ViolinThe highest of the four. It is held between the chin and the shoulder, and its four strings are G, D, A and E.
ViolaSlightly larger than the violin and held the same way. Its strings are tuned a fifth lower: C, G, D and A.
CelloPlayed seated, with the instrument resting on the floor on its endpin. Its strings are C, G, D and A, an octave below the viola.
Double bassThe largest and lowest. The player stands or sits on a high stool. It is the only one of the four tuned in fourths: E, A, D and G.
Parts all four share 9
Tuning pegsOne wooden peg for each string, held in its hole by friction. Turning a peg tightens or slackens the string wound on it.
FingerboardIt lies flat on the neck and stands away from the body. The fingers press a string down on it to change the note. It has no frets.
BridgeHolds the strings up and passes their vibration to the body's top. It is not glued: the strings hold it in place.
F-holesThe two sound holes, named for their shape. They are a mark of the whole violin family.
TailpieceThe lower ends of the strings are fixed in it. A loop from its narrow end holds it to the bottom of the body.
StringsFour on each instrument. They run from the pegs over the bridge to the tailpiece. A double bass may have five.
ScrollThe carved end of the neck. Shaped like a strip rolled in on itself.
PegboxThe hollow box under the scroll. The pegs cross it, and each string is wound on its peg inside.
NeckCarved from one piece of wood with the pegbox and scroll. The fingerboard is fixed on top of it.
Parts that differ 4
ChinrestWhere the jaw rests. A shaped piece of wood or plastic, clamped to the body. A violin and a viola have one. A cello and a double bass do not.
Machine headsMetal tuners with gears, one for each string. A double bass always has them; the other three keep wooden friction pegs.
Sloping shouldersThe top of the body slants in to the neck. A violin, viola and cello have round shoulders. The narrower shape makes the high notes easier to reach.
EndpinRests on the floor and carries the weight of the instrument. It slides out to suit the player. A cello has one too.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it for this part. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Violin family (four strings each, tuned in fifths except the double bass; neck, bridge, nut; the double bass and its sloping shoulders), Viola (slightly larger than the violin, tuned C G D A, a fifth below it), Cello (tuned C G D A an octave below the viola; played seated on its endpin; neck, fingerboard, pegbox and scroll), Double bass (the largest and lowest; four or five strings in fourths, E A D G; bridge, two f-holes, tailpiece, scroll, pegbox, endpin; sloped shoulders and why; metal machine heads and gears, always fitted, where the rest of the family keeps wooden friction pegs; the player stands or sits on a high stool), Chinrest (a shaped piece of wood or plastic attached to a violin or a viola by metal clamps) and Endpin (the part of a cello or upright bass that rests on the floor and carries its weight, extensible). (2) Yamaha Musical Instrument Guide, the violin: https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/violin/mechanism/ and its pages on the viola, the cello and the contrabass (scroll, tuning pegs held by friction, peg box, neck carved from one piece, fingerboard, four strings E A D G, bridge and how it passes vibration to the top and comes loose without the strings, f-hole, tailpiece, chinrest; the viola tuned c g d a; the cello on its end pin; the contrabass tuned in fourths). (3) Kathleen Schlesinger, The Instruments of the Modern Orchestra, 1910, full text on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/instrumentsofmod01schl (body and neck; f holes named for their shape; bridge; tail-piece and its loop; scroll; peg-box; pegs that tighten or slacken the strings; fingerboard lying on the neck and standing away from the body; the double bass with slanting instead of round shoulders). (4) Lyon and Healy, a music house's 1924 catalog of violins, violas, violoncellos and basses on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/lyon-healy-violins-1924 (violin chin rests, violoncello end pins, double bass end pins, a bass with brass machine heads, scroll, pegs, fingerboard, tailpiece). (5) One passage found by archive.org full-text search, in Strategies for Teaching Strings: https://archive.org/details/strategiesfortea0000hama (the violin and the viola have a chin rest; the double bass with sloping shoulders). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain curves; no maker's instrument, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
The four bowed string instruments of the orchestra are built alike. Learn the parts every one of them has on a viola, then see what changes on a double bass.
Read the full guide
Four instruments, one set of parts
The first view stands the violin, viola, cello and double bass in a row at one scale. The second is a viola from the front and from the side: scroll, pegbox, pegs, neck, fingerboard, strings, bridge, f-holes and tailpiece are on every one of the four. Inside each body are a sound post and a bass bar.
What differs
A violin and a viola have a chinrest and are held under the chin. A cello and a double bass rest on the floor on an endpin. Only the double bass has machine heads and sloping shoulders, and only its strings are tuned in fourths.
From the front the scroll is only a knob. Its spiral, and the neck under the fingerboard, show in the side view.
A viola and a cello have the same string names, C, G, D and A, an octave apart.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of string instruments in an orchestra?
A violin, viola, cello and double bass each have a scroll, a pegbox and pegs at the top, a neck and fingerboard, a hollow body with two f-holes, a bridge, four strings and a tailpiece.
What is the difference between a violin and a viola?
The viola is slightly larger and sounds lower. Its four strings are C, G, D and A, a fifth below the violin's G, D, A and E. The parts are the same, and both have a chinrest.
Which string instruments have an endpin?
The cello and the double bass. The endpin is a rod at the bottom of the body that rests on the floor and carries the instrument's weight. It slides in and out to suit the player.
Why does a double bass have sloping shoulders?
The player leans the bass against the body, and the narrower shoulders make the high notes easier to reach. Sloping shoulders are also a mark of the viol family, from which the double bass partly descends.