The viol (also called viola da gamba) is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela (a guitarlike plucked string instrument). Some degree of developmental influence, if only in playing posture, is credited to the Moorish rabab as well.
Vihuelists began playing...
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The viol (also called viola da gamba) is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela (a guitarlike plucked string instrument). Some degree of developmental influence, if only in playing posture, is credited to the Moorish rabab as well.
Vihuelists began playing their flat-bridged instruments with a bow in the second half of the 15th century. Within two or three decades, this led to the evolution of an entirely new and dedicated bowed string instrument that retained many of the features of the original plucked vihuela: a flat back, sharp waist-cuts, frets, thin ribs (initially), and an identical tuning—hence its Spanish name vihuela de arco (arco, meaning "bow").
Viols most commonly had six strings, although many 16th-century instruments had five or even four strings. Viols were (and are) strung with...
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