The Individual Instruments *

Abstract

The feature that perhaps best distinguishes the instruments of the Violin Octet from the violin, viola, cello and bass in terms of tone is the quality and quantity of sound on the lower strings of the Violin Octet instruments. The octet instruments are all built larger than their equivalents, which is the result of the scaling theory arrived at in order to produce a series of instruments with resonances equivalent to those of the violin. This increase in size, coupled with—particularly in the lower areas of the consort—a more lightly built body, produces a fuller texture and a greater resonance in the bass area of each instrument (particularly noticeable in the pizzicato sound) and the middle and lower part of the consort as a whole.