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
Musical ensemble singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families (such as piano, strings, and wind instruments) or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles (e.g., string quartet) or wind ensembles (e.g., wind quintet). Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds and percussion. In jazz ensembles, the instruments typically include wind instruments (one or more saxophones, trumpets, etc.), one or two chordal "comping"