Introduction

Who is in the world who does not know violin? One of the most famous instruments is known to produce the most similar sounds to human vocal cords. Despite its magical sound and tone, the violin is not an easy-to-play instrument. However, it is not just the violin that is hard to play. As an ancient Iranian musical instrument, Rebab is also one of the hard-to-play instruments. These two enchanting musical instruments have a lot of similarities and also some special features that differentiate them from each other. Follow us in the rest of this article to know more about violin and Rebab, their similarities and differences.

Violin

The violin, the magical instrument, is known for its divine sound. Most people around the world are well familiar with its sound and tone. It is believed that this instrument originated from nomadic cultures of central Asia. Although the very first types of it did not resemble exactly the modern shape. A stringed bow made of horsehair helps the player to play the instrument. Just like most of the other musical instruments, the violin is wooden. Similar to number eight, 8, the wooden body of the instrument helps it resonate sound louder. The fun thing about violin is the name of its parts is after the body parts name. Some of them are as follows:

• Front= belly
• Back= back
• Sides= ribs

Violin is classified among the most important musical instruments of which every composer wrote for it, whether as solo or orchestral music.

Rebab

One of the oldest Eastern musical instruments is Rebab. It is a bowed musical instrument with an enchanting sound. Although the instrument is played with a bow it can be played without a bow as well. Just like the string musical instruments, Rebab is also made of wood. However, unlike them, it is made as a whole, not particles. It is believed that the instrument is the ancestor of all bowed musical instruments. The instrument has various names such as rebob, rababa, rebap, rabeba, rubab, rebeb, robab, and rubob. Interestingly enough, the instrument was spread through Islamic trading routes of Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and even Europe.

Rebab’s History

As it was mentioned before, Rebab is one of the oldest stringed musical instruments that has been used so far. However, it is said that every type of stringed instrument was called Rebab in most places like the following:

• Iran
• Arabian countries
• Pakistan
• India
• Anatolian geographies

The vast geographical area of Rebab’s application has resulted in different variants of this musical instrument. Some of which are played with a bow and others with a pluck. Egyptian, Turkish, and Maghreb Rebabs are some of its variants. Although these variants are similar in most parts, they have little differences as well. Both Turkish and Egyptian models are made of coconut and leather. However, the latter is a little smaller than the Turkish one, and unlike the Turkish one which has three strings, the Egyptian one has two strings. On the other hand, the Maghreb one is completely different, and even the instrument’s body is curved out of wood.

The difference between the violin and the Rebab

Although both of these musical instruments have much in common, they are different from each other as well. It is crystal clear that both instruments have strings and are out of wood. However, they have different characteristics which distinguish them in comparison to each other. We can convey the difference between the violin and the Rebab through various fields as follows:

• The instruments’ body and shape
• The instruments’ sound range
• The instruments’ origin

• The instruments’ body and shape

The very first and most important difference between Rebab and violin is related to their body, shape and generally speaking their construction. Although these two instruments are made of wood, their construction differs.

• The violin is an eight-shaped musical instrument with a neck, while the Rebab is mostly an oval instrument with a neck.
• The violin’s strings are metal, but the Rebab’s strings are made of nylon or goat intestine.
• The violin has a fingerboard whereas the Rebab lacks it.
• While the violin is a four-stringed musical instrument, the Rebab is a musical instrument with two or three strings based on the variant.
• Unlike the violin which is played while holding between the shoulder and the chin of its player, the Rebab is played holding in the player’s hand vertically.

Although there are a lot of differences regarding the shape and body of these two instruments, the major differences are mentioned above.

• The instruments’ sound range

The other difference between these two musical instruments is their sound range. As an old and traditional musical instrument, the Rebab has a powerful and rough sound like the Viola da Gamba. Somehow Rebab’s sound ranges from C2 to C5. On the other hand, the violin is one of the most powerful musical instruments ever known. Its lowest sound is G3 and ranges to the highest of A7. Of course, the latter can even reach a frequency of 4502.63 Hz while the highest frequency of a musical instrument is 4698.63 Hz.

• The instruments’ origin

Although the violin is a musical instrument that originated in Europe, the Rebab comes from the Middle East, specifically Afghanistan. However, the latter is older and more traditional while the first one evolved in the Renaissance from the Fiddle.

Conclusion

In this article, we tried to shed light on the origin of the Rebab and its special features. Meanwhile, this old traditional musical instrument is compared to the violin through the text. As mentioned above, while these two instruments have something in common, they differ at least in three fields. The instruments’ body and shape, sound range, and origin are the elements of difference. However, if you are looking for more information related to this instrument as a less familiar musical instrument, we suggest you read more articles and watch some clips about it.