viol
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Member of a Renaissance family of bowed six-stringed musical instruments with flat backs, fretted fingerboards, and narrow shoulders that flourished particularly in England about 1540–1700, before their role was taken by the violins. Normally performing as an ensemble or consort, their repertoire is a development of madrigal style with idiomatic decoration.
The three principal instruments, treble, tenor, and bass, are played upright, resting on the leg (da gamba), and produce a transparent, harmonious sound. The smaller instruments are rested on the knee, not held under the chin. Tuning is largely in fourths, like a guitar. The double bass viol or violone, used in baroque orchestras as bass-line support to the harpsichord or organ, became the model for the present-day double bass.
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