The Violin Click here to listen to the violin (RealAudio file) The violin is the most popular of the stringed instruments and is the highest pitched member of the string family. The four strings are tuned to G D A and E respectively, and have a compass of 3 1/2 octaves. The large variety of possible sounds exceeds that of any other instrument of the orchestra. Next instrument - The Viola Back to the Orchestra construction of the violin The Bow: About 75 cm long and slightly curved, the bow is made of Pernambuco, and a band of horsehair is stretched and attached to each end of the bowstick The Strings: The strings were originally made of pure sheep's gut. Some of today's violins still have gut strings, but due to their tendency to break easily, wire strings are more commonly used The Body: The main parts of a violin are the front (or belly), top (or soundboard), back, ribs, neck, fingerboard, pegbox, scroll, bridge, tailpiece and f-holes (or soundholes). A hollow sound box joins the front, also called the belly, the back and ribs. The sound post, which connects the front and back of the violin, and the bass-bar, are used as support and are also important for the transmission of sound. The strings are fastened to the tailpiece and stretched over the bridge, fingerboard and to the pegbox, which houses four tuning pegs that are turned in order to raise or lower the pitch of each individual string The Viola Click here to listen to the viola (RealAudio file) The term viola was once used to describe any bowed stringed instrument. Today, the name is used for the alto member of the violin family, situated in the middle of the string section of an orchestra and in the string quartet. This instrument is an almost exact replica of the violin, though slightly larger and its pitch a fifth lower (and one octave above the cello). The strings are tuned to C G D A and the alto clef is used except in the upper register when the treble clef is used. This is done in order to avoid leger lines. The viola, however, is not as popular as the violin or the cello and is usually not played to the same virtuosic extent. Next instrument - The Cello Previous instrument - The Violin Back to the Orchestra