-The string section is considered the backbone of the orchestra, with the other choirs often thought of as supportive.

-This section has a huge range:
  The upright, or contrabass can sound an E1 (41.2Hz) on the low end. But some models can be extended to a low C1 (32.7Hz).
  The violin can sound as high G7-3136Hz…just the fundamentals (not including harmonics).

-All stringed instruments are homogenous in tone color. From high to low, they all share the same tone quality.

-Strings have a wide dynamic range, also unaffected by pitch. They can play loud and soft.

- These instruments can also make many different kinds of sounds (pizzicato, ponticello).

- A Full Symphony Orchestra consists of:
     16-18 1st violins
     14-16 2nd violins
     10-12 violas
     10-12 cellos
     8-10 basses

- In practice, it can often be smaller than that. These numbers are not always available or practical.

- The string players typically play two to a music stand. The "first chair" musician is closest to the audience. The "second chair" position is more obscured and handles any necessary page turning.

-The size of string instruments vary, but the proportions do not. From a picture, without a size reference, a double bass and a violin look very similar.

-The body is made of wood, and is hollow. The sound holes allow the sound of the vibrating strings to enter the body, echo, and be amplified back out.

-The neck is convex. The strings are arched (in terms of their layout on the bridge). Typically, only two strings can be played simultaneously.

-The 4 main stringed instruments are tuned as follows (from low to high):
     Violin: G D A E
     Viola: C G D A
     Cello: C G D A (an octave below the viola)
     Bass: E A D G

-The lecture notes for this episode drew from a number of texts and sources. Among them, "The Study Orchestration"
by Samual Adler, comes highly recommended.