred mode.[13]
Piezo pickups have a high (capacitive) output impedance, and must be plugged into a high impedance input stage in the amplifier or a powered preamp (a charge amplifier is best). This buffers the signal to avoid low frequency loss and microphonic noise pickup in the instrument cable. Preamplification is often done by an external signal processor, but some electric violin body designs provide internal housing for preamp circuitry.[14][15]
Amplification
Essentially, amplifying an electric violin is exactly the same as amplifying a guitar. They both produce an audio output which is transferred through an audio cable into an amp or PA. For this reason, there are few amps that are specifically for violin, and even those can be repurposed for guitar. Most electric violinists use standard guitar amplifiers. The advantage with using guitar amps is that they have been used for years and their sound is reliable, though not all guitar amps will give a desired tone. Some prefer the more mellow tone of tube amps over solid state amps and digital PA's for violins.[16] Similar to how electric guitar amplifiers are typically used for electric violins, guitar effect pedals, or effects units can be and are used for electric violins.
Genres
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Ed_Alleyne_Johnson.jpg/220px-Ed_Alleyne_Johnson.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Mia_Zabelka_20090425_345.jpg/220px-Mia_Zabelka_20090425_345.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Paji_SMS_2018-7.jpg/220px-Paji_SMS_2018-7.jpg)
Although the violin is an instrument used extensively in
It is used extensively in
Artists such as Tracy Silverman and Daniel Bernard Roumain have popularized violin "looping". Instead of playing strictly with a band or as a traditional soloist, these musicians use a loop pedal to layer sound and effectively become a one-man band. Using a variety of pedals and techniques on the violin, these musicians yield a wide array of sounds, allowing original compositions and arrangements for electric looping violin of popular rock and hip hop tunes.[17]
Classically trained violinist Emilie Autumn has also made extensive use of the electric violin, particularly on her instrumental Laced/Unlaced album.
In Brazil, the Electric Violin appears in the work of Marcus Viana, like "Sagrado Coração da Terra" (Sacred Heart of Earth), a Symphonic Prog/Progressive Rock, and Transfonika Orkestra (soundtracks), besides many others.
Several
Daiana Mazza is another violinist from Brazil. She appears in works of Rock, Brazilian Music, Brazilian Gospel, Jazz and Folk, like Braia, Kernunna, Carol Carolo, Os Minervas, Leonardo Araujo, Transfonika Orkestra, Sagrado Coração da Terra, etc.
Compositions
- Igor Krivokapič
- Concerto for electric violin and orchestra (1993, rev. 2019).
- John Adams
- The Dharma at Big Sur, for electric violin and orchestra.
- Inspired by the talents of (and written for) electric violinist Tracy Silverman.
- Terry Riley
- "Palmian Chord Riddle", concerto for six string electric violin.
- Commissioned by the Nashville Symphony for electric violinist Tracy Silverman.[18]
- Charles Wuorinen
- Concerto for Amplified Violin and Orchestra — 1972.
- Nico Muhly
- Ed Wright
- Crosswire for electric violin and live processing.
- Written for Electroacoustic Wales.[21]
MIDI violin
In the mid-1980s, Zeta Music developed a prototype violin for
In 2010, Keith McMillen, a founder of Zeta Music, announced the StringPort polyphonic string-to-USB 2.0 converter for the Zeta polyphonic pickup and other polyphonic pickup systems.
Notable artists who have performed using a MIDI-enabled violin include L. Subramaniam, Jean-Luc Ponty, Charles Bisharat, Drew Tretick, Gregory Docenko, Dorothy Martirano[23] and Boyd Tinsley from Dave Matthews Band.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ instruments surviving today first found listed in sales catalogues and contemporaneous advertising
- ^ Richard Smith, "Fender: The Sound Heard Around The World" (pg.180-181)
- ^ Forrest White, "Fender: The Inside Story" (pg.108-109)
- ^ Listings begin again in 1969 Fender Sales Catalogues and contemporaneous advertising
- ^ "Barcus Berry". Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ A Case For An Electronically Adjusted ("Electric") Violin" by Dr. Eugene Gratovich, The Strad magazine Vol.84 #999 pg.171-174
- ^ Electronic Violin: A Research Tool", M.V.Mathews, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Nov. 1984 Vol.8 #1
- ^ "The Shock Of The New", The Strad magazine Vol.94 #1126 pg698-700
- ^ "David Bush, Brian Lepine, Michael Zimmerman. Amazing Electric Violin. 1989 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ "It's been 21 years". Zetaviolins.com. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ a b Olwell, Greg (August 2013). "Plugging Into the Volta Standard 4-String Acoustic-Electric Violin". Strings Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ^ "Barbera ultra high performance pickups for stringed instruments". Barberatransducers.com. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "NS Design Polar Pickup System". Archived from the original on May 15, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
- ^ "Jordan Electric Violins". Jordanmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Electric Violin Lutherie". Electric Violin Lutherie. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Vector Electric Instruments – Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Violins". Vectorinstruments.com. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Feb. 4: Electronic violinist Tracy Silverman — Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) – 2013-02-05". Mnsu.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ Colter, Seth (2012-12-05). "Terry Riley on giving up self-publishing and his new concerto for electric violin, being performed this weekend". Capitalnewyork.com. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Seeing is Believing". Nico Muhly. 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Nico Muhly: Seeing is Believing / Aurora Orchestra". Auroraorchestra.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-12. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Electroacoustic Wales". Bangor.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "KMI Releases StringPort". Keith McMillen Instruments. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ "Six Exquisites International Sound Arts Festival II". Newsense-intermedium.com. 1997-07-25. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
External links
- Bowed Electricity — website linking many electric violin players, makers, equipment, and other resources. Not updated since 2001
- Bowed Radio — podcast focusing on new music for bowed string instruments (particularly electric ones)
- The Digital Violin Database - A survey and review of the violin today, including patents, makers, players, recordings, articles and resources for technique.
- Electric Fiddler: home for the electric violin player
- Fiddle and Alternative Strings Forum — forum with large section dedicated to electric bowed instruments, effects and amplification.
- Webpage showing a 1948 homebuilt Australian violin.
- World's first Electric Strings university degree program (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)