Violin construction and mechanics four open strings, usually tuned to G, D, A, and E. The strings run from a tailpiece attached to the base, across a wooden bridge, continue towards the neck of the instrument running parallel to the fingerboard, and connect to the pegbox located at the very top of the violin. They are wound around four tuning pegs that are mounted sideways through holes in the pegbox. The bridge helps to hold the strings in place, while the pegs maintain the tension necessary to produce vibration. Strings were first made of sheep's intestines (called "catgut"), stretched, dried and twisted. Contrary to
Ukulele of an old wooden cigar box. These instruments usually have four strings; some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings (primarily for greater strumming volume.) The strings themselves were originally made of catgut. Modern ukuleles use nylon polymer strings, with many variations in the material, such as fluorocarbon, aluminium (as winding on lower pitched strings), and Nylgut. Instruments with 6 or 8 strings in four courses are often called taropatches, or taropatch ukuleles. They were once common in a concert size, but now the tenor size is more common for six-string