Baritone violin
Encyclopedia
A Baritone violin is a member of the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 family and has two specific meanings:
  • a violin
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

     tuned an octave
    Octave
    In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

     below conventional violin tuning (G-D-A-E). This is commonly accomplished by stringing a standard violin with heavy gauge strings, sometimes specially manufactured for this purpose. Oversize instruments with the same range and tuning also exist and are known as tenor violin
    Tenor violin
    A tenor violin is an instrument with a range between those of the cello and the viola. An earlier development of the evolution of the violin family of instruments, the instrument is not standard in the modern symphony orchestra...

    s. http://www.darolanger.com/bariton.html
  • the third largest member of the violin octet
    Violin octet
    The violin octet is a family of stringed instruments developed in the 20th century primarily under the direction of the American luthier Carleen Hutchins. Each instrument is based directly on the traditional violin and shares its acoustical properties, with the goal of a richer and more homogeneous...

     family of instruments, with the same tuning as a cello (C-G-D-A) but larger in size. http://www.newviolinfamily.org


The most commonly available strings for converting a standard violin to the baritone range are manufactured by Thomastik under the brand "Octavgeige." Performers on the baritone violin commonly use amplification to overcome the limited projection and sonority inherent with a lower range on a relatively small bodied instrument. In modern playing, it is more common to find the baritone violin in a jazz, newgrass, or experimental ensemble than in a classical setting. Some well known performers on the baritone violin include Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...

, Svend Asmussen
Svend Asmussen
Svend Asmussen is a jazz violinist from Denmark, known as "The Fiddling Viking". Asmussen grew up in a musical family, starting violin lessons at age 7. At age 16 he first heard recordings by jazz violin great Joe Venuti and began to emulate his style...

, and Darol Anger
Darol Anger
-Career:Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin in The David Grisman Quintet's 1977 debut. He co-founded the Turtle Island String Quartet with David Balakrishnan in 1985 and performed,...

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