Ooh! I can't resist the desire to horn in here! As a dilettante string player
(section first in a local community orchestra) I can attest that the fiddle has
MANY possible textures; pizzicato, ponticello (at the bridge), sul tasto (over
the fingerboard), harmonic pitches, many special bowings (spiccato, martele,
col legno et al), not to mention the sweeping scales that make the piano look
like a clunky box of hammers and strings!
All of those can be used to affect changes in registration.
Guy Hayden, Music Director
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Hampton VA