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Bowed Stringed Instruments (Violin Family)
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
About the Family
For the last four centuries, the bowed stringed instruments have been the heart of the orchestra. The three main instruments of the family--the violin, the viola, and the cello--became standard in the seventeenth century. The double bass, although it had somewhat different origins, also became increasingly accepted during this period.
Construction
Parts of a Violin
- Sound box, or body: This part of the instrument consists of a top (the soundboard) and a back, both of which are convex and glued lengthwise. These two pieces are connected by ribs, which are about 3 cm high. The soundholes have evolved over time from one circular one through two semicircular ones to the f-holes we have today. The f-hole, of all the possible shapes, causes the least interference with the vibration of the belly, resulting in the best possible projection of sound in a well-made instrument. The back and ribs of these instruments are typically made of maple, most often with a matching striped figure.
- Neck: The neck of the instrument begins at the narrow end of the sound box (the upper bout). The neck is also usually made of maple with a figure compatible with that of the ribs and back. The neck carries the fingerboard, typically made of ebony, but often some other wood stained or painted black. Fingerboards are dressed to a particular transverse curve, and have a small lengthwise "scoop," or concavity, slightly more pronounced on the lower strings, especially when meant for gut or synthetic strings. Some old violins (and some made to appear old) have a grafted scroll, evidenced by a glue joint between the pegbox and neck.
- The bridge is a precisely cut piece of maple that forms the lower anchor point of the vibrating length of the strings and transmits the vibration of the strings to the body of the instrument. Its top curve holds the strings at the proper height from the fingerboard in an arc, allowing each to be sounded separately by the bow.
- The sound post fits precisely inside the instrument between the back and top, below the treble foot of the bridge, which it helps support. It also transmits vibrations between the top and the back of the instrument.
- The tailpiece anchors the strings to the lower bout of the violin via the tailgut, which loops around the endpin, which fits into a tapered hole in the bottom block.
- The strings may have fine tuning levers worked by a small screw turned by the fingers (these are sometimes built into the tailpiece). At the scroll end of the neck, the strings wind around the tuning pegs in the pegbox. Strings usually have a colored "silk" wrapping at both ends, for identification and to provide friction against the pegs. The tapered pegs allow friction to be increased or decreased by the player applying appropriate pressure along the axis of the peg while turning it.
Violins are tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox under the scroll, or by adjusting the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece. All violins have pegs; fine tuners (also called fine adjusters) are optional. Most fine tuners consist of a metal screw that moves a lever to which the string is attached. They permit very small pitch adjustments with much more ease than the pegs.
Bows
A violin is usually played using a bow consisting of a stick with a ribbon of horsehair strung between the tip and frog (or nut, or heel) at opposite ends. A typical violin bow may be 29 inches (74.5 cm) overall, and weigh about 2 oz. (60 g). Viola bows may be about 3/16" (5 mm) shorter and 1/3 oz. (10 g) heavier.
At the frog end, a screw adjuster tightens or loosens the hair. Just forward of the frog, a leather thumb cushion and winding protect the stick and provide a grip for the player's hand. The winding may be wire, silk, or by alternating strips of yellow and black plastic. Some student bows (particularly the ones made of solid fiberglass) substitute a plastic sleeve for grip and winding.
The hair of the bow traditionally comes from the tail of a "white" (technically, a grey) male horse, although some bows use synthetic fiber. Occasional rubbing with rosin makes the hair grip the strings intermittently, causing them to vibrate. The stick is traditionally made of brazilwood or pernambuco wood (actually from the same tree). Some student bows are made of fiberglass. Recent innovations have allowed carbon-fiber to be used as a material for the stick.
The Family Members
The four main members of the family are the violin (soprano voice), viola (alto voice), cello (tenor voice), and duble bass, or contrabass (bass voice). Here are some pictures of these instruments, from the very interesting site of the Oregon Symphony Players Association (www.concertgoersguide.org).
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Violin
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Viola
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Cello |
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Bass (Double Bass, Contrabass) |
Violin
The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments. A violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, no matter what kind of music is played on it. A person who plays violin is called a violinist or fiddler, and a person who makes or repairs them is called a luthier, or simply a violin maker.
The violin emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century. Its most likely immediate predecessors were (1) the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arab rebab), (2) the Renaissance fiddle, and (3) the lira da braccio. The oldest documented violin to have four strings, like the modern violin, was constructed in 1555 by Andrea Amati. Earlier instruments had only three strings. The violin immediately became very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility. The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, was made in Cremona c. 1560.The most famous violin makers between the late 16th century and the 18th century included those of the Amati family; the Guarneri family of Italian violin makers; Antonio Stradivari of Cremona; and Jacob Stainer (1617-1683) of Absam in Tyrol.
The sound of a violin is affected by its arched shape, the thickness of the wood, and its physical qualities. Significant changes occurred in the construction of the violin in the 18th century, particularly in the length and angle of the neck. Most old instruments have been modified accordingly; in their present condition they have set the standard for perfection in violin craftsmanship and sound.
The range of the violin is from the G below the middle C to the highest register of the modern piano. The top notes, however, are often produced by harmonics, because placing the fingers very close to the bridge on the highest string can produce a very unpleasant and imprecise tone.
Violins are made in so-called "fractional" sizes: 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, and 1/16; even 1/32-sized instruments exist. However, these fractional sizes have nothing to do with the actual dimensions of an instrument--a 3/4-sized instrument is not three-quarters the length of a full size instrument. The body length (not including the neck) of a "full-size" or 4/4 violin is about 14 inches (35 cm), smaller in some 17th century models. A 3/4 violin is 13 inches (33 cm), and a 1/2 size is 12 inches (30 cm).
Violins are tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox under the scroll, or by adjusting the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece. To tune a violin, the A string is first tuned to a standard pitch (usually 440 Hz), using either a tuning device or another instrument. The other strings are then tuned against each other in intervals of perfect fifths by bowing them in pairs. A minutely higher tuning is sometimes employed for solo playing to give the instrument a brighter sound; conversely, Baroque music is sometimes played using lower tunings to make the violin's sound more gentle. The tuning G-D-A-E is used for most violin music. Other tunings are occasionally employed; the G string, for example, can be tuned up to A. The use of nonstandard tunings in classical music is known as scordatura; in some folk styles, it is called "cross-tuning."
While most violins have four strings, there are some instruments with five, six, or even seven strings. The extra strings on such violins typically are lower in pitch than the G-string; these strings are usually tuned to C, F, and B flat. If the instrument's playing length, or string length from nut to bridge, is equal to that of an ordinary full-scale violin (i.e., a bit less than 13 inches, or 330 mm), then it may be properly termed a violin. Some such instruments are somewhat longer and should be regarded as violas. Violins with five strings or more are often used in jazz or folk music.
Viola
The viola (in French, alto; in German Bratsche) is a stringed musical instrument played with a bow which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the violin and the lower lines played by the cello and double bass. The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range (a mere perfect fifth separates the two), and identical playing position (both rest on the left shoulder). However, the viola's timbre sets it apart: its rich sonority is more full-bodied than the violin's, dark-toned and earthy. As its mellow voice is frequently used for playing inner harmonies, the viola does not enjoy the wide solo repertoire or fame of the violin.
The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin but is larger in size and more variable in its proportions. On average, the "full size" viola's body length is between one and four inches greater than the full size violin's. Viola sizes are measured in inches or in centimeters, with an average size of about 16 inches (40 cm). This is considered a "full-sized" viola. Normally, viola sized is specified as body length in inches rather than fractional sizes. Small violas made for children typically reach down to 12 inches, which is equivalent to a "half size" violin. Unlike the violin, the viola does not have a standard "full size," because a viola of the ideal size for the best tone quality would not fit on the player's shoulder. Violists compensate by playing the largest instrument practicable for their bodies, and viola makers often compensate by tweaking the proportions or shape of the instrument in order to make a viola with a shorter string length and lighter weight which still has a large enough sound box to create the unmistakeable "viola sound".
It is increasingly common to see professional violists playing on instruments which, at first glance, bear little resemblance to the traditional shape of violin family instruments. In many ways, the size and shape of the viola is still evolving, unlike many other instruments which are largely static. The Tertis model viola, which has wider bouts and deeper ribs to promote a better viola tone, is one such slightly 'non-standard' shape which allows the player to use a larger instrument than normal. More recent (and more radically shaped) innovations include Otto Erdesz 'cutaway' viola (which has one shoulder cut out to make shifting easier), the "Oak Leaf" viola (which has more than four bouts), viol shaped violas such as Joseph Curtin's "Evia" model, violas played as if they were cellos (see vertical viola), and the quite eye-catching "Dali-esque" shapes of Bernard Sabatier's violas in fractional sizes (which appear to have melted), and of David Rivinus' "Pellegrina" model violas.
The viola bow is slightly shorter (74.0 rather than 74.5 cm) than that of the violin, with a wider band of horse-hair, particularly noticeable near the frog. Viola bows (weighing 70 to 74 g) are heavier than violin bows (58 to 61 g). Bowing technique differs from violin bowing in that more weight must be applied to pull sound from the strings.
The viola's four strings are tuned in fifths: the C an octave below middle C is the lowest, with G, D and A above it. This tuning is exactly one fifth below the violin, so that they have three strings in common — G, D, and A — and is one octave above the cello. Although the violin and viola have 3 strings tuned the same, the tone quality or sound colour is rather different, although some people cannot tell the difference. The tuning C-G-D-A is used for the great majority of all viola music. However, other tunings are occasionally employed both in classical music and in some folk styles.
The viola is sometimes used in contemporary popular music, mostly in the avant-garde (e.g., by Velvet Underground). Jazz music has also seen its share of violists, from those used in string sections in the early 1900s to a handful of quartets and soloists emerging in from the 1960s onward. The viola is also an important accompaniment instrument in Hungarian and Romanian folk string band music, especially in Transylvania. Here the instrument usually has three strings tuned g - d' - a (note that the a is an octave lower than found on the classical instrument), and the bridge is flattened, with the instrument usually playing triads in a strongly rhythmic manner.
Cello
The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is popular in many capacities: as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and also as a foundation of the modern orchestral sound. The name cello is an abbreviation of the Italian violoncello, which means "little violone". The violone is an obsolete instrument, a large viol, similar to a modern double bass. The cello is most closely associated with European classical music. It is part of the standard orchestra and is the bass voice of the string quartet, as well as being part of many other chamber groups. It is less common in popular music, but is sometimes featured in pop and rock recordings.
The cello is larger than the violin or the viola but smaller than the double bass. Like the other members of the violin family, the cello has four strings. Its strings are normally tuned to the pitches (from high to low) A, D, G, and C (A3, D3, G2, and C2 in scientific pitch notation). This is like the viola but one octave lower, and is one octave plus one fifth lower than the violin. It is played in an upright position between the legs of a seated musician, resting on a metal spike called the endpin. The player draws the bow horizontally across the strings. The cello is a complex instrument consisting of many different parts. Although most of it is composed of wood, some parts can be made of steel or other metals and/or composite material. Modern strings have a steel, gut, nylon or other synthetic core, covered with various kinds of metal winding.
The main frame of the cello is typically made from wood, although some modern cellos are constructed from carbon fibre. A traditional cello normally has a spruce top, with maple for the back, sides, and neck. Other woods, such as poplar or willow, are sometimes used for the back and sides. Less expensive cellos frequently have a top and back made of a laminate. The top and back are traditionally hand-carved, though less expensive cellos are often machine-produced. The sides, or ribs, are made by heating the wood and bending it around forms. The cello body has a wide top bout, narrow middle formed by two C-bouts, and wide bottom bout, with the bridge and f-holes just below the middle.[
Above the main body is the carved neck, which leads to a pegbox and then a scroll. The neck, pegbox, and scroll are normally carved out of a single piece of wood. Attached to the neck and extending over the body of the instrument is the fingerboard. The nut is a raised piece of wood, where the fingerboard meets the pegbox, which the strings rest on. The pegbox houses four tuning pegs, each which tunes its respective string by either tightening or loosening the string. The scroll is a traditional part of the cello and all other members of the violin family. Ebony is usually used for the tuning pegs, fingerboard, and nut, but other dark woods, such as boxwood or rosewood, can be used.
The tailpiece and endpin are found at the opposite end of the body to the neck. The tailpiece is traditionally made of ebony or another dark wood, but can also be made of plastic or composite material. It attaches the strings to the tail end of the cello. The endpin, made of metal or carbon fibre, supports the cello while in playing position. Modern endpins are usually retractable and adjustable. The end of the endpin touching the floor is usually a spiked tip that can be capped with rubber; both serve to grip the floor and prevent the cello from moving or slipping.
The cello developed from the bass violin, first used by Monteverdi, which was a three-string consort instrument. The invention of wire-wound strings (fine wire around a thin gut core), around 1660 in Bologna, allowed for a finer bass sound than was possible with purely gut strings on such a short body. Bolognese makers exploited this new technology to create the cello, a somewhat smaller instrument suitable for solo repertoire due to both the timbre of the instrument and the fact that the smaller size made it easier to play virtuosic passages. Around 1700 Italian players popularized the cello in northern Europe. The sizes, names, and tunings of the cello varied widely by geography and time. The size was not standardized until around 1750. Modern cellos have a retractable metal (or sometimes carbon fibre) spike at the bottom to support the instrument (and transmit some of the sound through the floor), while Baroque cellos are held only by the calves of the player. Modern bows curve in and are held at the frog; Baroque bows curve out and are held closer to the bow's point of balance. Modern strings normally have a metal core, although some use a synthetic core; Baroque strings are made of gut, with the G and C strings wire-wound. Modern cellos often have fine-tuners connecting the strings to the tailpiece, which make it much easier to tune the instrument. Overall, the modern instrument has much higher string tension than the Baroque cello, resulting in a louder, more direct, tone, with fewer overtones. One of the earliest cello manuals is Michel Corrette's Méthode, thèorique et pratique. Pour Apprendre en peu de temps le Violoncelle dans sa Perfection (Paris, 1741).
The cello produces a deep, rich, and vibrant sound. The cello reaches the lowest pitch in the traditional string quartet and is capable of covering nearly the entire range of pitches produced by the human voice. In the upper register, many cellos may be said to have a "tenor-like" timbre. The lowest possible pitch, when tuned in C2-G2-D3-A3 (lowest to highest), is C2. The highest pitch (without considering harmonics) on the fingerboard is somewhere around F#6, played in the A string.
Double Bass
The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. It is used extensively in Western classical music as a standard member of the string section of symphony orchestras and smaller string ensembles. In addition, it is used in other genres such as jazz, blues, rock and roll, psychobilly, rockabilly, and bluegrass. As with most other string instruments, the double bass is played with a bow (arco) or by plucking the strings (pizzicato).
The double bass is generally regarded as the only modern descendant of the viola da gamba family of instruments, a family which originated in Europe in the 15th century, and as such it can be described as a "bass viol." Before the 20th century many double basses had only three strings, in contrast to the five to six strings typical of instruments in the viola da gamba family or the four strings of instruments in the violin family. The double bass is the only modern bowed string instrument that is tuned in fourths (like viola da gambas), rather than fifths.
A person who plays this instrument is called a bassist, double bassist, double bass player, contrabassist, contrabass player, or simply bass player. The instrument's standard English name, "double bass," comes from the instrument's Italian name contrabbasso (contrabass). The name "double bass" may be derived from the instrument's size, since it is approximately twice as large as the cello, or because the double bass was originally used to double the cello part an octave lower. The name also refers to the fact that the sounding pitch of the double bass is an octave below the bass clef. Jazz musicians often call it the acoustic bass to distinguish it from electric bass guitars. Especially when used in folk and bluegrass music, the instrument can also be referred to as an upright bass, standup bass, bass fiddle, bass viol, contrabass viol, bass violin, doghouse bass, dog-house, bull fiddle, hoss bass, or bunkhouse bass.
The design of the double bass, in contrast to the instruments in the violin family, has never been fully standardized. In general there are two major approaches to the design outline shape of the double bass, these being the violin form, and the viol or gamba form. The back of the instrument can vary from being a round, carved back similar to that of the violin, or a flat and angled back similar to the viol family (with variations in between). The double bass features many parts that are similar to members of the violin family including a bridge, f-holes, a tailpiece, and a scroll. Unlike the rest of the violin family, the double bass still reflects influence and can be considered partly derived from the viol family of instruments. The double bass also differs from members of the violin family in that the shoulders are sloped, the back is often angled, and machine heads are almost always used for tuning. Lack of standardization in design means that one double bass can sound and look very different from another.
The double bass is closest in construction to the violone (literally "large viol"), the largest and lowest member of the viola da gamba family. Unlike the violone, however, the fingerboard of the double bass is unfretted, and the double bass has fewer strings. An important distinction between the double bass and other members of the violin family is the construction of the pegbox. While the violin, viola, and cello all use friction pegs for gross tuning adjustments, the double bass has machine heads. This development makes fine tuners unnecessary. At the base of the double bass is a metal spike called the endpin, which rests on the floor. This endpin is generally more robust than that of a cello's due to the greater mass of the instrument.The soundpost and bass bar are components of the internal construction. The materials most often used are maple (back, neck, ribs), spruce (top), and ebony (fingerboard, tailpiece). However, the double basses sometimes used by blues, rockabilly, or bluegrass bassists, which have plywood-laminate tops and backs. All parts are glued together except the soundpost, bridge, nut and saddle, which are kept in place by string tension. The tuning machines are attached to the sides of the pegbox with wood screws. The key on the tuning machine turns a worm, driving a worm gear that winds the string.
Historically, bass strings were made of gut, but since the 20th century steel has largely replaced gut due to its better playability. Gut strings are more vulnerable to changes of humidity and temperature, and they break much more easily than steel strings. The change from gut to steel has also affected to the instrument's playing technique over the last hundred years, because playing with steel strings allows the strings to be set up closer to the fingerboard, and, additionally, steel strings can be played in higher positions on the lower strings and still produce clear tone.
The double bass is generally tuned in fourths. This avoids too long a finger stretch (known as an "extension"). Modern double basses are usually tuned (low to high) E-A-D-G. The lowest string is tuned to E (the same pitch as the lowest E on a modern piano, approx 41Hz), nearly 3 octaves below middle C ); and the highest string is tuned to G, an octave and a fourth below middle C (approx 98Hz). A variety of tunings and numbers of strings were used on a variety of confusingly-named instruments through the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries, by which time the four-stringed tuning mentioned above became almost universal. A small number of bass players choose to tune their strings in fifths, like a cello but an octave lower (C-G-D-A low to high). This tuning is mostly used by jazz players, as the major tenth can be played easily without a position shift. Tuning in fifths can also make the instrument louder, because the strings have more common overtones, causing the strings to vibrate sympathetically. In classical solo playing the double bass is usually tuned a whole tone higher (F#-B-E-A). This higher tuning is called "solo tuning," whereas the regular tuning is known as "orchestral tuning." String tension differs so much between solo and orchestral tuning that a different set of strings is required. In many double bass concertos harmonic tones are used. The use of natural harmonics and sometimes even "false" harmonics, where the thumb stops the note and the octave or other harmonic is activated by lightly touching the string at the relative node point, extend the range of the double bass considerably. A solo player will cover some 5 or 6 octaves on his instrument using these harmonics. Since the range of the double bass lies largely below the standard bass clef, it is notated an octave higher (hence sounding an octave lower than written).
Information Sources
Information on this page was derived from the following sources:
Kruckenberg, Sven (1993): The Symphony Orchestra and its Instruments. Gothenburg, Sweden: AB Nordbok (Crescent Books edition distributed by Random House).
Oling, Bert and Wallisch, Heinz (2003): The Complete Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments. The Netherlands: Rebo Publishing.
Wade-Matthews, Max (2000): The World Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments. London, UK and New York, NY: Lorenz Books.
Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia (found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page).
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