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A violin is a "little viola", a violone is a "big viola" or a bass violin, and a violoncello (often abbreviated cello) is a "small violone" (or literally, a "small big viola"). (The violone is not part of the modern violin family; its place is taken by the modern double bass, an instrument with a mix of violin and viol characteristics.)
Viola close up of bridge. The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between 25 and 100 mm (1 and 4 in) longer than the body of a full-size violin (i.e., between 38 and 46 cm [15–18 in]), with an average length of 41 cm (16 in).
The viola da gamba is occasionally confused with the viola, the alto member of the modern violin family and a standard member of both the symphony orchestra and string quartet. In the 15th century, the Italian word " viola " was a generic term used to refer to any bowed instrument, or fiddle .
Members of the violin family are the easiest to identify in this way: with the violin corresponding to the soprano, the viola to the alto singer, violoncello to the tenor, and bass to the bass ranges of the human voice (historically, the violin family was made in more than just these four sizes: there were originally several sizes of violas, as ...
The earliest string trio, found during the mid 18th century, consisted of two violins and a cello, a grouping which had grown out of the Baroque trio sonata.Over the course of the late 18th century, the string trio scored for violin, viola, and cello came to be the predominant type. [1]
[7] A violin is the "modern form of the smaller, medieval viola da braccio." ("arm viola") [6] The violin is often called a fiddle. "Fiddle" can be used as the instrument's customary name in folk music, or as an informal name for the instrument in other styles of music. [8] The word "fiddle" was first used in English in the late 14th century. [8]
The origin of the violin family is unclear. [1] [2] Some say that the bow was introduced to Europe from the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world, [3] [4] [5] while others say the bow was not introduced from the Middle East but the other way around, and that the bow may have originated from more frequent contact between Northern and Western Europe.
Viola da braccio in detail from a fresco by Gaudenzio Ferrari in Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Saronno (c. 1534–6). Viola da braccio (from Italian "arm viola", plural viole da braccio) is a term variously applied during the baroque period to instruments of the violin family, in distinction to the viola da gamba ("leg viola") and the viol family to which the latter belongs.