So here's a sort-of violin reference
I started out on violin, switched to viola, and now sort of play oboe. I made this for the people who wish to draw Snowman because she plays violin I guess.
What you see here is my terrible quality violin and my even worse quality reference guide to drawing one. I did not include pictures of my correct posture and stance and whatever because this is a one-girl operation and my camera can't handle doing timed pictures and other whiny reasons. Anyway,
You see here my violin, bow, violin case, jacket, penguin bedspread, and whatever else managed to get caught in this picture. I used this violin when I was learning to play, so the colorful tape represents where I put my fingers to play the notes (i.e. players who've been playing for awhile SHOULD NOT have these). You also see the rosin dust I forgot to clean off. Violins and violas come in several different sizes. This is a 4/4 size or full-size, because I had freakishly long arms even as a grade schooler. They don't get any bigger, but they go down to 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, and even dinky little 1/16 that a cat could play. There is a handle that usually has a nametag attached that says who the owner of the instrument is, and a detachable strap attached between the handle and the clasps that allows one to carry it.
A few notes about the case of a violin/viola. There are usually several compartments to hold rosin, a cleaning rag, extra strings, and such. There is usually two places to put bows, on the top part. There are two or three clasps; I have two on this, and three on my viola case because it is bigger. The third clasp would be between the hook for the strap and the handle. There is usually a place for a shoulder-rest in lieu of a second compartment (like a boxy place under the neck), but I don't have a shoulder rest so that's okay.
You put your rosin, cleaning rag, strings, yadda yadda yadda here. The Q-tips and clothing pin serve no purpose. Neither does the broken G-string, but I thought it was cool.
Let's get this out of the way, shall we? Here we see the parts of the violin. The order of the strings, from highest and most annoying to deepest, is E, A, D, and G. Each string, played without fingers on it, makes that note. You play with the bow between the bottom of the fingerboard and the bridge, at about a 45 degree angle. Pizzicato, or "pizz", for short (plucking the string rather than playing it with the bow) is played with the thumb under the fingerboard in a curled position, middle, ring, and pinkie curled completely, and index finger plucking the string with the fleshy part of the finger to produce a light, clear sound. Pizz also is played with the violin on the shoulder, rather than in the arm, unlike a ukulele.
You can just about see the round, wooden post that lies directly beneath the bridge. This supports the thin wood of the violin. Posts can be knocked out from place, and it takes a lot to put them where they should be, let me tell you. Also just inside the F Holes is the label for the instrument. It usually says the size and the company that made it.
This here's the bow. When the player is not actually playing, the bow must be unscrewed til the hair is not taut, such as when the violin is being stored. The screw tightens or loosens the hair. There should be less than an inch between hair and stick when playing. You can actually unscrew the frog off, but you're not supposed to. The black part comes off of the stick if you do, but you're easily able to get it back on (thank goodness). The stick is wooden and the hair is horse hair. The frog may or may not have that dot there; my violin bow does, but my viola bow doesn't. A NOTE: There is a difference between bows; bass and cello bows are easily distinguished from each other because they are larger and shorter, but the difference between violin and viola bows lies in the bottom part of the frog. If the base of the frog is rounded, it is a viola bow. If the base is sharp, like in here, it is a violin bow. Most people can't tell the difference (including those who rent out the instruments!!!), especially as there's not much of a difference sound-wise. The viola bow is also somewhat longer, as the viola is a larger instrument.
Most professional players (and orchestra teachers) get their bows rehaired at least once a year. That rosin tends to build up and make the bow grimy, plus make the traction of the bow not as good.
Here I am tightening the bow. To tighten, I turn the screw to the right.
I am also apparently taking this blurry picture with my third arm.
Here's your rosin, an integral part of the string instrument ensemble. Made of tree sap, gives the bow enough traction to properly play notes, blah blah blah. Here is light rosin, rather than dark rosin. My friend says dark rosin is better, but all I know is there's two types. Rosin comes in wooden holders, as seen here, or it may be in a round bar attached to a cloth. You put apply rosin as seen on the right, usually before you play, but if you play long enough you may need to reapply it. You can over-rosin and under-rosin a bow, but usually it's pretty hard to mess up.
If you use rosin long enough, it develops a groove in the middle. My friend's older brother wore a square groove down the middle of his rosin in the shape of his bow. The scratchier, crumblier, groovier your rosin is, the more it shows how serious you are as a player. Old rosin is a sign of respect in the vast underground city of orchestra players (not really).
If I am being informed correctly by both my orchestra teacher and the girl that plays the cello next to me, it also tastes disgusting.
Here we see the scroll, pegs, peg holder, and neck. The strings should be connected to each peg as shown on the left (G string to first peg, D string to third, A string to fourth, E string to second).
The purpose of the pegs is to seriously adjust the tuning of a string. The fine-tuners, as seen before, fine tune the string (how imaginative), but if you've got a wonky or cheap (same thing) violin that fluctuates notes like MSPA oscillates silliness or if you've left your instrument in an environment that is either very hot or very cold or somewhere that changes temperature quickly (VERY BAD), then you probably have need of these.
Here we see two rough pictures comparing the violin and bow to an oboe and a rather dirty metal ruler (12" (sorry, rest of the world)) and a softball and whatever else is in these stupid pictures.
The bow is taut and the oboe has a reed in it.
Here we see myself holding the bow. Fingers must always be curled, and there should be a slight bend to the wrist. The bow should be drawn up and down the strings with controlled sweeps of the arm, with the wrist bending to keep the upper arm from flailing about the place.
I did indeed remember to turn in that assignment.
Middle and ring finger on frog, pinkie finger poised on screw, pointer finger (should be) on top of the stick, and thumb curled and not quite stuck into the groove on top of the frog.
I cannot tell you how hard it was to take this picture.
Let's play some actual notes! This here is first position. The thumb is not properly curled, but the fingers are. To play a note, you push your finger all the way down to the fingerboard. Each open string plays its own note. The order of the strings is, if you remember, G D A E (, mate!).
On the G string (the string closest to us), the first note is G#, or G Sharp. This is played between the first tape and the nut. Placing first finger (pointer finger) on the tape will play A. The next note is played with second finger (middle finger) on the second red tape. This is A#, or Bb (B Flat), same thing. Second finger on G, on the first blue tape, is B. Third finger (ring finger) on G, on the second blue tape, is C. Third finger halfway between the second blue tape and the third blue tape is C#. Fourth finger (pinkie) on the G string is D, which is the same as the next highest string. The next three strings go up the very same way. F natural on the E string is played between the nut and the first red tape, in case you were confused.
Here are the other places for notes.
Welp, that pretty much wraps that up. Uhhhh...
You can ask me stuff here, like what the heck was I talking about when I said this, or you can ask me to take another picture of a viola or violin part or another perspective, or maybe ask me what I had for breakfast. You know.
(Fruit Loops, by the way.)
