Viola da Gamba — Lutherie Encyclopedia

Viola da GambaType: instrumentA fretted, bowed stringed instrument held between the legs, central to Renaissance and Baroque music and distinct from the violin family.## History The viola da gamba (Italian for "leg viol") emerged in Spain in the late 15th century and became one of the most important instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque periods (roughly 1480-1750). The gamba family includes treble, alto, tenor, and bass sizes, with the bass viol being the most prominent solo instrument. Viols were essential for consort (ensemble) music and were the preferred chamber instruments of the European aristocracy. The instrument reached its artistic zenith in the work of French composers such as Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray, and in the English viol consort tradition. By the late 18th century, the violin family had largely displaced the viols, but a scholarly and performance revival beginning in the early 20th century has restored the viol to active concert life. ## Construction The viola da gamba differs from violin-family instruments in several key ways: it has a flat back (rather than carved), wider and deeper body proportions, C-shaped sound holes (rather than f-holes), sloping shoulders, six or seven strings (rather than four), tied gut frets on the neck, and is held vertically between the legs rather than under the chin. The top is spruce, the back and sides are maple or other hardwoods, and the neck is fruitwood or maple. Strings are gut or modern synthetic substitutes. The bow is held underhand (palm up), opposite to the violin bow grip, allowing a different approach to articulation and dynamics. Bass viols are the most common s…