The string section of an orchestra is the section containing bowed string instruments. It is normally the largest section of an orchestra. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A cello bow In music, a bow is a device pulled across the strings of a string instrument in order to make them vibrate and emit sound. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ...

Normally, the string section consists of four different instruments: the violins, which are divided into first and second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses. When a description of a musical work simply specifies the instrumentation as "strings", that indicates this typical arrangment. The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The viola (in French, alto; in German Bratsche) is a string instrument played with a bow. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a bowed stringed instrument, the lowest-sounding member of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ...

While the violins are traditionally divided, the cellos and basses often play the same music one octave apart. In music of the classical period, their parts are usually notated on a single staff, since bassists transpose an octave. In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... In musical notation, the staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines on which note symbols are placed to indicate pitch and rhythm. ... A transposing instrument is a musical instrument whose music is written at a pitch different from concert pitch. ...

Alternatives to this standard arrangement are sometimes used, usually to obtain some special effect by the composer; for instance, in Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, the strings are divided into two groups on either side of the stage. No matter what the division of parts, though, the string section of an orchestra invariably consists of these same four instruments. Béla Bartók in 1927 Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is a piece of classical music by Béla Bartók. ...

An orchestra consisting solely of a string section is a string orchestra. A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely of stringed instruments. ...