Country Music Hall of Fame

From Salzburg Fiddles to Nashville Fiddles: A Listener's Bridge

It may seem a long way from a seventeenth-century court chapel in Salzburg to a museum celebrating the Grand Ole Opry, but the violin ties the two worlds together more closely than many visitors expect. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber was one of the great violin virtuosos of the Baroque era, and country music has always relied on the same instrument, known in Nashville simply as the fiddle. A visit to the Hall of Fame is a good chance to think about how one instrument can carry very different traditions.

Scordatura and alternate tunings

Biber is famous for scordatura, the practice of retuning the violin's strings to unusual intervals. In his Mystery (Rosary) Sonatas almost every piece calls for a different tuning, which changes the instrument's resonance and makes certain chords and drones possible. Old-time and country fiddlers have their own long tradition of "cross-tuning", such as tuning the strings to open chords for tunes that ring with sympathetic drones. The goals differ, but the underlying idea is the same: reshape the instrument to suit the music.

Imitation and storytelling

Biber loved musical imitation. His Sonata representativa depicts animals such as a nightingale, a cuckoo and a cat, and his Battalia portrays a battle scene complete with a raucous drinking song. Country fiddle playing has its own showpieces built on imitation, from train whistles to birdsong, and the genre as a whole is rooted in storytelling. Listening for those descriptive gestures in both repertoires makes a museum visit and a Baroque concert feel like parts of one conversation.

Making the most of your visit

• Look out for displays of instruments, and compare the fiddles on show with what you know of Baroque violins, which used gut strings and a lighter bow.
• Check the museum's official website for current opening hours, ticket options and any special exhibitions before you go, as these can change.
• Downtown Nashville is busy, so plan parking or transport ahead, especially on weekends and event nights.

After your visit, you might enjoy exploring Biber's violin music in our recordings guide, or reading about his career on the biography page. Hearing a scordatura sonata after an afternoon among country fiddles is a memorable way to appreciate how inventive violinists have been across the centuries.