the viol family instruments usually have five to six strings with a fretted fingerboard, are tuned in fourths and thirds, often have sloping shoulders, and do not necessarily have a sound post or bass bar. Characteristics The playing ranges of the instruments in the violin family overlap each other, but the tone quality and physical size of each distinguishes them from one another. The ranges are as follows: violin: G3 to E7; viola: C3 to A6 (conservative); violoncello: C2 to A5 (conservative); and double-bass: E1 to C5 (slightly expanded from conservative estimate). The double bass is often equipped with a mechanical extension or a fifth string that increases its lower range to either C1 or B0, respectively. Both the violin and viola are played under the jaw. The viola, being the larger of the two instruments, has a playing range that reaches a perfect fifth below the violin's. The cello is played sitting down with the instrument between the knees, and its playing range reaches an octave below the viola's. The double bass is played standing or sitting on a stool, with a range that typically reaches a minor sixth, an octave or a ninth below the cello's. The top of the instrument, crafted from spruce, is thinner at the edges than the center. Similarly of a variable thickness, the back is most commonly crafted from maple (poplar and willow were used for some baroque instruments). The neck, bridge and ribs are maple, while the nut is often ebony. Uses The instruments of the violin family are the most used bowed string instruments in the world today. Although all share a place in classical music, they are also used to a lesser degree in jazz, electronic music, rock, and other types of popular music, where they are often amplified, or simply created to be used as electric instruments. The violin is also used extensively in fiddle music, country music, and folk music. The double bass plays an indispensable part in both classical and jazz music forms. One of the most popular and standardized groupings in classical chamber music, the string quartet, is composed entirely of instruments from the violin family: two violins, one viola and one cello. This similarity in the manner of sound production allows string quartets to blend their tone colour and timbre more easily than less homogeneous groups. This is particularly notable in comparison to the standard