What Are the Parts of a Violin & Their Jobs?

Scroll

• The scroll is the hand-carved decorative part at the top of the violin neck. Its main function is to hang up the instrument.

Neck

• The neck supports the fingerboard, the peg box and scroll at the top. It is an important part of the instrument and must be completely straight.

Tuning Pegs

• Tuning pegs are usually made of ebony, but can also be made of boxwood or rosewood. The pegs feature a hole through which the string is inserted and wound up. Musicians tune their violins by tightening or loosening the strings by turning the pegs.

Fingerboard

• The fingerboard is the piece of veneer wood that is laminated onto the violin neck. It is the surface where the player's fingers press down on the strings. Violin fingerboards are traditionally made of ebony, but more available timbers are use for cheaper models.

Sound Post

• The sound post is a small cylindrical piece of wood, cut like a dowel and usually made of spruce, that stands up underneath the treble side of bridge, between the back plate and front of violin. It is held in from pressure and is never glued, but it is positioned exactly to enhance the tone. The sound post is not visible; it is inside the body of the violin. Its function is to transfer vibration from the front plate to the back plate of the violin.

Bridge

• The bridge is an specially shaped piece of wood designed to support the strings and determine their height above the finger board. It is held in place by the strings and sits directly above the sound post. The bridge, the sound post and the violin body all vibrate when a string is played. Altering the position of the bridge changes the sound of the instrument.

Chin Rest

• The chin rest is attached to the bottom of the top plate, where the player places his chin when playing, supporting the instrument so the player's hands are free for playing.

Tail Piece

• The tail piece is a wooden piece with a hole for each string that sits behind the bridge on the belly of the violin.

Fine Tuners

• A fine tuner is a small metal screw that moves against a lever that tightens the string. Fine tuners are used to make it easier to accurately tune a violin and are preferred for students. They are used on one or all of the strings.

F Holes and Bow

• The F holes are carved out of the belly and allow the circulation of sound and its exit from the body when a string is played. Slight changes in the placement, shape or length of the F holes and the contours in the body will alter the tone of the instrument.

  The bow used to play the violin is made from a wood or carbon-fiber stick onto which the taut horse hair is attached. The best violin bows are made from Brazilian Pernambuco wood, or Brazilwood.