The Legend of the Violin

April 21, 2013 at 2:11 AM

Once, in Middle-Earth, four Hobbits gathered in the forest near the Shire, long before Bilbo's time. The morning birds sung, and the Hobbits began to think about the music that existed. Rohan had their fanfare of brass, and flutes were being created in other places of Middle-Earth. The Shire needed a musical instrument to represent them, but not one where blowing was required. Although those were cool instruments, they were loud, and required force of the breath. Singing was out almost immediately because of this. What sounds could be created without blowing?

The Hobbits spread the word across the Shire, and together, many ideas were thought up. One Hobbit mentioned strings - when they were plucked about, they vibrated and made noises. They could be coiled up and shortened to play different pitches. Another thought of dragging a stick or log from a tree across the strings. The stick may not work so well, but hairs could be pasted to the ends of the stick and that could work...

The Hobbits worked night and day, throughout all four seasons. In the autumn, they collected logs and sticks that had fallen to the ground and in the winter they worked with them. In the spring more logs were collected and in the summer further progress was made. Wood was used for the body of the instrument and the stick of what would be called the bow, and the strings were coiled and stretched across. Finally, after a number of years, the violin was formed.

The trees, who had been watching this whole time, helped to copy and improve the instrument, and soon, violins were naturally growing everywhere - out of nature. The Hobbits began to play these instruments, and after a while an orchestra was formed - seven members of each race got together and had a concert.

This was among the last of the peaceful days of Middle-Earth.

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The Legend of the Violin

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