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The modern four-string violin is generally considered to have originated about 1550 in northern Italy. The earliest violins incorporated features of existing bowed instruments: the rebec, the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. The pear-shaped rebec had strings that were tuned in fifths, and this system was adopted for the violin. However, the shape of the violin was taken from the fiddle and the lira da braccio, as these larger instruments produced a bigger sound and the hourglass shape made bowing easier. |
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Rebecca Arkenberg
Department of Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Citation for this page
Arkenberg, Rebecca. "Renaissance Violins". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/renv/hd_renv.htm (October 2002)
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