What is the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

Violin is for classical and jazz while fiddle is for folk, country, and bluegrass. But is that really true? By Gordon Swift. read more

The main thing that makes a fiddle a fiddle and a violin a violin is the type of music that is played on it. Generally, fiddles play folk/traditional genres (e.g. Cajun music, Irish trad, and klezmer), and violins play composition-based genres (e.g. Western classical music, Indian classical music, and jazz). read more

The cover of Strings magazine proclaims it is “for players of violin, viola, cello, bass, and fiddle” as if violin and fiddle are separate and distinct. read more

The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. A violin is called a fiddle when playing folk music. read more