The string section is the largest body of a single instrument category in the standard Classical orchestra. It normally consists of the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses (or basses). The first and second violinists play the same types of instruments; the difference between the two sections is in the types of musical lines that are typically given to each section. The first violins are generally given the melody or higher-pitch musical lines, whereas the second violins generally play a part that is lower in pitch than the first violins. The second violins may play a harmony part, a countermelody or an accompaniment passage. In discussions of the instrumentation of a musical work, the phrase "the strings" or "and strings" is used to indicate a s