Strings
If you are unsure about the string family or would like to find out more about each of its members than this demonstration put together by our marvelous string team should help you to make your decision!
Our string teaching in violin, viola, ‘cello and doublebass promotes the highest standards at all levels, encouraging the exchange of ideas and creating a warm and caring environment for our pupils conducive to learning. Teaching and learning should be fun; that’s the first most important thing. All our teachers will plan and structure their lessons to give as many different learning opportunities as possible.
Choose your instrument:
Violin
The violin, or sometimes called fiddle, is a bowed stringed musical instrument that evolved during the Renaissance. The violin is probably the best known and most widely distributed musical instrument in the world. The violin is both the smallest and highest member of the string family. The violin leads the rest of the orchestra and the conductor used to be the first violin player.
Did you know? The violin is almost 500 years old!
Viola
The viola is the alto voice in the String family, it is built similarly to the violin except it is larger and tuned to a lower pitch. The viola has a much thicker and darker tone than the violin which makes them the perfect pairing.
Did you know? The most expensive instrument ever sold was a viola made by Stradivari which was sold for $45 million.
Cello
The cello is the tenor voice in the string section and it can play an octave lower than the viola. Its deep tenor voice is often used to create a melancholy mood in pieces, which can be made more expressive through the use of vibrato. The cello has a very wide range which allows it to cover everything from bass lines up to melodys.
Did you know? The cello plays a leading role in the James Bond film “The Living Daylight”. It is used as a human decoy, weapon holder, sled, the spike as a rudder, and the cello even gets shot saving James Bond!
Double Bass
Although the double-bass mainly acts as a supporting instrument playing the lowest notes in the string section, it does come to the fore with solos and prominent parts quite often. The rich tone of the double bass, or contrabass as it is sometimes known, are used to fill out the sound of the string section. The double bass is probably one of the most versatile instruments in an orchestral lineup, you’ll find it in a lot of other genres of music including; jazz, rock, blue, tango and many more.
Did you know? In 2006, the largest double-bass to ever be constructed was built by Erwin Lustenberger, he called it an Octobass and it was over 18-feet tall and 7-feet wide!
