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How Many Strings Does A Violin Have 

 May 26, 2021

By  Zen Chung

A traditional violin has four strings. However, there are other types of violins, such as the five-string violin and the seven-string violin. For the traditional violin, the violin strings are the E-string, A-string, D-string, and G-string. In this article, we'll look at the answer to the question of how many strings does a violin have.

The materials that the extra strings are made of vary from violin to violin. Some of these materials include nylon, steel, and catgut (sheep intestine). We'll look at the various violin strings in detail, But first, let's establish what a violin is.

Contents

What is A Violin?

The violin is a musical instrument with a similar shape to the guitar but is much smaller in size. Musicians use the violin to produce musical symphonies and other beautiful musical sounds. Another key difference between a violin and a guitar is that you play the violin using a bow, whereas the guitar is played with fingers.

Once you decide to learn to play the violin and become a professional violinist, there are other accessories that you may need to buy in addition to the extra strings. Some of these items include extra strings, a tuner, a music stand, rosin, and a rag and rock.

Check-in with your instructor before purchasing any of these items to avoid getting the wrong ones. You can also purchase violin lessons if you don't have your own personal instructor. Familiarizing yourself with other instruments in the violin family can help you better distinguish between these stringed instruments.

Let's now look at the four strings of a violin in more detail.

Violin Strings

How many strings a violin has affects how it sounds when you play it. Whether you have steel strings or gut strings, you'll notice that seven strings sound different from five strings or four strings. Although these e,a, d, g strings look identical to the naked eye, they vary in size, shape, and dimension.

This variance is what makes them produce a different sound when the bow lands on them. The more the strings on a violin, the larger the instrument is. You'll find that the violin with seven strings is much bigger than the violin with four strings.

The common and basic violins come with four strings. We'll look at these four strings in more detail below. Electric violins are great for rock genres. You'll find that the modern violin has more than four strings. Nonetheless, you can always use a properly string-tuned violin to play classical music.

1. String G

Violin makers and fine tuners will tell you that this string produces lower-pitched music. It would help if you pressed it using your index finger as you play your sheet music. When your violin's head is pointing towards your chin, this string will be on the leftmost side of the instrument.

This is for right-handed players. If you are a left-handed player, you'll find that this string is on the right side of your instrument.

The E-string is approximately 0.83mm thick and is located right next to the D-string.

2. String D

With a thickness of approximately 0.75mm, these strings are the second-thickets strings. On most violins, these strings are directly next to the g-string and are found on the left side of the instrument for right-handed players.

If you are left-handed, you'll find that these strings are found to your right. You can use the bow to get your desired tone. Right next to these strings are the a-strings.

3. String A

Music students first have to learn how to produce music by understanding how the strings work. This is one of the reasons why we're looking in-depth at how these violin strings work. Unlike string g, which is the thickest string of the bunch, string a is the second thinnest string.

Violins typically have this a-string located right next to the E-string on the right side of the violin. This is for right-handed players. For left-handed violinists, this is a second left string and is located on the left side of the violins. This left string (for left-handed players) is approximately 0.5mm thick.

4. String E

For the standard violin with four strings, the string e is the thinnest. This means that in the symphony orchestra, it is most likely to produce the highest-pitched sound. The string e is located on the right side of the instrument for right-handed players.

For left-handed players, these violin strings are located on the left side of the instrument. The thickness of this lowest string is roughly 0.25mm.

5. String C (for 5-string violins)

The c-string is the extra string that's found on five-string violins. Professional players mostly use such violins. In this article that looks at how many strings does a violin have, we've paid attention to the four strings on most violins.

Nonetheless, this string c is worth mentioning. It is used to manufacture electric violins. Here are some common answers to the question of how many strings does a violin have. You don't have to get to the maximum number of strings to get to the tune you want.

A violin with four strings tuned properly can make all the difference.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the point of a 5-string violin?

The extra string on a five-string violin enables you to improvise your musical style. In addition to using the main strings to produce music, the fifth string allows you to personalize whatever style of music you're playing.

For example, with a five-string violin, you can add some spice to hip-hop, jazz, rock, and even bluegrass as you are playing. Say goodbye to any flat sound. Any rock genre can be spiced up with a five-string violin size. The e, a, d, g, and c strings give you the flexibility you need.

2. What is it called when you play the violin?

When you play the violin, you play a fiddle. This is when you use your middle finger or ring finger to create a tune. However, when you use a violin bow, the act is called bowing. Street musicians can choose to play any tune they want.

3. Is a violin a fiddle?

A fiddle can be a violin that's played in the traditional style. The term fiddle can also mean a violin that was used in the bluegrass, country, and folks idiom. And finally, the term fiddle can be used when referring to any stringed instrument that was used in the fold idioms, even if it wasn't a violin. 

Zen Chung


I'm Zen Chung, a piano and violin teacher based out of Plano, Texas. I started this blog because my students (and their parents) kept asking about the best musical instruments to buy online. Look no further I'm here to save the day! 

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