You never spill beer on a violin.

so the sacrilegious boy has a 24karat gold fiddle? xD

If there are beer stains on the instrument it's a fiddle. Otherwise, it's a violin.

There is a lot of confusion about the the words "fiddle" and "violin." They are both essentially violins although "fiddles" can differ in a number of minor modifications from the Classical violin, namely the bridge which can be flatter in order to facilitate double stops with more ease. More often, the term "fiddle" refers to techniques and styles in playing various world folk traditions. The word comes to English from its Dutch and German cognates, "vedel/ fiedel" and "vielle" in French. The vielle was the medieval period bowed fiddle. Prior to the 2nd millenium, bowed instruments were virtually unknown in western Europe with possible exceptions of the Crwth. It is believed by most musicologists that the Byzantine lira, a bowed instrument, made its way to western Europe via the Crusades, along with a number of other types of instruments such as the Persian santoor (western Hammered Dulcimer) and the rebab which lead to the medieval rebec. The vielle was replaced by the viol family during The Renaissance and early violins were produced in Italy by about 100 years after the viols. Initially, violins were played more as folk instruments and it was not until the likes of Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivavldi that violins were elevated to higher stature and eclipsed the use of viols although the viol da gamba continued in use through most of the Baroque era.

For fiddles I play both the violin and the viola. I see a lot of comments by people below that were confused over your video. One asked that you should have played both the fiddle and the violin so they could hear the difference in sound. You showed a five string violin which is handy when you want to play in the same register as the viola, but someone said in your comments, Not all violins have five strings. That person didn't know that the violin has four strings unless you want to buy a violin specifically with five strings so you can play the notes the viola plays. Another comment was someone writing as if he was of some authority telling who ever would read his post that "the violin has a slightly larger body and often the strings are tuned to a lower pitch. The fiddle, on the other hand, is smaller with higher pitched strings. In addition, violins have deeper ribs that help produce fuller sound while fiddles have shallower ribs that allow for more projection." But I can speak with authority since I have been playing the violin since 1963. Fiddle is a word used as a slang for the violin. A fiddle is a violin and a violin is a fiddle. When one plays folk, country, blue grass or a type of genre of music that is not classical they will call that music "fiddle music" and may refer to their violin as a fiddle. Some musicians that play fiddle music will file their bridge down so they can chord all four strings at once. This makes it impossible to play individual strings. They have an additional violin so they can play individual strings. Both musicians of classical and fiddle music may have a luthier do changes on their instrument for a different sound. I JUST WANT EVERYONE to know that a fiddle is NOT a specific instrument. It is a slang word for a violin. "Fiddle" is a genre of music not an instrument.

Damn dude, this is actually a very good video, and a great explanation. You should do more videos on the violin, I'd watch them

Good explanation!!! I just wish I could have heard you play the fiddle!!!

Very instructive. Thank you.

Very interesting! Started 3 months ago with violin. Did know nothing about that instrument, but meantime listened to many KZfaq Videos. And more and more I am fascinated about that instrument and also history! Thanks for your video! Greetings from Germany! !

Great explanation. Very succinct.

Thank you so much for the clarification. I always wondered what the difference was. I have always been a big fan of the fiddle as opposed to the violin.

The difference between a fiddle and a violin is a fiddle has had beer spilt on it.

Thank you!! I love it. Keep it up

Since when has violin had 5 strings

Thanks for this info! Doesn't a fiddle usually have a flatter bridge than a violin? Mine does. I was told that this facilitates double-stopping (i.e., playing two strings at once) - your arm doesn't have to rise and fall as much when switching strings.

INTERESTING!!!!

Interesting. When I was a young violin student (50's) of a professional/teacher/conductor, I was taught that the difference was mostly the placement of the sound post of the fiddle vs the violin. I think that a different bridge might have been mentioned, but never anything about how it was played particularly, just the difference in resonance and tone caused by the altered placement of the sound post. It's certain that the square dancing fiddler's tone, when I attended those, was quite different from that produced by any of the violinists I knew, more intense, tending to be a bit harsher, less rich and full. Ditto the sound of a country fiddler as seen on TV etc. This teacher was quite able to improvise freely, and even sometimes did acrobatics while playing. He had a Guarnerius violin, btw.

Good video. A difference I describe, between Classical and Fiddle, is that Classical is "sit and listen" music, while fiddle was originally, and still is, highly focused towards dance (audience "participation" maybe?).

In between the rebec and the violin are the family of viols, which are probably the closest ancestors to violin, viola, cello, and bass

They are the same instrument just how you play it. It’s in the bow. I don’t even play. But I have eyes. The violin side the bow is on the bottom part of the string. Fiddle it’s set in the middle and you don’t left off much just how you feeling and the sound you are getting or know. It’s simple to understand hard to do. And I’m about to buy one. Haha

violin is singing ... fiddle is dancing

thanks for being so translucent… either way, my dad must’ve bought wrong one forgetting i’m the blind but never deaf one …

This video was missing something. I would have liked you to have played the violin and the fiddle you showed us, so we could hear the difference for ourselves.

i care not to play one! but i love music & love learning about music! this was a good one fer ya!!!

They Are Both Fiddles A Violin is a Variety of Size For Viols like a Viola Da Gamba These of What You Have Are Versatile (Light) That You Can Dance Around

I've heard many highly accomplished players of serious, composed music refer to their priceless instrument as "my fiddle" (Itzhak Perlman," to name just one). And I've heard many far less accomplished players of vernacular and improvised music refer to their cheap instrument as "my violin" (me, for one). My answer to the question, "Fiddle vs. Violin: What's the Difference," is this. "Fiddle" is an older English word that applies to bowed instruments in general (e.g., "bass fiddle"), while "violin" is a more recent Italian word that applies to a very specific design and size of fiddles.

The violin has a slightly larger body and often the strings are tuned to a lower pitch. The fiddle, on the other hand, is smaller with higher pitched strings. In addition, violins have deeper ribs that help produce fuller sound while fiddles have shallower ribs that allow for more projection.

If you tap your foot while you play, it’s a fiddle. If you don’t, it’s a violin.

I was playing fiddle when string broke. I changed it and continued playing violin. However they all liked how fiddle sounded so I left violin and played fiddle. Still by night when no one hears, I enjoy violin playing. Got it? 😜

Why are there 5 strings on that violin?

A violin sings A fiddle dances

They played us like damn fiddle

The difference ? Never seen a beer spilled on a violin before.

Gee, imagine if someone could actually demonstrate the 2 styles by say picking up and instrument and playing it in the 2 styles. If only you had access to said instruments.

You're really good at reading.

I agree with the poster that the difference is largely a matter of the style of the player. However, I disagree with his contention that it is the difference between written and improvised music, especially since he cites jazz as an example of the latter. Yes, jazz is improvised, but we talk about jazz VIOLINISTS (think Stephane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Joe Venuti, Jean-Luc Ponty), not jazz fiddlers. Many jazz violinists are in fact classically trained. There are differences in setup between violins and fiddles, but they are still the same instrument. The best definition I have ever heard is this: a violinist plays long strokes, with two or more notes being played per stroke; a fiddler saws back and forth, one note per stroke.

Who told you All that ?

Fiddle and violin is just different class, different genre, different playing. Fiddle is a violin in a village, violin is inba konzerthaus. It's annoying if someone call a violin as a fiddle, Paganini fiddle concerto?

The fiddle is the unorthodox version of the violin 😂

Uhm violins only have 4 strings....not 5. idk about fiddles but i do know that a violin does not have 5 strings

Next up the faddle, a fretted cello played like a bass guitar.

Jaron Bryant Well it's all the same instrument

Well, fiddles in past times (more than a century ago) were made with scrap material found here and there, it was poor man hand made because no money to buy a "real" violin. Violins, like it looks in modern days, were luthier's art and pricey - available mostly for classical musicians playing for the bourgeoisie and Kings. So it is a modern conception that fiddles and violins are the same; only since industrial mass production has lowered violins' price so almost everyone can now buy one - exception, in poor countries today, sitll many people make their own instruments with scrap material savaged here and there in garbages...

so a fiddle is freedom to play how you want and violin is compositions only

not every violin has five strings so it’s still hard to tell the difference

Wait are you saying the violin has 5 strings and fiddle has 4 strings? That means I have been playing fiddle all this while

NOT TRUE! Violins and fiddles are the same instrument! 🎻 People in England (where I'm from) always say "violin", whereas people here in Scotland always say "fiddle". It's a colloquial thing. Classical music is associated with "violins" and traditional folk music is associated with "fiddles". Also - violins do NOT have 5 strings 🤦🏻‍♀️ I have been playing for over 30 years, teaching for over 20 years, and I'm Diploma level, yet never once have I come across a violin with 5 strings!

He is lying. The only difference between a fiddle and a violin is that you don't spill beer on a violin.

lol that’s not how language or music works.

You were played like a fiddle