Violone

Some early double basses were conversions of existing violones. This 1640 painting shows a bass violone being played.
Violone
Classification
Related instruments

The term violone (Italian pronunciation: [vi.oˈloːne, vjo-]; literally "large viol", -one being the augmentative suffix) can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family.[1][2] The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument. In modern parlance, one usually tries to clarify the 'type' of violone by adding a qualifier based on the tuning (such as "G violone" or "D violone") or on geography (such as "Viennese violone"), or by using other terms that have a more precise connotation (such as "bass violin", "violoncello", or "bass viol"). The term violone may be used correctly to describe many different instruments, yet distinguishing among these types can be difficult, especially for those not familiar with the historical instruments of the viol and violin families and their respective variations in tuning.

  1. ^ Pio Stefano (2012). Viol and Lute Makers of Venice 1490 -1630. Venezia, Italy: Venice Research. p. 441. ISBN 9788890725203.
  2. ^ Planyavsky, Alfred (2007–2010), "Violone", Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online