division viol

The viol (also referred to as the viola da gamba, or gamba) is a European bowed and fretted string instrument played on the leg (da gamba), used at court and in the home primarily during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

bass viol (plural bass viols) A fretted, bowed, stringed musical instrument from the viola da gamba family. It occupies the bass range and is the lowest instrument in the family. Similar to (but smaller than) a cello.

Smaller viols were sometimes held under the chin, similar to a violin. Mid-sized instruments were held in front of the body or on the lap, while larger instruments were held between the knees or even played while standing upright. Viols typically had six strings and frets.

Early ancestors include the Arabic rebab and the medieval European vielle, but later, more direct possible ancestors include the Venetian viole and the 15th- and 16th-century Spanish vihuela, a six-course plucked instrument tuned like a lute (and also like a present-day viol) that looked like but was quite distinct ...

Rather than mediated by a piece of wood. So that also gives you a very intimate. Contact with sound production.

At the time the name of this family of instruments was viole da braccio which was used to distinguish them from the viol family (viole da gamba). The standard modern violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, and (possibly) double bass.

… normal-sized solo bass viol, or viola da gamba (the name became synonymous with the bass viol as the other viols fell into disuse), was used in the instrumental forms of the Baroque period. Solo bass-viol playing continued in Germany and France into the 18th century.

The six strings of the tenor viol are tuned from low to high to: G2 - C3 - F3 - A3 - D4 - G4. A range of two octaves and a fifth (G2 to D5) can be produced with the available frets. It produces a quiet but reedy and resonant sound.

The viol is not the ancestor of the violin. They are two completely different instruments, with different playing techniques and tone qualities, and were used for different purposes. The viol was invented, or probably developed from earlier instruments, in Italy around 1510.

The general construction of the viol is lighter than the violin, using thinner wood, which again increases resonance. The viol normally has six strings, the violin four. Like most renaissance plucked string instruments, the viol has tied-on frets. The violin has no frets.

The viol differs from the cello in having six strings instead of four, and tuned more like a lute or guitar. This facilitates the playing of chords. The instrument also has frets on the fingerboard to help in that regard.

While they're similar in many ways, their size, strings, and sound all make a large difference. The viola is bigger, lower in sound, and requires more pressure to play, whereas the violin has a faster response and is easier to source solo parts for.