Music -2-10c
Game List: String Family Facts
Double bass (grandfather) (other names: contra-bass, bass viol, upright bass)
The double bass is the biggest member of the string family; it is over six feet tall.
You play a double bass by plucking or striking the strings, or slapping or
thumping the body. You must play it while you are standing up or sitting on a
very high stool, and it helps to have long arms and very big hands!
Guitar (older brother’s good friend)
A guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments. The right hand strums or
plucks the strings while the left hand frets them (holds the strings down behind
the little metal bars on the neck—called frets). Archaeologists have found clay
plaques with ancient Babylonians (1800–1900 BC) holding instruments that look
like guitars.
Harp (heavenly grandmother)
The harp is quite different from the other string instruments. It has forty-seven
strings that are tuned to the notes of the white keys on the piano. There are
seven foot pedals at the bottom of the harp that make the strings sound like the
black keys on the piano. Archaeologists have discovered wall paintings in
Ancient Egyptian tombs (3000 BC) of instruments that look like harps!
Ukulele (little cousin)
The ukulele is like a tiny guitar, with four strings made of nylon or catgut. No,
catgut is not made of cats, but catgut strings come from the intestines of “cattle”—usually meaning sheep or goats. It is pretty easy to play!
Viola (older sister)
The viola is slightly larger than a violin. It has thicker strings, which produce a
richer, warmer sound. Violas aren’t as common as other string instruments, but
great composers like Mozart thought the viola was an important part of the
string family.
 NOTE: The viola d’amore should be the final instrument described.
Viola d’amore (sweetheart)
The viola d’amore is a special viola. It has six or seven strings instead of a viola’s
four. Amore is the Latin or Italian word for love. So, viola d’amore means the
viola of love.
At the top of a viola d’amore’s neck, you will see an intricately carved head.
 Display 2-10i—Image Link: Viola d’Amore Carved Head. You can see that the
viola d’amore’s carved head has a blindfold over its eyes. This represents
unconditional love.  Display 2-10j—Image Link: Viola d’Amore Sound-holes.
Finally, the viola d’amore has sound-holes shaped like flaming swords instead of
the typical f as in other string instruments.
The sound of a viola d’amore is richer and deeper than a viola because in
addition to the six or seven regular strings, a viola d’amore has an equal number
Music -2-10c
of sympathetic strings.  Display 2-10k—Image Link: Viola d’Amore Sympathetic
Strings. They are located right below the main strings—running under the
fingerboard and below the bridge. A musician never touches the sympathetic
strings with her fingers or the bow. Like the goblets in the opening activity,
sympathetic resonance explains how a sympathetic string is able to vibrate
when a similar nearby string is played.
As we watch this recording of a viola d’amore, listen for the sympathetic duet;
notice the sound holes and the scroll.  Play 2-10m—Recording Link: Viola
d’Amore (performed by Thomas Georgi from Tafelmusik Ensamble). Fade the
recording away when your point is made.