violin family

The Violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the 17th Century. The modern violin family consists of the violin, viola and cello, along with the double bass. While the violin, viola and cello are true members of the ancestral violin family, the double bass's origins are disputed. It is sometimes taken to be part of the viol family, due to its sloping shoulders, its tuning, and its sometimes flat back. Others say that these features are arbitrary, and point to the internal construction of the double bass, which is proportionately identical to the violin's, as a more weighty piece of evidence than the external features.
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