String instruments for kids: violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp

The string family of the orchestra has four bowed instruments: the violin, the viola, the cello, and the double bass. They share one shape in four sizes. The smaller the instrument, the higher it sounds. The harp is a string instrument too, and its strings are plucked with the fingers. Strings are the largest family in the orchestra.

A child can learn to tell them apart by size, by how each one is held, and by how high or low it sounds.

How a string makes sound

A string makes sound when it shakes back and forth. The word for this shaking is vibration.

A player sets the string moving in one of two ways. The first is to draw a bow across it. A bow is a wooden stick strung with horsehair. The player rubs a sticky resin called rosin on the hair so it grips the string. The second way is to pluck the string with a finger. The Italian word for plucking is pizzicato.

The hollow wooden body of the instrument makes the sound louder.

Two things change the note. A long, thick string sounds lower than a short, thin one. Pressing a finger down on a string makes the moving part shorter, and the note goes up.

The four bowed strings

Violin. The smallest and the highest. The player holds it under the chin. An orchestra has more violins than any other instrument, and they sit in two groups called first violins and second violins. The leader of the first violins is the concertmaster.

Viola. A little bigger than a violin, and held the same way. It sounds lower and darker. The viola often plays the notes in the middle, between the tune and the bass.

Cello. Much bigger. The player sits, and the cello rests on a metal spike on the floor and leans against the body. Its sound is deep and warm.

Double bass. The biggest and the lowest. It is about as tall as an adult. The player stands or sits on a high stool.

Each of the four usually has four strings. Violins and cellos come in small sizes for children, so a small child can hold one that fits.

The harp

A concert harp is as tall as an adult and has 47 strings. The player plucks them with both hands. Seven pedals at the base change the notes. To help the player find the way, every C string is red, and every F string is black or blue.

A piece to hear for each one

Violin. The first part of “Spring” from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. The Four Seasons listening guide covers it.

Viola. The viola variation in The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Britten.

Cello. “The Swan” from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns.

Double bass. “The Elephant” from the same piece. Both are in the Carnival of the Animals listening guide.

Harp. The opening of “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky.

Plucked strings. The Pizzicato Polka by Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss. The players put their bows down for the whole piece.

All the strings together. The first movement of Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart.

Things to do together

Rubber band box. Stretch rubber bands of different widths around an open box or a baking pan. Pluck each one. Ask which sound is lowest. Pull a band tighter and pluck it again.

High or low. Play a string piece. Ask your child to reach up when the violins play and crouch down for the cellos and basses.

Watch the bows. Watch a video of an orchestra. The bows in each group go up and down together. Ask your child why that could be. One reason is that the players are all following marks in their music.

Bow or pluck. Play the Pizzicato Polka, then “The Swan.” Ask how the two sounds differ.

Size them up. Find a photo of a string quartet. Put the instruments in order from smallest to biggest. Then guess which one plays the lowest note.

Print and play

Print the instrument families listening chart and tick the strings each time you hear them. To hear every string instrument take a solo in order, use The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

For the other three families, go back to instruments of the orchestra for kids. A child who wants to play a string instrument can start young, and the Suzuki method guide explains one common way.