Viola in the context of "Symphony orchestra"

An orchestra (/ˈɔːrkɪstrə/ ; OR-ki-strə) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:

• The string section, including the violin, viola, cello, and double bass
• The woodwind section, including the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and occasionally saxophone
• The brass section, including the French horn (commonly known as the "horn"), trumpet, trombone, cornet, and tuba, and sometimes euphonium
• The percussion section, including the timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam and mallet percussion instruments

Other instruments such as the piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone as soloist instruments, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments, and guitars.

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 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.

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 a violoncello (often abbreviated cello) is a "small violone" (or literally, a "small big viola"). (The violone is not part of the modern violin family; its place is taken by the modern double bass, an instrument with a mix of violin and viol characteristics.)

A five-string violin is a variant of violin with an extra string tuned below the violin's usual range. In addition to the G, D, A, and E strings of a standard violin, a five-string violin typically includes a lower C string. Violins with 6 or more strings may add a low F, low B♭, low E♭, or a soprano violin high A (sometimes a high B).

The five-string violin was created to combine the pitch ranges of the violin and viola. Bobby Hicks, a noted bluegrass fiddler, popularized the five-string violin in 1963, first showcasing his modification during a performance in Las Vegas. José Herrando wrote 6 Sonatas for the 5 string Violin (or 5 string Viola aka Grand Viola, or Viola Pomposa) and continuo. Due to the size limitations of a five-string violin, the low C string typically resonates with a slightly softer sound than the other strings. Five-string violas (aka Viola pomposa), normally tuned C, G, D, and A, and adding a high E string, have in the same tuning, but on a viola body and do not sound as squeaky. Capable players may be able to compensate for these shortcomings with technique, and electric instruments help these issues with the benefit of amplification. It is also possible for a luthier to create instruments that resolve the issue by adjusting the size of the instrument.

In music, a bow (/boʊ/) is a tensioned stick which has hair (usually horse-tail hair) coated in rosin (to facilitate friction) affixed to it. It is moved across some part (generally some type of strings) of a musical instrument to cause vibration, which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, and bass, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones.

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today: a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements, often four, with the first movement in sonata form. Symphonies are almost always scored for an orchestra consisting of a string section (violin, viola, cello, and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments which altogether number about 30 to 100 musicians. Symphonies are notated in a musical score, which contains all the instrument parts. Orchestral musicians play from parts which contain just the notated music for their own instrument. Some symphonies also contain vocal parts (e.g., Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, or Mahler's Second Symphony).

The term string quartet is a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist.

The string quartet was developed into its present form by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, whose works in the 1750s established the ensemble as a group of four more-or-less equal partners. Since that time, the string quartet has been considered a prestigious form; writing for four instruments with broadly similar characteristics both constrains and tests a composer. String quartet composition flourished in the Classical era, and Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert each wrote a number of them. Many Romantic and early-twentieth-century composers composed string quartets, including Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Dvořák, Janáček, and Debussy. There was a slight lull in string quartet composition later in the 19th century, but it received a resurgence in the 20th century, with the Second Viennese School, Bartók, Shostakovich, Babbitt, and Carter producing highly regarded examples of the genre, and it remains an important and refined musical form.

The violoncello (/ˌvaɪələnˈtʃɛloʊ/ VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), commonly abbreviated as cello (/ˈtʃɛloʊ/ CHEL-oh), is a medium-low pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C₂, G₂, D₃ and A₃. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef; the tenor clef and treble clef are used for higher-range passages.

Played by a cellist or violoncellist, it enjoys a large solo repertoire with and without accompaniment, as well as numerous concerti. As a solo instrument, the cello uses its whole range, from bass to soprano, and in chamber music, such as string quartets and the orchestra's string section, it often plays the bass part, where it may be reinforced an octave lower by the double basses. Figured bass music of the Baroque era typically assumes a cello, viola da gamba or bassoon as part of the basso continuo group alongside chordal instruments such as organ, harpsichord, lute, or theorbo. Cellos are found in many other ensembles, from modern Chinese orchestras to cello rock bands.

The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In discussions of the instrumentation of a musical work, the phrase "the strings" or "and strings" is used to indicate a string section as just defined. An orchestra consisting solely of a string section is called a string orchestra. Smaller string sections are sometimes used in jazz, pop, and rock music and in the pit orchestras of musical theatre.