String instrument played by a bow rubbing the strings
"Bowed" redirects here. For the social gesture, see
Bowing . For the playing technique, see
Bowing (music) .
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings . The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.
Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to the origin of bowing, the origin of bowing remains unknown.[ 1]
List of bowed string instruments [ edit ]
Niccolò Paganini playing the violin, by Georg Friedrich Kersting (1785–1847)
Variants on the standard members of the violin family include
Viol family (Viola da Gamba family)[ edit ]
Karl Friedrich Abel playing the bass Viola da Gamba, by Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788)
Variants on the standard four members of the viol family include
Lyra and rebec type [ edit ]
An Indonesian music performer playing with his Rebab .
Chinese bowed instruments [ edit ]
Two performers playing the Erhu , sometimes known as the Chinese fiddle.
Rosined wheel instruments [ edit ]
A performer playing the Morin Khuur , the Mongolian Horse Fiddle
The following instruments are sounded by means of a turning wheel that acts as the bow:
Other bowed instruments [ edit ]
^ Friedrich Behn, Musikleben im Altertum und frühen page 159