The String Family
A Demonstration for first
year string students
Lauren Herrschaft
String Teacher
Central Bucks School District
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
LHERRSCHAFT@CBSD.ORG
Introducing…
The String Family!
Sit back and relax while you learn all
about the violin, viola, cello and bass!
This year you are able to choose one of
these instruments to play!
The String Family
There are four kinds of stringed instruments
in the orchestra: violins, violas, cellos, and
double basses. All are made of wood and
have a similar curvy shape, but their sizes
are different. All stringed instruments have
strings stretched over them. The strings are
made of steel or nylon. They are played with
a bow - a long stick that has horsehair
attached to it. The bow is drawn across the
strings. This is called bowing . They can also
be played by plucking the strings with the
fingers.
The Violin
The violin is the smallest and
highest instrument of the string
family. There are more violinists in
a symphony orchestra than any
other instrument!
Famous violinists are:
Joshua Bell
Sarah Chang
Itzhak Perlman
Now we will explore the
next instrument of the
string family…..
The Viola
The viola is slightly larger than the
violin and is held the same way.
Because it is larger, its tone is lower.
Did you know:
The following famous composers were violists?
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Anton Dvorak
Franz Joseph Haydn
Felix Mendelssohn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Schubert
Viola Fact!
Have you ever heard of Jimi
Hendrix?
Before he became a famous rock
guitarist in the 1960’s…..
He played the viola!
Now we will explore the
next instrument of the
string family…..
The Cello
The cello is much larger and
much lower than the violin and
viola. It must rest on the floor to
be played. It will not fit under
your chin! It provides the low
tones that hold the orchestra
together!
A very famous cellist is:
Yo-Yo Ma
The cello sounds much
lower than the violin!
Do you like lower sounds?
If so, you will love the cello!!!
Now we will explore the
next instrument of the
string family…..
The Double Bass
The bass is the largest member of
the string family. It needs to rest
on the floor like the cello, only it is
much larger and lower. The string
bass produces rich deep tones
and is often played in jazz groups.
Strings Are For
Everyone!
Strings can be played by boys and girls.
It doesn’t matter what size you are,
because string instruments come in many
sizes!
Playing in an instrument class is a great
way to make new friends!
You have just learned
about the string family!
String players play in a
group called the
orchestra.
Orchestra
String players perform
in an orchestra.
An orchestra can be all
strings.
An orchestra can also
be strings, brass,
woodwinds and
percussion.
Did you know…
More than ½ of the orchestra
are string players?
Questions
What is the lowest sounding string instrument?
The Double Bass
What string instrument is held like a violin but makes
a lower sound?
The Viola
What string instrument does Yo-Yo Ma play?
The Cello
Questions
Which string instrument has the most players of any
instrument in the orchestra?
The Violin
What famous rock guitarist was a viola student?
Jimi Hendrix
Which string
instrument did you
like the best?
Bass
Violin
Viola
Cello
See you in the
Orchestra!!!