The world's biggest violin, and the world's smallest (playing just for you)

21 August 2015, 14:07 | Updated: 6 January 2017, 14:45

From three inches to five metres - here are the world's biggest and smallest strings.

Vivaldi on the world's smallest

Meet the three-inch violin. Venezuelan violinist Baltazar Monaca plays Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in A Minor on what's been described as "the world’s smallest violin." That's some nimble finger work. 

That's right, the world's smallest violin, playing just for you...

The unbelievably large

This epic instrument is the brainchild of Markneukirchen Master Luthier, Ekkard Seidl. Though it's five metres tall, it's proportions are consistent with a standard sized violin. The 130 kilogram instrument took 15 luthiers almost 2000 hours to make - but it's all playable, earning itself a world record in the process.

The in-between

This beauty is an instrument researched and re-created in 2005, based on accounts from the 18th century. It's called the violoncello da spalla and is essentially a small cello played braced against the shoulder like a violin or viola. Awkward looking, but lovely, rich, and darkly resonant tone.