Bowed string instrument

Bowed string instruments are a special group of string instruments that make music using a bow. When you rub a bow against the strings of these instruments, it makes them vibrate and produce sound. This vibration is what creates the beautiful music we hear.

Many people have studied how bowing began, but we still do not know exactly where this way of playing instruments came from. Even though we don’t know the origin of bowing, these instruments have become very important in music all around the world. They include popular instruments like the violin and cello, which are used in many kinds of music, from classical concerts to folk dances.

List of bowed string instruments

Violin family

The violin family includes several instruments that are played with a bow. Some of the main instruments are the cello, viola, violin, and double bass. There are also many special types of these instruments, such as the baroque violin, cello da spalla, five-string violin, and hardanger fiddle.

An Indonesian music performer playing with his Rebab.

Viol family (Viola da Gamba family)

The viol family is another group of bowed string instruments. The main instruments in this family are the alto viol, bass viol, tenor viol, and treble viol. There are also special versions like the baryton, division viol, lirone, and viola d'amore.

Lyra and rebec type

Two performers playing the Erhu, sometimes known as the Chinese fiddle.

There are many older bowed instruments from different places. Some of these include the Byzantine lyra, Calabrian lira, Cretan lyra, gadulka, ghaychak, kamancheh, kemenche, lijerica, pochette, rabeca, rebec, and shah kaman.

Chinese bowed instruments

China has many traditional bowed instruments. Some of these are the banhu, daguangxian, dahu, dihu, diyingehu, erhu, erxian, gaohu, gehu, huqin, jiaohu, jinghu, jing erhu, laruan, leiqin, maguhu, matouqin, sanhu, sihu, tiqin, tihu, tuhu, wenzhenqin, xiqin, yazheng, yehu, zhengni, zhonghu, zhuiqin, and zhuihu.

A performer playing the Morin Khuur, the Mongolian Horse Fiddle

Rosined wheel instruments

Some bowed instruments use a wheel that turns to make the sound instead of a bow. Examples include the bowed clavier, dulcigurdy, harmonichord, hurdy-gurdy, ninera, organistrum, tekerő, viola organista, violano virtuoso, and wheelharp.

Other bowed instruments

There are many other bowed instruments from around the world. Some of these are the agiarut, ajaeng, arpeggione, bowed dulcimer, bowed guitar, bowed psaltery, byzaanchy, chuurqin, crwth, đàn nhị, đàn hồ, đàn gáo, daxophone, esraj, fiðla, giga, gudok, gue, gusle, haegeum, igil, imzad, jouhikko, kingri, kokyū, kobyz, masenqo, morin khuur, musical saw, neola, nyckelharpa, ravanahatha, salo, sarangi, sarinda, saw duang, saw sam sai, saw u, sohaegeum, sorahi, sorud, talharpa, tautirut, tro sau thom, tro khmer, tro sau toch, tro u, umbang, vielle, violoncello da spalla, and yaylı tambur.