A fiddle is any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music. Fiddle playing, or fiddling, refers to various styles of music.
Common distinctions between violins and fiddles reflect the differences in the instruments used to play folk and classical music. However, it is not uncommon for classically trained violinists to play folk music, and today many fiddle players have some classical training. Many traditional (folk) styles are aural traditions, so are taught 'by ear' rather than with written music.
Read more about Fiddle: History, Etymology, Fiddle Playing in Ensemble, Fiddle Styles
Famous quotes containing the word fiddle:
“If you love music, hear it; go to operas, concerts and pay fiddlers to play to you; but I insist on your neither piping nor fiddling yourself. It puts a gentleman in a very frivolous, contemptible light.... Few things would mortify me more than to see you bearing a part in a concert, with a fiddle under your chin, or a pipe in your mouth.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“It needs more skill than I can tell
To play the second fiddle well.”
—C.H. (Charles Haddon)
“Those who refuse to play second fiddle may wind up playing no fiddle at all.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)