On the relationship between technique and style: the case of the violin

This article examines the formative interaction between instrumental technique and musical style by analysing different approaches to the violin/fiddle. It is argued that technique is constitutive of style and that musical concepts are intimately related to the accumulated experience of sensations associated with handling the instrument in a particular way. The point of departure is the initially open nature of the violin's expressive affordances, and how these are defined through the interactivity between a performer and an instrument. Two cases are analysed with a focus on how an individual approaches the violin/fiddle in terms of technical solutions (including instrument hold, left-hand posture and bow hold) that are involved in the production of stylistic signatures. The analysis supports the argument that the violin/fiddle is a highly flexible technology, the expressive potential of which can only be assessed by considering the vast diversity of approaches with which the instrument is engaged.