A special rod used in the playing of stringed musical instruments such as violin, viola, cello, double bass/contrabass and their various relatives.
Usually made of wood (but alternately of fiberglass or carbon fiber), it carries a band of tightened horsehairs which are drawn across the strings of the aforementioned instruments, causing them to vibrate and generate sound.
The following tags are aliased to this tag: bow_(musical) (learn more).