that name was written on the page. Some ensemble works do not even indicate which instruments should play the different parts, leaving it up to ensemble leaders to choose the instruments. This contrasts sharply with the standardization of instrumentation which developed during the Classical music period; for example, during this period, a string quartet, with only a few exceptions, is intended to be performed by two violins, a viola and a cello. In the 2000s, musicologists and historians acknowledge the importance of distinguishing specifically which instrument a composer intended, or if the composer allowed the ensemble leader to choose the instruments for each part. Assigning specific names and classifying violoni as different types, as we are doing here, is a modern attempt to clarify things. Loosely described, bowed string instruments are made in families so that different sized members can play in different ranges, with treble instruments corresponding to the soprano and bass instruments corresponding to the lowest vocal range (or even lower, down to the "contrabass" register). Members of the violin family are the easiest to identify in this way: with the violin corresponding to the soprano, the viola to the alto singer, violoncello to the tenor, and bass to the bass ranges of the human voice (historically, the violin family was made in more than just these four sizes: there were originally several sizes of violas, as well as instruments smaller than the modern violin, for example). The viol family also comprises instruments in a multitude of sizes. In North America in the 21st century, they are classified as 'treble' viols (soprano), 'tenor' viols (alto range), 'bass' viols (tenor range), and 'great bass' viols, 'violoni' and violones (bass range). When we refer to the historical term 'violone', we must include almost all the instruments of both the violin and viol families (plus some hybrid instruments) that functioned as either tenor or bass members of those families. As the name 'violone' really means (see below), truly, these are all large string instruments. It was not until the 20th century that players and scholars started to realize that there were so many types of violoni and that not all of them functioned or sounded like double basses. Because of this, the classification of violoni according to tuning, family and function makes it start to be possible to clarify composers' intentions at different times and places. The most important thing to