pianist vs. piano player

[Grant Barrett]

On 2/7/02 13:30, "RonButters at AOL.COM" <RonButters at AOL.COM> wrote:
>A fiddle and a violin are not the same instrument.

Well, there's an argument in that. All of the sources I can find on the
Internet suggest the only difference is in the way they are played, although
this page suggests that a fiddle is or has been a generic name for any
stringed instrument played with a bow. I can't vouch for the site's
accuracy, but it's consistent with results turned up elsewhere.

http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/rumba/413/thebigquestion.html

It does add, however: "If there was a technical difference in the structure
of the instrument it might be in the bridge. An instrument that is played as
a violin generaly has an arched bridge. This allows for bowing of single
string more easily that the flattened bridge that is sometimes seen on a
"fiddle." The flattened bridge can cover a multitude of errors in pitch and
stroke of a note. One string hides the sound of the other, in a sense. But
it can also enhance the sound. Playing two strings at a time allows for
chording (such is also done in classical playing) and also the addition of a
drone string, a string played along as the melody line is being played on an
adjacent string."

Here's a post to the ViolinWebRing email list discussing the differences. In
short, she considers style and training of the musician to be key in
separating the two, and does mention the bridge difference. There are other
messages in the thread.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ViolinWebRing/message/159

This site offers some broad humor in response to the question, What's the
difference between a violin and a fiddle (and supports the above quote about
the bridge):

http://www.geocities.com/flyinfiddler/what.html