Mute violin
Encyclopedia
The mute violin is a violin
without or with a very shallow sound box. The instrument has a quiet, lean sound. The mute violin can be used as an exercise instrument in situations where the sound of a violin is experienced as annoying by neighbouring people. Mute violins are known to exist since the Eighteenth Century, but their use never became widespread. Leopold Mozart
made mention of the instrument in his Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule
(1756).
, a combination of a mute violin and a metal horn
. In contrast to the mute violin, this instrument sounds rather loud. It was used instead of the violin in the early days of phonograph
ic recording. Nowadays, the instrument is still used by a few pop musicians
and in Romanian
folk music
.
, mute violins provided with electronics
, were introduced on the market. An example is Yamaha Corporation’s ‘silent violin’, which can be connected to a pair of headphones
, an amplifier
or recording equipment.
The American
performance art
ist Laurie Anderson
often plays violins like these.
wanted the part of the first violin in his first string quartet
of 1914 to be played by a mute violin. In a recording of his five string quartets by the Schönberg Quartet (Olympia OCD 457, 1994) the effect of the mute violin was imitated by an extra heavy sordino
on an ‘ordinary’ 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....
without or with a very shallow sound box. The instrument has a quiet, lean sound. The mute violin can be used as an exercise instrument in situations where the sound of a violin is experienced as annoying by neighbouring people. Mute violins are known to exist since the Eighteenth Century, but their use never became widespread. Leopold Mozart
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
made mention of the instrument in his Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule
Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule
Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule is a textbook for instruction in the violin, published by Leopold Mozart in 1756...
(1756).
Stroh violin
A related instrument is the Stroh violinStroh violin
Stroh violin, Strohviol, or Strohviol, is a trade name for a horn-violin, or violinophone—a violin that amplifies its sound through a metal resonator and metal horns rather than a wooden sound box as on a standard violin. The instrument is named after its designer, John Matthias Augustus Stroh, an...
, a combination of a mute violin and a metal horn
Horn (acoustic)
A horn is a tapered sound guide designed to provide an acoustic impedance match between a sound source and free air. This has the effect of maximizing the efficiency with which sound waves from the particular source are transferred to the air...
. In contrast to the mute violin, this instrument sounds rather loud. It was used instead of the violin in the early days of phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
ic recording. Nowadays, the instrument is still used by a few pop musicians
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and in Romanian
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
.
Electric versions
In the late Twentieth Century intermediate forms between the mute violin and the electric violinElectric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
, mute violins provided with electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, were introduced on the market. An example is Yamaha Corporation’s ‘silent violin’, which can be connected to a pair of headphones
Headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
, an amplifier
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
or recording equipment.
The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
ist Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
often plays violins like these.
An application
The Dutch composer Willem PijperWillem Pijper
Willem Pijper ; Zeist, 8 September 1894 - Utrecht, 18 March 1947) was a Dutch composer, music critic and music teacher.-Life:Pijper was born at Zeist, near Utrecht, on 8 September 1894 of strict Calvinist working-class parents. His father, who sometimes played psalm accompaniments on the harmonium,...
wanted the part of the first violin in his first string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
of 1914 to be played by a mute violin. In a recording of his five string quartets by the Schönberg Quartet (Olympia OCD 457, 1994) the effect of the mute violin was imitated by an extra heavy sordino
Sordino
Sordino, with alternative forms sordono and sordun, etc., is an Italian term somewhat promiscuously applied by various writers:#to contrivances for damping or muting wind, string and percussion instruments ;...
on an ‘ordinary’ violin.
Literature
- Harrison Ryker, text in the booklet accompanying the cd Five String Quartets, Olympia OCD 457.