String Length or Scale Length
The length of the string from nut to bridge on bowed or plucked instruments ultimately determines the distance between different notes on the instrument. For example, a double bass with its low range needs a scale length of around 42 inches (110 cm), whilst a violin scale is only about 13 inches (33 cm). On the shorter scale of the violin, the left hand may easily reach a range of slightly more than two octaves without shifting position, while on the bass' longer scale, a single octave or a ninth is reachable in lower positions.
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Famous quotes containing the words string, length and/or scale:
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gently, gently, sleeves and waxy bows.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“A needless Alexandrine ends the song,
That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“... the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God’s will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at a commensurate speed.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)