Musical Instruments

Bladder fiddle

The bladder fiddle was a folk instrument used throughout Europe and in the Americas. The instrument was originally a simple large stringed fiddle (a musical bow) made with a long stick, one or more thick gut strings, and a pig's-bladder resonator. It was bowed with either a notched stick or a horsehair bow. The folk instrument was historically played by "wandering musicians" and beggars up to the early 19th century. Although it may be used in serious folk music it has also been used for humor. Changes in the instrument have produced two distinct modern variations. The traditional bowed instrument has been preserved into the 21st century in Lithuania as the pusline (and possibly Estonia and Flanders), producing sustained or rhythmic droning notes. The other variation, a percussion instrument, is used in folk music internationally, including Europe, North America and Australia, in which sound may imitate a drum roll and other percussive sounds.

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See also

• ▸Brian Tarquin
• ▸1808
• ▸Alide Topp

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