View source for Viol

{{short description|Bowed, fretted and stringed instrument}} 
{{hatnote|For the municipality in Germany, see [[Viöl]] in the collective municipality of [[Viöl (Amt)]].}}
{{distinguish|Viola|Violin}}
{{more footnotes|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox Instrument
| name           = Viola da gamba
| names          = gamba (informal)
| image          = File:Viola Da Gamba Front and Side.png
| background     = string
| hornbostel_sachs = 321.322-71
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Composite [[chordophone]] sounded by a [[bow (music)|bow]]
| developed      = Late 15th century from the [[vihuela]]
| related        = * [[Arpeggione]]
* [[Bass guitar]]
* [[Byzantine lyra]]
* [[Guitar]]
* [[Lute]]
* [[Vihuela]]
* [[Violone]]
| sound sample   = {{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Carl Friedrich Abel (1723- 1787) - Allegro, WKO 205 from 27 Pieces for Unaccompanied Viola da Gamba.ogg
 | title        = Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–1787) – From 27 Pieces for Unaccompanied Viola da Gamba, New York. NYp, Drexel 5871(ca.1790-99): [Arpeggio], AbelWV A1:A26
 | description = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Viol
}}
}}
The '''viola da gamba''' ({{IPA|it|ˈvjɔːla da (ɡ)ˈɡamba, viˈɔːla -|lang}}), or '''viol''', or informally '''gamba''', is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played {{lang|it|da gamba}} (i.e. "on the leg").{{efn|{{lang|it|Viola da gamba}} (literally "leg viol")<ref name=GroveViol>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last= Sadie |editor-first=Stanley |entry= Viol|encyclopedia= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |year=1984 |volume= 3 |first1= Ian |last1=Woodfield |first2= Lucy |last2=Robinson|pages= 736-753}}</ref> denotes a family of instruments distinct from the [[violin]] family, or [[Viola da braccio|violas {{lang|it|cat=no|da braccio}}]] ("arm viols"). Currently, the term {{lang|it|viola da gamba}} without qualification generally refers to the bass viol.}} It is distinct from the later [[violin family|violin]], or {{lang|it|[[viola da braccio]]}}; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of [[bow (music)|bowed]], [[fret]]ted, and [[stringed instruments |stringed instrument]]s with hollow wooden bodies and [[Tuning mechanisms for stringed instruments|pegboxes]] where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch of each of the strings.<ref name=GroveViol/> Although treble, tenor and bass were most commonly used, viols came in different sizes, including {{lang|fr<!--assumed based on form and being popular mostly in France-->|[[Pardessus de viole|pardessus]]}} (high treble, developed in 18th century), treble, alto, small tenor, tenor, bass and contrabass (called {{lang|it|violone}}).<ref name=GroveViol/> 

These members of the viol family are distinguished from later bowed string instruments, such as the violin family, by both appearance and orientation when played—as typically the neck is oriented upwards and the rounded bottom downwards to settle on the lap or between the knees.<ref name=GroveViol/>

The viola da gamba uses the alto clef.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} Seven and occasionally eight frets made of "stretched gut" are tied on the fingerboard around the instrument's neck.<ref name=GroveViol/> Frets tied in this manner—instead of permanently fixed as on a [[guitar]]—allow for fine-tuning of the instrument.<ref name=GroveViol/> (Frets enable the performer to stop the strings more cleanly, improve consistency of intonation and lend the stopped notes a tone that better matches the open strings.){{citation needed|date=October 2024}} 

Viols first appeared in Spain and Italy in the mid-to-late 15th century, and were most popular in the [[Renaissance music|Renaissance]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://musiconis.huma-num.fr/fiche/213/Putto+tenant+une+viole+de+gambe|title=Putto holding a "viole de gambe" in the Musiconis database|website=Musiconis.huma-num.fr|access-date=18 April 2021}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and [[Baroque music|Baroque]] (1600–1750) periods.<ref>Woodfield, Ian; Robinson, Lucy (1980). "Viol [viola da gamba, gamba]". In: Sadie, Stanley, ed. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.'' Vol. 19. London, UK: Macmillan. pp. 791–808.</ref> Early ancestors include the Arabic ''[[rebab]]'' and the medieval European [[vielle]],<ref> name=":1">Otterstedt, Annette. The Viol: History of an Instrument. ''Kassel: Barenreiter;-Verlag Karl Votterle GmbH & Co''; 2002.</ref><ref name="Woodfield 1984" /> but later, more directly possible ancestors include the Venetian {{lang|it|viole}}<ref name=":0" /> and the 15th- and 16th-century Spanish {{lang|es|[[vihuela]]}}, a six-course plucked instrument tuned like a [[lute]] (and also like a present-day viol)<ref name=":1">Otterstedt, Annette.</ref><ref name="Woodfield 1984" /> that (at the time) looked like, but was quite distinct from, the four-course guitar<ref>{{cite web|author=Rodriguez Alvira, José|title=La vihuela y la guitarra en el siglo XVI|url=http://www.aulaactual.com/especiales/vihuela/|website=Aulaactual.com|access-date=July 18, 2013}}</ref> (an earlier chordophone).<ref>{{cite web|last=Rault |first=Christian|title=The emergence of new approaches to plucked instruments, 13th – 15th centuries. Michalestein, 2001|url=http://prolyra.free.fr/Christian_Rault_luthier/pages/30publpag/art13pluckinst.htm#_ftn1|website=Prolyra.free.fr|access-date=July 18, 2013|quotation=Rault notes that the first mention of the guitarra was in the late-13th- or early-14th-century Latin manuscript {{lang|la|Ars Musica}} by the Spaniard [[Juan Gil de Zamora]]|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054401/http://prolyra.free.fr/Christian_Rault_luthier/pages/30publpag/art13pluckinst.htm#_ftn1|url-status=dead}}</ref> It should also be mentioned that the Arabic ''[[rebab]]'' originally comes from a Persian instrument called ''[[Rubab (instrument)|rubāb]]''.

Although bass viols superficially resemble [[cello]]s, viols are different in several respects from instruments of the [[violin family]]: the viol family has flat rather than curved backs, sloped rather than rounded shoulders, [[Sound hole|c holes]] rather than [[F-hole|f holes]], and five to seven rather than four strings. Additional differences include ''tuning strategy''—in fourths, with a third in the middle, rather than in fifths (similar to a lute)—the presence of [[frets]], and underhand rather than overhand bow grip.<ref>{{cite web|author=Vasquez, Jose|title=The violin (or viola da braccio) and the viola da gamba families: differences and similarities|url=http://www.orpheon.org/OldSite/Seiten/education/Violin_Vdg_Families.htm|website=Orpheon.org|access-date=July 18, 2013|archive-date=May 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518033701/http://www.orpheon.org/oldsite/seiten/education/Violin_Vdg_Families.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

A modern player of the viol is commonly known as a ''gambist'', ''violist''  {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|aɪ|əl|ɪ|s|t}}, or ''violist'' {{lang|it|da gamba}}.  Notably, "violist" is a [[homograph]] of the word commonly used since the mid-20th century to refer to a player of the [[viola]], which can cause confusion in written/printed texts when not clear from the context.

==History==
[[Image:Viola da gamba.png|thumb|right|Four viols in different sizes (1618)]]
[[Image:Violas de arco en un manuscrito del año 900 - 950.jpg|thumb|left|  Spanish instruments from before the name viol or vihuela were coined, played with a bow. From [[Commentary on the Apocalypse]], ''Codice VITR 14.1'', "second third of 10th century".<ref name="14-1">{{cite web |url= http://bdh.bne.es/bnesearch/detalle/bdh0000047185 |title= Título uniforme [In Apocalipsin] Title Beati in Apocalipsin libri duodecim  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=bdh.bne.es |publisher=BIBLIOTECA DIGITAL HISPÁNICA |access-date= 10 December 2016}}</ref>]]
[[Image:Viol VerkoljeJan Dutch 1674.jpg|thumb|Detail from a painting by Jan Verkolje, Dutch, {{circa|1674}}, ''Elegant Couple'' (A Musical Interlude). The theme is similar to the classic ''Music Lesson'' genre, and features a bass viol, [[virginal]], and [[cittern]] (in the woman's hand, out of frame in this detail; see [[:Image:VerkoljeJan CoupleDutch1674.jpg|full image]]). This image highlights the domestic amateur class of viol players.]]
[[Vihuela|Vihuelists]] began playing their flat-topped, originally plucked, instruments ''with a bow'' in the second half of the 15th century. Within two or three decades, this led to the evolution of an entirely new and dedicated bowed string instrument that retained many of the features of the vihuela: e.g., a flat back, sharp waist-cuts, frets, thin ribs initially, and identical tuning—hence its original name, '''vihuela de arco'''; {{lang|es|arco}} is Spanish for "bow". An influence on the playing posture has been credited to the example of Moorish ''[[Rebab|rabab]]'' players.<ref name="Woodfield 1984">Woodfield, Ian; Brown, Howard Mayer; le Huray, Peter; Stevens, John; eds. ''The Early History of the Viol.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1984, p. 19.</ref>

However, Stefano Pio (2012) argues that a re-examination of documents in light of new data indicates an origin different than the ''vihuela de arco'' from Aragon. According to Pio, the viol had its origins in [[Venice]], and evolved independently there.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Pio|first=Stefano|title=Viol and Lute Makers of Venice 1490 -1630|year=2012|publisher=Venice research|location=Venezia, Italy|isbn=978-88-907252-0-3|page=441|url=http://www.veniceresearch.com}}</ref> He asserts it was implausible that the vihuela de arco underwent such a rapid evolution by Italian rather than Venetian instrument makers. Nonetheless, a ten-year span brought the birth and diffusion in Italy of a new family of instruments (viola da gamba, or viols). These comprised instruments of different sizes, some as large as the famous ''violoni''—as 'big as a man'—mentioned by Prospero Bernardino in 1493.

Pio also notes that the fifth string of the viola da gamba is uniquely called a [[Drone (music)|''bordone'' (drone)]]—both in the manuscript of the early 15th-century music theorist Antonius de Leno, and in the treatises of the Venetian [[Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego]] and {{ill|Giovanni Maria Lanfranco|de|Giovanni Lanfranco (Musiker)}}. However, it is not a drone and is played the same as the other strings. This inconsistency is justified, Pio argues, only by assuming the invention (in the latter 15th century) of a larger instrument derived from the medieval ''[[Violetta (instrument)|violetta]]'', which gradually added more strings to allow greater extension to the low register. The fifth string was incorporated into the neck. This was surpassed by a sixth string (''basso'') which fixed the lower sound produced by the instrument. Pio's view was: the origin of the viola da gamba is tied to the evolution of the smaller violetta, or [[vielle]], which was originally fitted with a fifth-string "drone"; and the name 'stuck' even after it ceased to perform this function.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}<ref>Pio, pp. 22–51</ref>

Ian Woodfield, in his ''The Early History of the Viol'', points to evidence that the viol does start with the vihuela, but that Italian luthiers immediately began to apply their own highly developed instrument-making traditions to the early version of the instrument after it was introduced into Italy.<ref name="Woodfield 1984" />

==Construction==
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
|header=Dutch viols overseas
| align = right 
 | image1 = European in Japan playing viol.jpg color modified.jpg
 | width1 = 182
| alt1 = Woman playing viol
| caption1 = Late 16th or early 17th-century viol from a Japanese painting. Has four courses of strings.

| image2 = Young man in European dress playing on a lute, Iran, 1630s.jpg
|width2 = 153
| alt2 = Dutch viol in Persia
| caption2  =  Painting by [[Reza Abbasi]] {{circa|1634}}, showing a musician dressed in European clothing, playing what may be a viol. The instrument has Persian-style soundholes and a thinner neck than the instrument in the Japanese painting.
 |footer= In places where European ships landed in the 16 and 17th centuries, painters illustrated them playing musical instruments.
}}

Viols most commonly have six strings, although many 16th-century instruments had only four or five strings, and during the 17th century in France, some bass viols featured a seventh lower string. Viols were (and are) strung with [[Catgut|gut]] strings of lower tension than on the members of the violin family.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weinfield |first=Elizabeth |date=June 2014 |title=The Viol |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/viol/hd_viol.htm |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=The Met}}</ref> Gut strings produce a sonority far different from steel, generally described as softer and sweeter. Around 1660, gut or silk core strings overspun with [[copper]] wire first became available; these were then used for the lowest-pitched bass strings on viols, and many other string instruments as well. In 1664, a style of string incorporating a copper wire spun within the gut fibers, called a 'gimped' string, was introduced, mimicking the style of embroidery of the same name.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://shop.gamutmusic.com/copper-gimped-gut-108mm/#:~:text=Gimped%20strings%20were%20first%20mentioned,gimped%20lace%20of%20the%20period | title=Gimped Gut =1.08mm | access-date=2023-09-04 | archive-date=2023-09-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904113712/https://shop.gamutmusic.com/copper-gimped-gut-108mm/#:~:text=Gimped%20strings%20were%20first%20mentioned,gimped%20lace%20of%20the%20period | url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Viols are fretted like early guitars or [[lute]]s, using movable wrapped-around and tied-on gut frets. A low seventh string was supposedly added in France to the bass viol by [[Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe]] ({{circa|1640}}–1690), whose students included the French gamba [[virtuoso]] and composer [[Marin Marais]]. Also, the painting [[:Image:StCeciliaDomenichinoLouvre.jpg|''Saint Cecilia with an Angel'']] (1618) by [[Domenico Zampieri|Domenichino]] (1581–1641) shows what may be a seven-string viol.

Unlike members of the [[violin family]], most of which are tuned in [[Perfect fifth|fifths]], viols are usually tuned in fourths with a major third in the middle, mirroring the tuning employed on the vihuela de mano and [[lute]] during the 16th century and similar to that of the modern six-string [[guitar]].

[[Image:Viol Raphael St.Cecilia1510.jpg|thumb|right|Early Italian tenor viola da gamba, detail from the painting ''St. Cecilia'', by [[Raphael]], {{circa|1510}}.]]

Viols were first constructed much like the ''vihuela de mano'', with all surfaces, top, back, and sides made from flat slabs or pieces of joined wood, bent or curved as required. However, some viols, both early and later, had carved tops, similar to those more commonly associated with instruments of the violin family. The ribs or sides of early viols were usually quite shallow, reflecting more the construction of their plucked vihuela counterparts. Rib depth increased during the 16th century, finally coming to resemble the greater depth of the classic 17th-century pattern.

The flat backs of most viols have a sharply angled break or ''canted'' bend in their surface close to where the neck meets the body. This serves to taper the back (and overall body depth) at its upper end to meet the back of the neck joint flush with its heel. Traditional construction uses animal glue, and internal joints are often reinforced with strips of either [[linen]] or [[vellum]] soaked in hot animal glue—a practice also employed in early plucked vihuela construction. The peg boxes of viols (which hold the tuning pegs) were typically decorated either with elaborately carved heads of animals or people or with the now-familiar spiral ''[[scroll (music)|scroll]]'' finial.

The earliest vihuelas and viols, both plucked and bowed, all had sharp cuts to their waists, similar to the profile of a modern violin. This was a key and new feature—first appearing in the mid-15th century—and from then on, it was employed on many different types of string instruments. This feature was also key in seeing and understanding the connection between the plucked and bowed versions of early vihuelas. If one were to go searching for very early viols with smooth-curved figure-eight bodies, like those found on the only slightly later plucked vihuelas and the modern guitar, they would be out of luck. By the mid-16th century, however, "guitar-shaped" viols were fairly common, and a few of them survive.

The earliest viols had flat, glued-down bridges just like their plucked counterpart vihuelas. Soon after, however, viols adopted the wider and high-arched bridge that facilitated the bowing of single strings. The earliest of viols would also have had the ends of their [[fretboard]]s flat on the deck, level with or resting upon the top or soundboard. Once the end of their fretboards was elevated above the top of the instrument's face, the entire top could vibrate freely. Early viols did not have [[sound post]]s, either (again reflecting their plucked vihuela siblings). This reduced [[Damping ratio|damping]] again meant that their tops could vibrate more freely, contributing to the characteristic "humming" sound of viols; yet the absence of a sound post also resulted in a quieter and softer voice overall.

It is commonly believed<ref>{{cite book|last=van der Straeten|first=Edmund|title=The History of the Violin: Its Ancestors and Collateral Instruments from Earliest Times|year=1933|publisher=Cassell and company, ltd.}}</ref> that [[Sound hole|C-holes]] (a type and shape of pierced sound port visible on the top face or belly of string instruments) are a definitive feature of viols, a feature used to distinguish viols from instruments in the violin family, which typically had F-shaped holes. This generality, however, renders an incomplete picture. The earliest viols had either large, open, round, sound holes (or even round pierced [[Rosette (design)|rosette]]s like those found on lutes and vihuelas), or they had some kind of C-holes. Viols sometimes had as many as four small C-holes—one placed in each corner of the bouts—but more commonly, they had two. The two C-holes might be placed in the upper bouts, centrally, or in the lower bouts. In the formative years, C-holes were most often placed facing each other or turned inwards.

In addition to round or C-holes, however, and as early as the first quarter of the 16th century, some viols adopted S-shaped holes, again facing inward. By the mid-16th century, S-holes morphed into the classic F-shaped holes, which were then used by viols and members of the violin family alike. By the mid-to late 16th century, the viol's C-holes facing direction were reversed, becoming outward-facing. That configuration then became a standard feature of what we today call the “classic” 17th-century pattern. Yet another style of sound holes found on some viols was a pair of flame-shaped Arabesques placed left and right. The lute- and vihuela-like round or oval ports or rosettes became a standard feature of German and Austrian viols and were retained to the very end. That feature was unique to viols and served as a reminder of the viol's more ancient plucked vihuela roots, the "luteness" of viols.

Historians, makers, and players generally distinguish between ''[[Renaissance music|renaissance]]'' and ''[[Baroque music|baroque]]'' viols. The latter are more heavily constructed and are fitted with a [[bass bar]] and sound post, like modern stringed instruments.

===Viol bows===
The [[bow (music)|bow]] is held underhand with the palm facing upward, similar to a German [[double bass]] bow grip, but away from the frog towards the balance point. The stick's curvature is generally convex as were violin bows of the period, rather than concave like a modern violin bow. The "frog" (which holds the bow hair and adjusts its tension) is also different from that of modern bows: whereas a violin bow frog has a "slide" (often made of [[Nacre|mother of pearl]]), which pinches the hair and holds it flat and stationary across the frog, viol bows have an open frog that allows more movement of the hair. This facilitates a traditional playing technique where the performer uses one or two fingers of the bow hand to press the hair away from the bow stick. This dynamically increases bow hair tension to control [[articulation (music)|articulation]] and inflection.

==Different versions==
[[Image:Violone PeterLely1649DutEng.jpg|thumb|left|[[Violone]] or ''great bass viol''. Painting by Sir [[Peter Lely]], {{circa|1640}}, Dutch-born English Baroque era painter. Note the Italianate shape, square shoulders, and F-holes, apart from its massive size.]]
[[Image:Viols divis Simpson Eng1660.jpg|thumb|upright|Plate from [[Christopher Simpson (musician)|Christopher Simpson]]'s book, ''The Division Violist'', England, 1659–1667 edition.]]

Viols come in seven sizes: "[[pardessus de viole]]" (which is relatively rare, exclusively French and did not exist before the 18th century), treble (''dessus'' in French), alto, tenor (in French ''taille''), bass, great bass, and contrabass (the final two are often called [[violone]], meaning ''large viol''), the smaller one tuned an octave below the tenor (violone in G, sometimes called ''great bass'' or in French ''grande basse'') and the larger one tuned an octave below the bass (violone in D, or the contrabass viol). This latter instrument is not to be confused with the [[double bass]].

Their tuning (see next section) alternates G and D instruments: pardessus in G, treble in D, tenor in G, bass in D (the seven-string bass was a French invention, with an added low A), small violone in G, large violone in D and the alto (between the treble and the tenor). 
[[File:Boston MFA Viola da Gambas.jpg|left|thumb|Different sizes of viols in the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]].]]
The treble has a size similar to a [[viola]] but with a deeper body; the typical bass is about the size of a [[cello]]. The pardessus and the treble were held vertically in the lap. The English made smaller basses known as [[division viol]]s, and the still-smaller [[Lyra viol]]. The [[viola bastarda]] was a similar type of viol used in Italy for a virtuosic style of viol repertoire and performance. German consort basses were larger than the French instruments designed for continuo.

Those instruments were not all equally common. The typical Elizabethan consort of viols was composed of six instruments: two basses, two tenors and two trebles, or one bass, three tenors and two trebles (see [[Chest of viols]]). Thus the bass, tenor and treble were the central members of the family as far as music written specifically for viols is concerned. Besides consort playing the bass could also be used as a solo instrument (there were also smaller basses designed especially for a virtuosic solo role, see above ''division viol'', ''lyra viol'', ''viola bastarda''). And the bass viol could also serve as a continuo bass. The pardessus was a French 18th-century instrument that was introduced to allow ladies to play mostly violin or flute music{{efn|The violin and the flute were not considered appropriate for ladies; no longer, in the case of the violin, as in the 17th century, because of its popular origins and association with people who made a living playing music, but because the physical effort required to hold the violin ''a braccio'' or to play the flute were not considered lady-like}} but eventually acquired its own repertoire. The alto was a relatively rare smaller version of the tenor. The violones were rarely part of the consort of viols but functioned as the bass or contrabass of all kinds of instrumental combinations.

==Tuning==
The standard tuning of most viols is in [[perfect fourth|fourths]], with a [[major third]] in the middle (like the standard Renaissance [[lute]] tuning), or in [[perfect fourth|fourths]], with a [[major third]] in between the 2nd and 3rd strings (like a modern guitar). The following table shows the tunings that have been adopted at least somewhat widely during the 20th and 21st-century revival of the viols. (Lyra viol tunings are not included.)

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Viol tuning
! rowspan="2" |Instrument
! colspan="7" |Strings <small>(low to high)</small>
! style="width: 150px" rowspan="2" |Harmonic relation (low to high)
|-
! style="width: 50px"|7
! style="width: 50px"|6 
! style="width: 50px"|5 
! style="width: 50px"|4 
! style="width: 50px"|3 
! style="width: 50px"|2 
! style="width: 50px"|1
|-
| align="left" |'''Pardessus''' (5-string){{efn|name=fn1|The ''pardessus de viole'' most often has only five strings, but six-string instruments are not uncommon.}}
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|D<sub>5</sub>
|G<sub>5</sub>
|5th, 5th, 4th, 4th
|-
| align="left" |'''Pardessus''' (6-string)
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>3</sub>
|C<sub>4</sub>
|E<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|D<sub>5</sub>
|G<sub>5</sub>
|4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th
|-
|align="left"|'''Treble'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|D<sub>3</sub>
|G<sub>3</sub>
|C<sub>4</sub>
|E<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|D<sub>5</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
|align="left"|'''Alto'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|C<sub>3</sub>
|F<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|G<sub>4</sub>
|C<sub>5</sub>
|4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th
|-
|align="left"|'''Tenor in A'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|A<sub>2</sub>
|D<sub>3</sub>
|G<sub>3</sub>
|B<sub>3</sub>
|E<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
|align="left"|'''Tenor in G'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>2</sub>
|C<sub>3</sub>
|F<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|G<sub>4</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
|align="left"|'''Bass'''
|style="background: #DFDFDF;" |A<sub>1</sub>{{efn|name=fn2|The baroque bass viol has either six or seven strings.}}
|D<sub>2</sub>
|G<sub>2</sub>
|C<sub>3</sub>
|E<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|(4th{{efn|name=fn2}}), 4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th
|-
|align="left"|'''Violone in A'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|A<sub>1</sub>
|D<sub>2</sub>
|G<sub>2</sub>
|B<sub>2</sub>
|E<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
| align="left" |'''Violone in G'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>1</sub>
|C<sub>2</sub>
|F<sub>2</sub>
|A<sub>2</sub>
|D<sub>3</sub>
|G<sub>3</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
| align="left" |'''Violone in D'''
| style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|D<sub>1</sub>
|G<sub>1</sub>
|C<sub>2</sub>
|E<sub>2</sub>
|A<sub>2</sub>
|D<sub>3</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|}

Alternative tunings (called ''[[wiktionary:scordatura|scordatura]]'') were often employed, particularly in the solo [[lyra viol]] style of playing, which also made use of many techniques such as [[chord (music)|chords]] and ''[[pizzicato]]'', not generally used in consort playing. An unusual style of pizzicato was known as a thump. Lyra viol music was also commonly written in [[tablature]]. There is a vast repertoire of this music, some by well-known composers and much by anonymous ones.

Much viol music predates the adoption of [[equal temperament]] tuning by musicians. The movable nature of the tied-on frets permits the viol player to make adjustments to the tempering of the instrument, and some players and consorts adopt [[meantone temperament]]s, which are more suited to Renaissance music. Several fretting schemes involve frets that are spaced unevenly to produce better-sounding chords in a limited number of [[key (music)|keys]]. In some of these schemes, the two strands of the gut that form the fret are separated so that the player can finger a slightly sharper or flatter version of a note (for example G{{music|sharp}} versus A{{music|flat}}) to suit different circumstances.

==Treatises==
[[Image:Virdung Lutes PluckBow 1511.jpg|thumb|Illustration from German composer [[Sebastian Virdung]]'s 1511 treatise ''Musica Getutsch'', showing the lute family—plucked and bowed. This is the first printed illustration of a viol in history.]]

Descriptions and illustrations of viols are found in numerous early 16th-century musical treatises, including those authored by:

*[[Sebastian Virdung]]: ''Musica getutsch'', 1511
*[[Hans Judenkünig]]: ''Ain schone kunstliche Vunderwaisung'', 1523
*[[Martin Agricola]]: ''Musica instrumentalis deutsch'', 1528
*[[Hans Gerle]]: ''Musica Teusch'' (or ''Teutsch''), 1532

Both Agricola's and Gerle's works were published in various editions.

There were then several important [[treatise]]s concerning or devoted to the viol. The first was by [[Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego]]: ''Regola Rubertina & Lettione Seconda'' (1542/3). [[Diego Ortiz]] published ''Trattado de Glosas'' ([[Rome]], 1553), an important book of music for the viol with both examples of ornamentation and pieces called ''Recercadas''. In England, [[Christopher Simpson (musician)|Christopher Simpson]] wrote the most important treatise, with the second edition being published in 1667 in parallel text (English and [[Latin]]). This has [[variation (music)|divisions]] at the back that are very worthwhile repertoire. A little later, in England, [[Thomas Mace]] wrote ''Musick's Monument'', which deals more with the lute but has an important section on the viol. After this, the French treatises by [[Le Sieur de Machy|Machy]] (1685), [[Jean Rousseau (violist)|Rousseau]] (1687), [[Le Sieur Danoville|Danoville]] (1687), and [[Etienne Loulie]] (1700) show further developments in playing technique.

==Popularity==
[[File:The Smithsonian Consort of Viols.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|The Smithsonian Consort of Viols, a contemporary viol consort]]
{{listen
| type         = music
| filename     = Carl_Friedrich_Abel_(1723-1787)_-_Duetto_in_G-Major,_A35A_from_the_Maltzan_Collection.ogg
| title        = Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–1787) – Duetto in G-Major, AbelWV A3:5A from the Maltzan Collection
| description  = Performed by ViolMedium – Eric Miller & Phillip W. Serna, Viols
}}

{{listen|type=music
 | filename    = Carl Friedrich Abel (1723- 1787) – Sonata in G-Major, WKO155 for Unaccompanied Viola da Gamba for Unaccompanied Viola da Gamba.ogg
 | title       = Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–1787) – Sonata in G-Major, AbelWV A3 for Unaccompanied Viola da Gamba. Composed for the Lady Pembroke, London. GB-Lbl, Add.Ms.31697 (1760–1770)
 | description = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Viol
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename    = Elway Bevin (ca.1554-1638) - Browning à3 from the Baldwin Partbooks, Christ Church Ms. 979-83 (1570s).ogg
 | title       = Elway Bevin (ca.1554-1638) - Browning à3 from the Baldwin Partbooks, Oxford. Christ Church, Ms.979-83 (ca.1570)
 | filename2    = William_Byrd_(ca.1540-1623)_-_Prelude_&_Voluntarie_à4_for_my_Ladye_Nevell,_My_Ladye_Nevells_Booke,_No.26._London._GB-Lbl,_MS_Mus.1591_(1591).ogg
 | title2       = William Byrd (ca.1540–1623) – Prelude & Voluntarie à4 for my Ladye Nevell, My Ladye Nevells Booke, No.26. London. GB-Lbl, MS Mus.1591 (1591)
 | filename3   = John Coprario (ca.1570-1626) - Fantasia à2, VdGS No.1 for Treble & Tenor Viols.ogg
 | title3      = John Coprario (ca.1570–1626) – Fantasia à2, VdGS No.1, Cambridge. King's College, Rowe Mss.112–113 (ca.1620)
 | filename4   = William Daman (ca.1540-1591) - Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La à3 from XX konincklycke fantasien. Mathysz press, Amsterdam (1648).ogg
 | title4      = William Daman (ca.1540–1591) – Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La à3 from XX konincklycke fantasien. Mathysz press, Amsterdam (1648)
 | filename5   = John Dowland (1563-1626) - M. George Whitehead His Almand, Lachrimae, No.21 for Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols with Great Bass Violone in G 1604.ogg
 | title5      = John Dowland (1563–1626) – M. George Whitehead His Almand, Lachrimae, No.21 (1604) 
 | filename6   = Leonora Duarte (1610-1678) - Sinfonia à5, No.7, Oxford, Christ College, Mus.Ms.429.ogg
 | title6      = Leonora Duarte (1610–1678) – Sinfonia à5, No.7 Terti toni, Oxford. Christ College, Mus.Ms.429 (ca.1625–1650) 
 | filename7   = Michael East (ca.1580-1648) - Both alike, Fancy à2, No.3 from the Seventh Set of Bookes (1638).ogg
 | title7      = Michael East (ca.1580–1648) – Both alike, Fancy à2, No.3 from the Seventh Set of Bookes (1638)
 | filename8   = Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder (1543-1588) - Fantasia 'Di Sei Bassi’ NYp, Drexel 4302, p.255, no.45.ogg
 | title8      = Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder (1543–1588) – Fantasia 'Di Sei Bassi’ from the Sambrook Manuscript, New York. NYp, Drexel 4302, p.255, no.45 (ca.1613–19)
 | filename9   = Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger (ca.1575-1628) - Fantasia 'On the Hexachord' à4, VdGS No.10 - The Hexachord Ascending, Oxford, Christ College, Mus. MS.436.ogg
 | title9      = Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger (ca.1575–1628) – Fantasia 'On the Hexachord' à4, VdGS No.10 – The Hexachord Ascending, Oxford. Christ College, Mus.Ms.436 (ca.1630)
 | description9  = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols with [[Violone]]
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Gottfried_Finger_(ca.1660-1730)_-_Intrada_in_A-Major_for_2_Violas_da_Gamba_from_the_Codex_Sünchinger.ogg
 | title        = Gottfried Finger (ca.1660–1730) – Intrada in A-Major for 2 Violas da Gamba from the Codex Sünchinger
 | description = Performed by ViolMedium – Eric Miller & Phillip W. Serna, Viols
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Fantasia à4, No.1 for Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols with Great Bass.oga
 | title        = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Fantasia à4, VdGS No.1GB, Oxford. Christ Church, Mss.732-35 (ca.1630)
 | filename2     = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Fantasia à2, VdGS No.3 for 2 Treble Viols.ogg
 | title2        = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583–1625) – Fantazia à2, VdGS No.3, Cambridge. King's College, Rowe Mss.112-13 (ca.1620)
 | filename3     = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Fantasia à3 No.3 (1620).ogg
 | title3        = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583–1625) – Fantazia à3, VdGS No.3, Oxford. Christ Church, Mus.Ms.21 (ca.1620)
 | filename4     = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Galliard à3, for Treble & Bass Viols with Great Bass.oga
 | title4        = Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583–1625) – Galliard à3, Dublin. Marsh's Library, IRL-Dm Mss.z.3.4.1–3 (ca.1650)
 | filename5     = Captaine Tobias Hume - Tobacco, No.3 The First Part of Ayres - The Musicall Humours1605.ogg
 | title5        = Captaine Tobias Hume (1569–1645) – Tobacco, No.3 The First Part of Ayres – The Musicall Humours (1605)
 | filename6     = Captaine Tobias Hume (1569 - 1645) - The Spirit of Gambo (The Lord Dewys Favoret) from Captaine Hume’s Poeticall Musicke (1607).ogg
 | title6        = Captaine Tobias Hume (1569–1645) – The Spirit of Gambo (The Lord Dewys Favoret) from Captaine Hume’s Poeticall Musicke (1607)
 | filename7     = John_Jenkins_(1592-1678)_-_Pavan_à6_in_F,_VdGS_No.2_(ca.1667).ogg
 | title7        = John Jenkins (1592–1678) – Pavan à6 in F, VdGS No.2, Oxford. Bodleian Library, Mus.Sch. c.83, II/2 (ca.1667)
 | filename8     = William Lawes (1602-1645) - Aire à4, VdGS No.112, Oxford. Bodleian Library, Mus.Sch.b.2, p.33 (ca.1638-45).ogg
 | title8        = William Lawes (1602–1645) – Aire à4, VdGS No.112, Oxford. Bodleian Library, Mus.Sch.b.2, p.33 (ca.1638–45)
 | filename9     = Thomas Lupo (1571-1628) - Fantasia à3 in d, VdGS No.26 for 3 Bass Viols.ogg
 | title9        = Thomas Lupo the Elder (1571–1628) – Fantasia à3 in d, VdGS No.26 from John Merro's Book, Tenbury Manuscripts of St. Michael's College, Oxford. Bodleian Library, Mus.Sch.d.245-47 (ca.1620–30)
 | description9  = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Marin Marais - Pièces a Une Viole du Premier Livre (1686).ogg
 | title        = Marin Marais (1656–1728) – Pièces a Une Viole du Premier Livre (1686) – Prelude – Fantaisie – Allemande – Double – Courante – Double – Sarabande – Gigue – Double
 | filename2    = Marin Marais (1656-1728) – Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont de Paris The Bells of St. Genevieve from La Gamme et Autres Morceaux de Symphonie (1723).ogg
 | title2       = Marin Marais (1656–1728) – Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont de Paris The Bells of St. Genevieve from La Gamme et Autres Morceaux de Symphonie (1723)
 | description2 = Performed by New Comma Baroque
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Étienne Moulinié (1599–1676) – Fantasia à4, VdGS No.2 for 2 Treble Viols, Tenor & Bass Viols (1639).ogg
 | title        = Étienne Moulinié (1599–1676) – Fantasia à4, VdGS No.2 for 2 Treble Viols, Tenor & Bass Viols (1639)
 | filename2    = Diego Ortiz (1510-1570) - Recercada primera sobre tenores italianos from Trattado de Glosas, Libro Secundo (1553).ogg
 | title2       = Diego Ortiz (1510–1570) – Recercada primera sobre tenores italianos from Trattado de Glosas, Libro Secundo (1553)
 | filename3     = Robert Parsons (ca.1535-1572) - In Nomine à7, No.2, London. GB-Lbl, Add.Ms.31390 (ca.1578).ogg
 | title3        = Robert Parsons (ca.1535–1572) – In Nomine à7, No.2, London. GB-Lbl, Add.Ms.31390 (ca.1578)
 | filename4     = Picforth - In Nomine à5 for Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols (c.1578).ogg
 | title4        = Picforth (fl.1580s) – In Nomine à5, London. GB-Lbl, Add.Ms.31390 (ca.1578)
 | filename5     = Poynt - In Nomine à5, British Library Add. Ms 31390 for Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols.ogg
 | title5        = Poynt (fl.1570s) – In Nomine à5, London. GB-Lbl, Add.Ms.31390 (ca.1578)
 | filename6    = Henry Purcell (1659-1695) – In Nomine à6, Z.746 for Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols.ogg
 | title6       = Henry Purcell (1659–1695) – In Nomine à6, Z.746 for Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols (1680)
 | filename7     = Claudia Francesca Rusca (1583-1676) - Canzone Prima à4 La Borromea (1630).ogg
 | title7        = Claudia Francesca Rusca (1583–1676) – Canzone Prima à4 'La Borromea' from Sacri Concerti à1–5 con Salmi e Canzoni Francesi (Milan, 1630)
 | description7 = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols with [[Lute]]
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Christoph_Schaffrath_(1709-1763)_-_Duetto_in_D-Minor_for_2_Violas_da_Gamba.ogg
 | title        = Christoph Schaffrath (1709–1763) – Duetto in D-Minor for 2 Violas da Gamba
 | description = Performed by ViolMedium – Eric Miller & Phillip W. Serna, Viols
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Thomas Tallis (ca.1505-1585) - Why fum'th in sight a4, the Third Tune from Archbishop Parker's Psalter (1567).ogg
 | title        = Thomas Tallis (ca.1505-1585) - Why fum'th in sight à4, the Third Tune from Archbishop Parker's Psalter (1567)
 | filename2     = John Taverner In Nomine a4 from the Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas, The Baldwin Partbooks, Oxford. Christ Church.ogg
 | title2        = John Taverner (ca.1490–1545) – In Nomine à4 from the Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas, The Baldwin Partbooks, Oxford. Christ Church, Mss.979-83 (ca.1570)
 | description2 = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) - Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba, TWV 52a1.ogg
 | title        = Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) – Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba, TWV 52:a1
 | description = Performed by New Comma Baroque
}}
{{listen|type=music
 | filename     = Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) - A Sad Paven à5 for These Distracted Tymes, MB53 (1649).ogg
 | title        = Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) - A Sad Paven for These Distracted Tymes (1649), Paris. Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Musique, Rés.1122 (ca.1575-1656)
 | filename2    = John Ward (1571-1638) - Fantasia à6, VdGS No.1 for 2 Treble, 2 Tenor & 2 Bass Viols.ogg
 | title2       = John Ward (1571–1638) – Fantasia à6, VdGS No.1, Oxford. Bodleian Library, Mus.Sch.c.45-50
 | description2 = Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Treble, Tenor & Bass Viols
}}
Viols were second in popularity only to the lute (although this is disputed), and like lutes, were very often played by amateurs. Affluent homes might have a so-called ''[[chest of viols]]'', which would contain one or more instruments of each size. Gamba ensembles, called ''[[consort of instruments|consorts]]'', were common in the 16th and 17th centuries, when they performed vocal music (consort songs or [[verse anthem]]s) as well as that written specifically for instruments. Only the treble, tenor, and bass sizes were regular members of the viol consort, which consisted of three, four, five, or six instruments. Music for consorts was very popular in England in [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan times]], with composers such as [[William Byrd]] and [[John Dowland]], and, during the reign of [[charles I of England|King Charles I]], [[John Jenkins (composer)|John Jenkins]], [[William Lawes]] and [[Tobias Hume]]. The last music for viol consorts before their modern revival was probably written in the early 1680s by [[Henry Purcell]].

Perhaps even more common than the pure consort of viols was the mixed or [[broken consort]] (also called Morley consort). Broken consorts combined a mixture of different instruments—a small band, essentially—usually comprising a gathering of social amateurs and typically including such instruments as a bass viol, a [[lute]] or [[orpharion]] (a wire-strung lute, metal-fretted, flat-backed, and festoon-shaped), a [[cittern]], a treble viol (or [[violin]], as time progressed), sometimes an early keyboard instrument ([[virginal]], [[spinet]], or [[harpsichord]]), and whatever other instruments or players (or singers) might be available at the moment. The single most common and ubiquitous pairing of all was always and everywhere the lute and bass viol: for centuries, the inseparable duo.

The bass viola da gamba remained in use into the 18th century as a [[solo (music)|solo]] instrument (and to complement the [[harpsichord]] in [[basso continuo]]). It was a favorite instrument of [[Louis XIV]] and acquired associations of both courtliness and "Frenchness" (in contrast to the Italianate violin). Composers such as [[Marc-Antoine Charpentier]], [[François Couperin]], [[Marin Marais]], [[Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe|Sainte Colombe]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], [[Johannes Schenck]], [[Jean Lacquemant|DuBuisson]], [[Antoine Forqueray]], [[Charles Dollé]] and [[Carl Friedrich Abel]] wrote virtuoso music for it. [[Georg Philipp Telemann]] published his ''[[Twelve Fantasias for Viola da Gamba solo]]'' in 1735, when the instrument was already becoming out of fashion. However, viols fell out of use as concert halls grew larger and the louder and more penetrating tone of the violin family became more popular. In the 20th century, the viola da gamba and its repertoire were revived by [[early music]] enthusiasts, an early proponent being [[Arnold Dolmetsch]].

The treble viol in d and the even smaller pardessus de viole in g (often with only five strings) were also popular instruments in the 18th century, especially in France. Composers like [[Jean-Baptiste Barrière]], [[Georg Phillipp Telemann]] and [[Marin Marais]] wrote solo- and ensemble pieces for treble or pardessus. It was also common to play music for violins or flutes or unspecified top parts on small viols.

Historic viols survive in relatively great number, though very few remain in original condition. They can often be found in collections of historic musical instruments at museums and universities. Here are some of the extant historic viols at [[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]]:

* Division Viol by Barak Norman, London, 1692<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/09/euwb/ho_1990.223.htm |title=Division Viol by Barak Norman, London, 1692 |publisher=Metmuseum.org |date=2012-09-21 |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* Bass Viol, labeled Richard Meares, London, ca. 1680<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/strd/ho_1982.324.htm |title=Bass Viol, labeled Richard Meares, London, ca. 1680 |publisher=Metmuseum.org |date=2012-09-21 |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* Bass Viol by John Rose, ca. 1600, London<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/musical_instruments/bass_viola_da_gamba_john_rose/objectview.aspx?page=3&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=viol*&fp=1&dd1=18&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=18&OID=180015128&vT=1 |title=Bass Viol by John Rose, ca. 1600, London |publisher=Metmuseum.org |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* English viol, unsigned, 17th century in spectacularly original condition<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/musical_instruments/viola_da_gamba_english/objectview.aspx?page=4&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=viol*&fp=1&dd1=18&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=18&OID=180016317&vT=1 |title=English viol, unsigned, 17th century in spectacularly original condition |publisher=Metmuseum.org |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* Division Viol, School of Tielke, Hamburg, ca. 1720<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/musical_instruments/division_viol_school_of_tielke/objectview.aspx?page=1&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=viol*&fp=1&dd1=18&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=18&OID=180013313&vT=1 |title=Division Viol, School of Tielke, Hamburg, ca. 1720 |publisher=Metmuseum.org |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* Bass Viol by Matthias Humel, 18th century, Nuremberg<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/musical_instruments/bass_viol_matthias_humel/objectview.aspx?page=2&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=viol*&fp=1&dd1=18&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=18&OID=180015742&vT=1 |title=Bass Viol by Matthias Humel, 18th century, Nuremberg |publisher=Metmuseum.org |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* Bass Viol, Germany, 18th century<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/strd/ho_1976.8.37.htm |title=Bass Viol, Germany, 18th century |publisher=Metmuseum.org |date=2012-09-21 |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
* Bass Viol by Nicolas Bertrand, Paris, 1720<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/09/euwf/ho_89.4.1343.htm |title=Bass Viol by Nicolas Bertrand, Paris, 1720 |publisher=Metmuseum.org |date=2012-09-21 |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>

<gallery widths=200px heights=200px>
Image:Lute-viol ABosse Fr 1635.jpg|Painting by Abraham Bosse, ''Musical Society'', French,<br>{{circa|1635}}. Subject matter depicts amateur social music making, featuring lute, bass viol, and singers, with part books spread around the table. This is also representative of one kind of broken consort, albeit with minimal instrumentation.
Image:Marin-marais.jpg|Portrait of French composer and viola da gamba master [[Marin Marais]], by [[André Bouys]], 1704.
Image:Karl Friedrich Abel by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg|Portrait of [[Carl Friedrich Abel]], composer and viol master—German-born but residing in England most of his life—posed with his viola da gamba. By [[Thomas Gainsborough]], {{circa|1765}}.
File:Bernardo Strozzi 001.jpg|''Gambenspielerin'' (''The Viola da gamba Player''), by [[Bernardo Strozzi]], {{circa|1630}}–1640; portrait is of composer [[Barbara Strozzi]] (1619-1677) –  Gemäldegalerie, [[Dresden]].
File:Viol player in the Honfleur Église Sainte-Catherine.jpg|Viol player in the Honfleur Église Sainte-Catherine, {{circa|1550}}-1600
File:Viola da Gamba Isenheimer Altar.jpg|Viola da gambe and viola da braccio (viol of the leg and violin of the arm). Painting by [[Matthias Grünewald]] (1480–1528) 
</gallery>

==Modern era==
In the 20th and early 21st century, the viol is attracting ever more interest, particularly among amateur players and [[early music]] enthusiasts and societies, and in conservatories and music schools. This may be due to the increased availability of reasonably priced instruments from companies using more automated production techniques, coupled with the greater accessibility of early music editions and historic treatises. The viol is also regarded as a suitable instrument for adult learners; [[Percy Scholes]] wrote that the viol repertoire "belongs to an age that demanded musicianship more often than virtuosity." There are now many societies for people with an interest in the viol. The first was the Viola da Gamba Society, which was established in the United Kingdom in 1948 (by Nathalie and [[Cecile Dolmetsch]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997-09-18 |title=Obituary: Cecile Dolmetsch |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-cecile-dolmetsch-1239923.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>). The Viola da Gamba Society of America followed in 1962,<ref>[http://vdgsa.org Viola da Gamba Society of America]</ref> and with over 1000 members in North America and around the world.{{fact|date=August 2023}} Since then, similar societies have been organized in several other nations. In the 1970s, the now-defunct [[Guitar and Lute Workshop]] in Honolulu generated resurgent interest in the viol and traditional luthierie methods within the western United States.{{fact|date=August 2023}}

A notable youth viol group is the Gateshead Viol Ensemble. It consists of young players between the ages of 7 and 18 and is quite well known in the northeast of England. It gives young people the opportunity to learn the viol and gives concerts in the North East and abroad. Ensembles like these show that the viol is making a comeback. A living museum of historical musical instruments was created at the [[University of Vienna]] as a center for the revival of the instrument. More than 100 instruments, including approximately 50 historical violas da gamba in playable condition, are the property of this new concept of a museum: the [[Orpheon Foundation Museum of Historical Instruments]]. All the instruments of this museum are played by the Orpheon Baroque Orchestra, the Orpheon consort, or by musicians who receive an instrument for a permanent loan. The instruments can be seen during temporary exhibitions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.orpheon.org/Seiten/exhibition/exhibit.htm |title=Orpheon Exhibitions Vazquez Collection of Musical Instruments from 1550 to 1780, Viola da gamba, Viola d'amore, Violoncellos, Double Basses |access-date=2007-12-27 |archive-date=2007-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230110846/http://www.orpheon.org/Seiten/exhibition/exhibit.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref> They are studied and copied by violin makers, contributing to the extension of the general knowledge we have on the viola da gamba, its forms, and the different techniques used for its manufacture.

The 1991 [[feature film]] ''[[Tous les matins du monde (film)|Tous les matins du monde]]'' (All the Mornings of the World) by [[Alain Corneau]], based on the lives of [[Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe]] and [[Marin Marais]], prominently featured these composers' music for the viola da gamba and brought viol music to new audiences. The film's bestselling [[soundtrack]] features performances by [[Jordi Savall]], one of the best-known modern viola da gamba players. Among the foremost modern players of the viol are [[Alison Crum]], [[Vittorio Ghielmi]], [[Susanne Heinrich]], [[Wieland Kuijken]], [[Paolo Pandolfo]], [[Andrea de Carlo]], [[Hille Perl]] and [[Jonathan Dunford]]. Many fine modern viol consorts (ensembles) are also recording and performing, among them the groups [[Fretwork (music group)|Fretwork]], the [[Rose Consort of Viols]], [[Les Voix Humaines]], and [[Phantasm (music group)|Phantasm]]. The [[Baltimore Consort]] specializes in Renaissance song (mostly English) with broken consort (including viols).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prbmusic.com/productCat50203.ctlg|publisher=PRB Music|title=Elfenbein, Jay|access-date=2011-06-13|archive-date=2011-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123081547/http://www.prbmusic.com/productCat50203.ctlg|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== New compositions ===
A number of contemporary composers have written for viol, and a number of soloists and ensembles have commissioned new music for viol. [[Fretwork (music group)|Fretwork]] has been most active in this regard, commissioning [[George Benjamin (composer)|George Benjamin]], [[Michael Nyman]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[Sir John Tavener]], [[Orlando Gough]], [[John Woolrich]], [[Tan Dun]], [[Alexander Goehr]], [[Fabrice Fitch]], Andrew Keeling, [[Thea Musgrave]], [[Sally Beamish]], [[Peter Sculthorpe]], [[Gavin Bryars]], [[Barrington Pheloung]], [[Simon Bainbridge]], [[Duncan Druce]], [[Poul Ruders]], [[Ivan Moody (composer)|Ivan Moody]], and [[Barry Guy]]; many of these compositions may be heard on their 1997 CD ''Sit Fast''. The Yukimi Kambe Viol Consort has commissioned and recorded many works by [[David Loeb (composer)|David Loeb]], and the [[New York Consort of Viols]] has commissioned [[Bülent Arel]], David Loeb, [[Daniel Pinkham]], [[Tison Street]], [[Frank Russo]], [[Seymour Barab]], [[William Presser]], and [[Will Ayton]], many of these compositions appearing on their 1993 CD ''Illicita Cosa''.

The Viola da Gamba Society of America has also been a potent force fostering new compositions for the viol. Among the music publications of the Society is its New Music for Viols (NMV) a series devoted to newly written pieces. The Society sponsors the International Leo M. Traynor Composition Competition for new music for viols. The competition was first held in 1989 and has taken place every four to five years since. The competition is specifically for consort music for three to six viol that, like the repertoire of the Renaissance, is accessible to accomplished amateurs. The winning pieces are played in concert and also published by the Society. The Society's goal is to stimulate development of a contemporary literature for this remarkable early instrument and thus continue its tradition in modern society.

The Palazzo Strozzi in Florence commissioned composer [[Bruce Adolphe]] to create a work based on Bronzino poems, and the piece, "Of Art and Onions: Homage to Bronzino", features a prominent viola da gamba part. Jay Elfenbein has also written works for the Yukimi Kambe Viol Consort, Les Voix Humaines, and Elliot Z. Levine, among others. Other composers for viols include [[Moondog]], [[Kevin Volans]], [[Roy Whelden]], [[Toyohiko Satoh]], [[Roman Turovsky]], [[Giorgio Pacchioni]], [[Michael Starke (composer)|Michael Starke]], [[Emily Doolittle]], and Jan Goorissen. Composer [[Henry Vega]] has written pieces for the Viol: "Ssolo," developed at the [[Institute for Sonology]] and performed by Karin Preslmayr, as well as for Netherlands-based ensemble The Roentgen Connection in 2011 with "Slow slower" for recorder, viola da gamba, harpsichord and computer.  The Aston Magna Music Festival has recently commissioned works including viol from composers [[Nico Muhly]] and [[Alex Burtzos]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Nico Muhly's "Aston Magna" Commission|url = http://wamc.org/post/nico-muhlys-aston-magna-commission#stream/0|website = Wamc.org|access-date = 2016-01-18|archive-date = 2016-03-15|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160315003127/http://wamc.org/post/nico-muhlys-aston-magna-commission#stream/0|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Aston Magna Music Festival » Calendar 2016|url = http://astonmagna.org/calendar/|website = Astonmagna.org|access-date = 2016-01-18}}</ref> The Italian contemporary composer Carlotta Ferrari has written two pieces for viol: "Le ombre segrete" in 2015,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://imslp.org/wiki/Le_ombre_segrete_%2528Ferrari,_Carlotta%2529|title=Carlotta Ferrari – Le ombre segrete|website=Imslp.org|access-date=2016-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swp.de/geislingen/lokales/geislingen/Unkonventionelles-Konzert-mit-aussergewoehnlichem-Klang;art5573,3696467|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116083446/http://www.swp.de/geislingen/lokales/geislingen/Unkonventionelles-Konzert-mit-aussergewoehnlichem-Klang;art5573,3696467|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2017|title=Unkonventionelles Konzert mit außergewöhnlichem Klang|last=Baur|first=Ulrike|website=swp.de|language=de-DE|access-date=2016-03-14}}</ref> and "Profondissimi affetti" in 2016, this latter being based on RPS modal harmony system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://imslp.org/wiki/Profondissimi_affetti_%28Ferrari,_Carlotta%29|title=Carlotta Ferrari – Profondissimi affetti|website=Imslp.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://carsoncooman.com/restarting-pitch-space/|title=Restarting Pitch Space &#124; Carson Cooman – Composer|website=Carsoncooman.com|access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref>

===Electric instruments===
Since the early 1980s, numerous instrument makers, including Eric Jensen, Francois Danger, Jan Goorissen, and Jonathan Wilson, have experimented with the design and construction of electric viols. Like other acoustic instruments to which [[pickup (music technology)|pickup]]s or [[microphone]]s have been added, electric viols are plugged into an [[instrument amplifier]] or a [[PA system]], which makes them sound louder. As well, given that amplifiers and PA systems are electronic components, this gives the performer the ability to change the tone and sound of the instrument by adding [[effects unit]]s such as [[reverb]] or changing the tone with a [[graphic equalizer]]. An equalizer can be used to shape the sound of an electric viol to suit a performance space, or to create unusual new sounds. Electric viols range from Danger's minimally electrified acoustic/electric Altra line to Eric Jensen's [[Solid body|solid-body]] brace-mounted design. They have met with varying degrees of ergonomic and musical success. In the early 21st century, the Ruby Gamba, a seven-string electric viola da gamba,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ruby-gamba.com |title=solid-body seven-string electric viola da gamba |publisher=Ruby-gamba.com |date=1999-02-22 |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref> was developed by [[Ruby Instruments]] of [[Arnhem]], the Netherlands. It has 21 tied nylon (adjustable) frets in keeping with the adjustable (tied gut) frets on traditional viols and has an effective playing range of more than six octaves. Electric viols have been adopted by such contemporary gambists as [[Paolo Pandolfo]], [[Tina Chancey]], and [[Tony Overwater]].

==Similar names and common confusions==
The viola da gamba is occasionally confused with the [[viola]], the alto member of the modern [[violin]] family and a standard member of both the symphony orchestra and string quartet. In the 15th century, the Italian word "{{lang|it|viola}}" was a generic term used to refer to any bowed instrument, or [[fiddle]]. The word "{{lang|it|viola}}" existed in Italy before the vihuela, or first viol, was brought from Spain. In Italy, "{{lang|it|viola}}" was first applied to ''a braccio'' precursor to the modern violin, as described by Tinctoris (''De inventione et usu musice'', {{circa|1481}}–3), and then was later used to describe the first Italian viols as well. Depending on the context, the unmodified ''[[Viola da braccio (instrument)|viola da braccio]]'' most regularly denoted either an instrument from the violin family, or specifically the viola (whose specific name was ''"alto de viola da braccio"''). When Monteverdi called simply for ''"viole da braccio"'' in "Orfeo", the composer was requesting violas as well as treble and bass instruments. The full name of the viola, namely ''"alto de viola da braccio"'', was finally shortened to ''"viola"'' in some languages (e.g. English, Italian, Spanish) once viols became less common, while other languages picked some other part of the phrase to designate the instrument, e.g. "{{lang|fr|alto}}" in French and "{{lang|de|Bratsche}}" in German (the latter derived from the Italian "{{lang|it|braccio}}").
[[File:Benning Violins viola da gamba.jpeg|thumb|right|Modern era viola de gamba crafted by violinmakers Hans and Nancy Benning of [[Benning Violins]] in 1982 in Los Angeles.]]
Some other instruments have ''viola'' in their name, but are not a member of the ''viola da gamba'' family. These include the [[viola d'amore]] and the [[viola pomposa]]. Though the [[baryton]] does not have ''viola'' in its name, it is sometimes included in the viol family. Whether it is considered a member of this family is a matter of semantics. It is [[Organology|organologically]] closely related to the viola da gamba proper, but if we think of the family as the group of differently sized instruments that play together in consorts, the baryton would not be among this group. {{citation needed|date=May 2018}} The names ''viola'' (Italy) and ''vihuela'' (Spain) were essentially synonymous and interchangeable. According to viol historian Ian Woodfield, there is little evidence that the ''vihuela de arco'' was introduced to Italy before the 1490s. The term ''"viola"'' was never used exclusively for viols in the 15th or 16th centuries. In 16th century Italy, both ''"violas",''—the early viols and violins—developed somewhat simultaneously. While violins, such as those of Amati, achieved their classic form before the first half of the century, the viol's form standardized later in the century at the hands of instrument makers in England.

Viola da gamba, ''viola cum arculo'', and ''vihuela de arco'' are some (true) alternative names for viols. Both "vihuela" and "viola" were originally used in a fairly generic way, having included even early violins (''[[Viola da braccio (instrument)|viola da braccio]]'') under their umbrella. It is common enough (and justifiable) today for modern players of the viola da gamba to call their instruments ''violas'' and likewise to call themselves ''violists''. That the "alto violin" eventually became known simply as the "viola" is not without historical context, yet the ambiguity of the name tends to cause some confusion. The violin, or ''violino'', was originally the soprano ''viola da braccio'', or ''violino da braccio''. Due to the popularity of the soprano violin, the entire consort eventually took on the name "violin family". Some other names for viols include ''viole'' or ''violle'' (French). In [[Elizabethan English]], the word "gambo" (for gamba) appears in many permutations; e.g., "viola de gambo", "gambo violl", "viol de gambo", or "viole de gambo", used by such notables as [[Tobias Hume]], [[John Dowland]], and [[William Shakespeare]] in ''[[Twelfth Night]]''. Viol da Gamba and Gamba also appear as string family [[stop (organ)|stop]]s on the [[pipe organ]]. These stops are sounds created by organ pipes made to imitate the sound of the viol da gamba.

==See also==

* [[Arpeggione]]
* [[Cello da spalla]]
* [[GuitarViol]]
* [[Lyra viol]]
* [[:Category:Viol players]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* Pio, Stefano (2012). "Viol and Lute Makers of Venice 1490 -1630" Ed. Venice research, Venice Italy, {{ISBN|978-88-907252-0-3}}. www.veniceresearch.com
* Otterstedt, Annette. ''The Viol: History of an Instrument.'' Kassel: Barenreiter;-Verlag Karl Votterle GmbH & Co; 2002. {{ISBN|3-7618-1152-7}}.
* Woodfield, Ian(1984). Brown, Howard Mayer; le Huray, Peter; Stevens, John; eds. ''The Early History of the Viol. ''Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-24292-4}}.

==Further reading==
* Bryan, John (2005). "In Search of the Earliest Viols: Interpreting the Evidence from a Painting by Lorenzo Costa". The Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain, Newsletter, no. 131.
* Crum, Alison, with Sonia Jackson (1992). ''Play the Viol: The Complete Guide to Playing the Treble, Tenor and Bass Viol''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-816311-8}}.
* Hoffmann, Bettina (2018). ''The Viola da Gamba''. London and New York: Routledge {{ISBN|9781138240230}}. Reprinted 2019 {{ISBN|9780367443757}}.
* O'Loghlin, Michael. ''Frederick the Great and his Musicians: the Viola da Gamba Music of the Berlin School'' (Routledge, 2017); the [[Frederick the Great|famous Prussian king]] (1712–1786) was a musician and patron of music.
* Woodfield, Ian; Robinson, Lucy. Viol [viola da gamba, gamba]. In: Sadie, Stanley, ed. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''.Vol. 19. London, UK: Macmillan Publishers Ltd; 1980;791–808.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Viols}}
*[http://vdgsa.org/ Viola da Gamba Society of America site]
*[http://www.vdgs.org.uk/ Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain site]
*[http://www.ipem.ugent.be/dirkmoelants/gamba/index.html Transcriptions and facsimiles of viol treatises] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723030441/http://www.ipem.ugent.be/dirkmoelants/gamba/index.html |date=2011-07-23 }}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080316142456/http://www.orpheon.org/ Viola da gamba collection of the Orpheon Foundation]}}
*[http://www.johnsankey.ca/viol.html the English division viol]
*[http://www.tielke-hamburg.de/ The site on Joachim Tielke, the great Hamburg viol maker]
*[http://www.thecipher.com/viola_da_gamba_cipher.html Many viol pictures; fingering patterns; argues for relationship to modern guitar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208004108/http://thecipher.com/viola_da_gamba_cipher.html |date=2013-12-08 }}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Viol}}

{{Renaissance music}}
{{Baroque music}}
{{Viol family}}
{{Violin family}}
{{Music of Spain}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Viol family instruments| ]]
[[Category:Renaissance instruments]]
[[Category:Basso continuo instruments]]