Violins are bowed stringed instruments. They are the highest pitched member of the violin family. Other members of the violin family include the viola, cello, and double bass. The bow is a narrow, slightly incurved stick of Pernambuco about 75 cm (about 30 in) long, with a band of horsehair stretched from end to end of the bowstick. The violin has four strings tuned a fifth apart, to the notes g, d’, a’, e’. The main parts of the violin are the front, also called the belly, top, or soundboard, usually made of spruce; the back, usually made maple. The front, back, and ribs are joined together to form a hollow sound box. The sound box contains the sound post, a thin, dowel-like s