June 17th: International Violin Day

International Violin Day is celebrated on the birthday of violinist and composer Igor Stravinsky. Here are a few things you might not know about violins.

1. The word violin comes from the Medieval Latin word vitula, meaning stringed instrument. The word "fiddle" used for a violin is generally when the instrument has been specifically tuned to play folk music - but it is used informally for a violin whatever is played on it. An old Italian term for the violin is "kit"; A maker of violins and other stringed instruments is called a luthier.
2. The violin was invented in the 1500s by Andrea Amati, an Italian luthier who was asked to build a lighter alternative to the lyre. He went on to found the Cremonese School Of Violin Making, where the most famous violin maker of all, Antionio Stradivari became a pupil in the late 1600s. He made significant structural changes to enhance the sound and extend the range of the instrument, although violins today don't look much different from Amati's original.
3. A violin is constructed from 70 separate pieces of wood, usually spruce or maple.
4. Violin strings used to be made of sheep gut (commonly known as catgut), which was stretched, dried, and twisted. Other materials violin strings have been made out of include: solid steel, stranded steel, or various synthetic materials, wound with various metals, and sometimes plated with silver. It's even possible to make violin strings out of human hair - you can see this being done here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=motpXYar4vk.
5. Violins come in different sizes. The smallest standard size is a 1/64 violin which is just the right size for a three year old child to play. Most children start playing on a 1/32 or 1/16 and gradually increase the size to a full sized violin. The smallest ever measures just under 2"/about 50 millimetres. The largest was built in Germany and is 4.27 metres tall and 5.22 metres wide and sounds 3 times lower than a conventional violin.
6. The bow of a standard sized violin is usually 75 cm (30 in) long and weighs about 60 g (2.1 oz). The ends are called the tip and the frog. They are traditionally strung with hair from the tail of a grey stallion although they can be made from synthetic materials, too. The wood for the bow is usually brazilwood. Violin bows typically contain 150 to 200 hairs.
7. If you play the violin for an hour, it burns about 170 calories - that's the equivalent of a medium glass of Wine or two thirds of a Snickers bar.
8. Playing the violin is good for the Brain, too. If a violinist is placed in an MRI machine, it shows the area of the brain devoted to their left fingers is two or three times larger than in a non-violinist's brain. Violinists also have more connections between the two sides of the brain, resulting in better co-ordination between each hand.
9. The most expensive violin to date is the Lady Blunt, which Stradivarius made in 1721. It was named after Lady Anne Blunt, Lord Byron’s granddaughter, who owned it for 30 years. It has had several owners since then, the current one being an anonymous person who bought it for £9.3 million at an auction to raise money for victims of the 2011 tsunami. There is some competition, however. A violin made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1741 is up for sale at $18 million. The most expensive violin bow was sold in November 2015 for £200,000.
10. Finally, some violin playing records. Ben Lee from Sussex is the fastest violin player ever. He played the tune Bumblebee in 58.515 seconds - an average of 15 notes per second. A more wacky one is held by Christian Adam - he holds the record for cycling backwards playing a violin. He managed 60.45 kilometres in 5 hours 8 seconds back in 1963 on St. Gallen highway in Switzerland, before the highway was open. I don't know if there is a record for playing the violin on roller skates, but the first try should be easy to beat. In 1759, Joseph Merlin of Huy, Belgium, who invented roller skates, skated into a ballroom to show off his invention, playing a violin. Sadly, he hadn't yet figured out how to stop. He crashed into a full-length mirror, breaking his violin.