The underside of the sound box, usually made of maple, sometimes one piece, but most often two pieces joined lengthways. The back is slightly arched, and the pattern of the wood is a main visual feature of the fiddle. Bass-bar. A carefully carved rod of spruce that is glued to the inside of the violin top, on the bass side of the bridge. Belly. (also Front or Top) The upper side of the sound box. It is almost always made of spruce in one, or two, joined pieces, arched and carefully graduated in thickness. Two f-holes are cut into it. Block. Carved pieces of softwood—often spruce or willow—glued inside the sound box to support the ribs and hold them in place. Bridge. An elaborately carved, thin piece of wood with two feet that rest on the belly and four small slots on top that hold the strings, whose tension keeps the bridge in place. F-holes. Two holes cut into the violin belly on either side of the bridge in the shape of cursive Fs. They allow air carrying the violin’s sound to escape from the sound box.
