Violone

The violone (literally "large viol" in Italian, "-one" being the suffix for "large") is an obsolete musical instrument of the viol family. The largest/lowest member of that family, the violone was originally a fretted instrument with six strings (although some versions had five, or, more rarely, four strings), generally tuned a fifth or an octave below the bass viol. Thus, the violone can properly be called a contrabass instrument, being tuned lower than the bass instrument.

Related Topics:
Musical instrument - Viol - Fret

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The violone is most often used today as the contrabass bowed string instrument in early music groups performing Renaissance and early Baroque music. Only a few players specialize in the instrument, with most using contemporary reproductions rather than actual historical instruments.

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The term is sometimes used to refer to the modern double bass, which belongs almost as much to the viol family as to that of the violin, having sloped shoulders, a flat back (often) and tuning in fourths (although the double bass, unlike the original violone, is generally an unfretted instrument).

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