FRETBOARD VIOLIN (FRET-LIN OR METRIC-LYRA ) PLAYED AS CRETAN LYRA (OR SMALL CELLO)
Many companies of electric violins manufacture them with frets on the fingerboard.
If we apply on the violin fingerboard ready made auto-sticking fretboards, we still can have tremolo and vibrato and even a type of glissanti while we do not spent so much time learning the fingerboard. Then if we know fretboard string instruments like mandolin , ukulele, guitar it helps a lot to start playing the violin as an instrument without artificial difficulties.
(Here is such a product from a canadian musician http://www.frettedfiddle.com/ )
In addition it is by far more convenient to play it as they play the folk Lyra in Greece (Crete) and other places in other words like a small cello, on the knees. If we want to have also the bow falling with its own weight in stable way on the strings as in the standard position of the violin we may use simple bow drivers like these here https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32878752247.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.21cd4c4deuojvB )
After learning to play adequately in this little violin-Lyra we may put the bow outside the plastic driver and on the site of the upper side of the fretboard, and let simply this driver be used so that the bow does not get lower than this, and use its own weight to pressure, but still we may have the freedom of moves to turn the bow on its own axis at different angles if we want a more narrow surface of the touch on the strings.
FRENCH AND GERMAN BOW HOLDING
The bow in case of this modification of the violin which is essentially a new instrument that could be called FRET-LIN OR METRIC-LYRA can be either with the German (the hand lower than the bow) or French (the hand over the bow) way in cello. The French way gives more control because of more efficient use of the bones of muscles of wrist for difficult moves of the bow, but the German way is more relaxing. A best result is if we use both ways for difficult bowing the French way and for stand more easy bowing the German way.
CHORDS IN FRET-LIN
Because the fingerboard is a fretboard, the chords shapes pressed by the fingers is a by far more practical practice than what is the case in violin.
GLISSANDO-GLASS FOR THE BOWED FRETTED-LYRA
By utilizing a sliding glass as in a havaia guitar, at the index or another finger, we may add very nice sounding glissanti melodies especially at t hose pieces of melody that the notes are few and not of very large intervals (2nds or 3rds)
ALTERNATIVE TUNINGS FOR THE FRET-LIN OR METRIC-LYRA
1) As we wrote in post 209, there is a system of melodic improvisation based on drone (isocratic) interval of an octave and melodies derived by alternating intervals 5th and 4rth so as to create successive power-5 chords among octaves. But this requires alo in string instruments special tuning and a space of 3 to 4 octaves.
happily for the violin have been created the octave-violin strings which are one octave lower from the standard. So instead of G3-D4-A4-E5 these strings will tune the violin to G2-D3-A3-E4.
See e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgZdlEBpIBI
This allows for mixed low-standard tunings of the violin for melodic improvisations as inpost 209 that are 8-5-8 meaning that the 1st-2nd string are one octave apart , the 2nd-3rd one fifth apart and the 3rd-4th one octave apart E.g.
G2-G3-D4-D5 (utilizing strings octave G2, standard G3, octave D3, standard E4 for the D5 ) or
A2-A3-E4-E5 (utilizing strings octave G2 for A2 , standard A3, octave E4, standard E5)
The 2nd requires one tone loosening one standard string and the 1st one octave string and one standard string tightening by one tone.
OTHER ALTERNATIVE TUNINGS
1) HARMONIC TUNING FOR 4-STRINGS
(These tunings are not only mainly for playing arpeggios and simplicial submelody, when another ,usually wind , instrument is playing the solo, but also when the Lyra is playing solo)
This is an alternating minor-major 3rds tuning that has open chords in normal position per consecutive 3 strings and also a 7nth open chord in normal position for all 4-strings (see post 90 )
It is the tuning
E4-G4-B4-D5
It is an open E minor 7nth chord
We use for the D5 the E5 violin string. For the B4 the A4 violin string. For the G4 the A4 violin string For the E4 the D4 violin string.
This tuning has the maximum number of chord shapes per number of frets, and also all the melodies are quite compact close when changing from string to string.
Because the tuning by 3rds has less total range to increase it we may have the 1st two strings one octave lower by using octave violin strings. In other words
E3-G3-B4-D5
Then the E3 is by the D3 octave violin string, and the G3 by the normal G3 violin string.
The above harmonic tuning has privileged scale the G major. For folk sings and jazz songs we may have also as privileged scale the F major as follows:
D4-F4-A4-C5
It is an open D minor 7nth chord
We use for the C5 the E5 violin string. For the A4 the A4 violin string. For the F4 the A4 violin string For the D4 the D4 violin string.
2) UKULELE TUNING
Of course an alternative tuning for many chords but not in normal position is the ukulele tuning.
It is the tuning
D4-G4-B4-E5
We use for the E5 the E5 violin string. For the B4 the A4 violin string. For the G4 the A4 violin string For the D4 the D4 violin string.
3) THE OCTAVES 3 STRING TUNING:
This is utilizing again the D3 octave string of the violin and it is simply the
D3-D4-D5
For the D5 we use obviously the E5 string
The advantage is obviously very easy grasping of the notes on the fingerboard , as known one strings is known all the violin.
4) THE PANDURI OR OPEN MAJOR CHORD 3 STRING TUNING:
These tunings have less range than the tunings by 5ths , but also other advantages that we describe here
These PANDURI tunings are not only mainly for playing arpeggios and simplicial submelody, when another ,usually wind , instrument is playing the solo but advantageous, as we explain below when the Lyra is playing solo too.
For solos, the tunings below have the characteristic that we can easily-readily play the 2nd or 3rd voice on the other 2 strings. In addition as the strings are close and differ only at an interval of 3rd, and as most melodies have a span of 1-2 octaves, then all of the melody they can be played in one only of the 3 strings which is quite intuitive in its linear pitch order, as in harp or panflute (except here chromatically not diatonically).
G4-B4-D5
For the D5 we use obviously the E5 string and for the B4 the A4 string of the violin.
For the G4 we use the A4 string of the violin
Or we can set the
F4-A4-C5
For the C5 we use obviously the E5 string and for the A4 the A4 string of the violin.
For the F4 we use the A4 string of the violin
The above tuning is best for familiar sound of chords.
If we want ab octave lower such tuning, in other words
F3-A3-C4
Then we utilize a G3 string for the F3, an octave violin A3 string or a standard violin G3 string again, and for the C4 the standard violin D4 string.
There is also a similar open major chord (panduri) tuning which is a 4th higher (for arpeggione and simplicial sub-melody to the solo melody played by another instrument ) but still in a diatonic scale fitting the brass winds the clarinet and the saxophone in Bb
Bb4-D5-F5
For the F5 we use obviously the E5 string and for the D4 the E4 string of the violin.
For the Bb4 we use the A4 string of the violin
If we want a larger range version of the open major chord tuning,then we may utilize the D3 string of the violin and an octave G2 string of the violin and have the tuning by jumping an octave between the notes as follows:
G2-B3-D5
This 3-string tuning has larger range than the usual 4-strings violin!
Nevertheless because of the octaves between the strings the sound of the chords is not so natural as the previous more narrow range tuning.
A VERSION WITH 2 ONLY STRINGS
For starters it is more convenient to start learning it with 2 only strings tuned D4-A4
or D4-D5
We may start with rather cheap chinese violin that start from........30-40 $ or 90-110 $ and if we still like playing the instrument after a year we may proceed with more expensive violin bodies.
HERE IS ANOTHER MUSICIAN (Jirka Hájek)
Jirka Hájek
WHO HAD THE SAME IDEA AND DID THE SAME THING TO HIS VIOLIN
1) HE ADDED FRETS
2) HE IS PLAYING IT LIKE A LYRA WHICH IS MORE EGONOMIC
SEE ALSO A SIMILAR IDEA AT THE BOWED DULCIMER WHICH MAY BE CONSIDERED A FRETTED VIOLIN, FRETTED VIOLA, FRETTED CELLO
COMPARISON WITH OLDER INSTRUMENTS
We may compare it with the Scandinavian nyckelharpa and the medieval mechanical violin hurdy-gurdy
NYCKELHARPA
HURDY-GURDY
