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Stringed instruments have tradition
Historical stringed instruments are for example the fidel and the viola da gamba; to the modern ones the violin, the viola, the violoncello and the double bass. With the becoming of the violin in 16th century in Europe, there was also developing a strong tradition of violin-making. To this day the great masters like Antonio Stradivari or Nicola Amati are a role model for violin-makers.The violin-queen of the instruments
The violin, in its today’s form known since the early 16th century, can be used in several ways both as solo instrument, and in an orchestra. The violin is played with a violin bow, stroking the strings of the violin. The shoulder rest and the chinrest allow for a safe hold of the violin.
The viola - inconspicuous, but indispensable
The viola is the alto-instrument of the violin-family. The viola is played with a viola bow and it is hold like the violin, with the aid of a shoulder rest and a chinrest. At an ensemble playing, like for example a string quartet, mostly forms a harmonic middle voice. As the viola musically rarely stands in the foreground, orchestras like to take the liberty of telling viola jokes.
The violoncello – powerful and sensitive
The violoncello commands, as stringed instrument, the tenor- and bass region. Due to its tonal possibilities, reaching from powerful to sensitive, it is often used soloistic in the orchestra and has as solo instrument a rich selection of literature of cello notes. The tonal quality of the cello is, apart from the production by the violin-maker, above all characterized through the right choice of the cello strings and the cello bow.
The double bass – basis of harmony
The double bass is the lowest stringed instrument and also the biggest. Because of its height, the double bass is played at standing and it is, similar to the cello, supported by a spike. At the orchestra the double bass is an important basic instrument for harmony and rhythm. But it also finds use for jazz and in pop music. Decisive for the sound are the right double bass strings and the bass bow.