Being much less cryptic : comments [Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος]

The double-bass isn't a member of the violin family.

Oh? What is it, then?

It's a member of the viol family, like the viola da gamba, the viola d'amore, and the viola da bracchia -- and a few others -- (but unlike the viola. All the other viols are considered non-modern instruments (obsolete, historical, or if you play them or listen to groups who do, merely "early") but the double-bass viol continued as a mainstream instrument. Apparently losing its frets somewhere along the way. (I'm not absolutely certain it ever had frets, but the instruments it's closest to have them.) So the largest mainstream member of the violin family is the violoncello (aka simply "cello").

And then there are other non-violin-family fiddles, such as the vielle, the crwth ... and some that I'd have to research to tell you whether they're obscure violins or merely similart-to-violins-but-not, like the nickelharpe and the hardanger fiddle.

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Wow, and my massive typo streak continues into a third day. *sigh* Missing right-paren, spurious 't' ... feh.

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I'm still unclear on the difference between viols and violins. Is it something in the way they are constructed? Something about it not having been made more modern? Perhaps the two are related.

Also, bassists in orchestras typically sit on, or at least rest against, a stool. If you don't have a stool, would it help to play it where you could lean against a wall a little bit?

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Yes, it's the way they're constructed. (To start with, notice that the violin, viola, and cello have round "shoulders", but the double bass has the same sloped shoulders as the viola da gamba.) Also, I think, the bowing technique.

Last night I did lean against a wall a bit.

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