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.

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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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Musical instrument: A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical instrument; but the expression is reserved generally to items that have that specif...

Viol: The viol or viola da gamba family of musical instruments is related to the vihuela, rebec, etc....

Fret: :For the acronym FRET in molecular biology, see Fluorescence resonance energy transfer....