What is the largest instrument in the violin family
Violin family Violin family The violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the 16th century. At the time the name of this family of instruments was violas da braccio which was used to distinguish them from the viol family (violas "da gamba"). The standard modern violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Instrument names in the violin family are all derived from the root "viola", which is a derivative of the Medieval Latin word "vitula" (meaning "stringed instrument"). A "violin" is a "little viola", a "violone" is a "big viola" or a bass violin, and
History of the violin braccio (meaning "viol for the arm") family; the other, with sloping shoulders and held between the knees, known with the Italian term "lira da gamba" (or viola da gamba, meaning "viol for the leg") group. During the Renaissance the gambas were important and elegant instruments; they eventually lost ground to the louder (and originally viewed as less aristocratic) "lira da braccio" family of the modern violin. The first clear record of a violin-like instrument comes from paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari. In his "Madonna of the Orange Tree", painted 1530, a cherub is seen playing a bowed instrument which clearly has