In classical music, strings quartets are essential and use the team of four use three main instruments to produce their sound. These are usually two violins, a viola and a cello. The instruments are played by using a bow, but sometimes they may be plucked with fingers. The different instruments are assigned to different registers of the voice. The violins cover the soprano and alto vocals, the viola covers the tenor and the cello plays the bass. Many famous classical composers such as Beethoven and Mozart used strings quartets in their musical stylings.
Orchestras are made up of many people playing a variety of strings instruments. There are two different types of orchestra; Symphony and Philharmonic. Symphony orchestras are large scale and include large groups of instruments and people, sometimes more than one-hundred people can play in a symphony. Instruments in the violin family are common in symphony orchestras. Philharmonic orchestras can still be just as big, however, the word philharmonic is used to identify a specific orchestra, for example, the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra. Therefore, a Philharmonic could also be a Symphony, but a Symphony may not always be a Philharmonic Orchestra as they are specific to an area.
Strings instruments and strings music are particularly common at weddings. ‘Canon in D’ by Pachelbel is a very popular wedding song and is usually played by a strings quartet using three violins and a bass. There have been artists however who have chosen to play a cover on the guitar. Autumn by Vivaldi is also another common wedding song that tends to be used in more traditional style weddings and is usually played a violin concerto.
Christmas music also frequently includes sounds from strings instruments. “Jingle Bells” is often played by violinists as is “Deck the Halls”. But many of these Christmas songs can be played on other strings instruments too such as the guitar. The harp is also a great strings instrument to play softer Christmas music such as “Away in a Manger” and “Silent Night”.