There has been no significant development of the violin since the 18th century in spite of attempts to improve body shape, the materials from which the instrument is made and its acoustical structure. Violins have been mass produced for educational use for nearly two centuries, not only in the traditional centres such as Mirecourt in France and Mittenwald in Germany, but also in the USA and particularly Japan. The normal tone of the violin is obtained by passing the bow smoothly over the strings, agitating them and causing them to send vibrations through the bridge to the belly and, through the soundpost, to the back. A great variety of bowstrokes is available, to enable the player to produce notes of many degrees of smoothness or detachment. The player can move his left hand up the neck to different 'positions', making a different selection of notes available as the music demands.
Most modern players use vibrato on all but the quickest notes.
The Penguin Dictionary of Music 3. The Macmillan Encyclopedia 2001 4. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz 5. All rights reserved.