Introducing The Violin Family

The Violin Family: Violin, Viola, Cello & Double Bass

The modern violin family comprises four bowed string instruments — the violin, viola, cello, and double bass — and together they form the backbone of the symphony orchestra. These orchestral string instruments are the most widely played bowed instruments in the world, appearing in classical music, film scores, jazz, folk, country, rock, and popular music. Whether you're a beginner exploring your first instrument or an experienced player looking to upgrade, our Violin Family Orchestral Strings collection has everything you need.

Origins & Etymology

The family name stems from viola, derived from the Latin vitula meaning "stringed instrument." A violin is literally a "little viola"; a violone is a "big viola" or bass violin; and a violoncello (cello) is a "small violone" — literally, a "small big viola." The violone itself is not part of the modern violin family; its role is taken by the double bass, which blends characteristics of both the violin and viol families.

The String Quartet

The string quartet — one of the most celebrated forms of classical chamber music — is composed entirely of violin family instruments: two violins, one viola, and one cello. Their shared construction allows string quartets to blend tone, colour, and timbre with remarkable cohesion, making them a staple of concert halls worldwide.

History of the Violin Family

The violin family developed in Italy during the 16th century, refined by master luthiers in Cremona — most famously Antonio Stradivari and the Guarneri family. Their influence spread rapidly across Europe; the French Court of Louis XIV famously maintained the vingt-quatre violons du Roi ("24 violins of the king"), which became the model for the modern European orchestra.

Structure & Design

All members of the violin family share a fundamentally similar structure, nomenclature, and playing technique. The body shape is an extraordinarily efficient design for tone production and amplification, offering both acoustic richness and physical playability. Parts are named anthropomorphically — the playing surface is the belly, the reverse side the back, and the sides the ribs. Other terms — tailpiece, saddle, tailpin — hint at the instrument's origins among the horse cultures of Central Asia. These structural principles also influenced the development of the guitar family.

Learning to Play

Violin family instruments are among the most rewarding to master, though they demand years of dedicated practice. Whether you're drawn to the bright, singing tone of the violin, the warm mid-range of the viola, the rich resonance of the cello, or the deep foundation of the double bass, the journey is well worth the effort. Browse our online store to find instruments, bows, cases, and accessories suited to every level.

The Violin Family's Weird Cousin: The Octobass

Every family has a quirky outlier, and in the violin family that honour belongs to the octobass — an enormous, rarely seen instrument that dwarfs even the double bass. So unwieldy that it requires a step ladder and a platform to play, the octobass extends the range a full octave below the double bass, producing a truly guttural, earth-shaking sound. It remains one of the most extraordinary — and least practical — orchestral string instruments ever built.