History of the violin also apply sonic effects. Electric violins may have four strings, or as many as seven strings. Since the strength of materials imposes limits on the upper string, it is usually tuned to E5, with additional strings tuned in fifths below the usual G3 of a typical four-string violin. The five-string electric violin shown in the gallery below was built by John Jordan in the early 21st century, and is tuned C G D A E. Boyden, David The History of Violin Playing from its origins to 1761. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1965. . History of the violin The violin, viola,
String instrument string with higher mass per unit length produces the lower pitch. The length of the string from nut to bridge on bowed or plucked instruments ultimately determines the distance between different notes on the instrument. For example, a double bass with its low range needs a scale length of around , whilst a violin scale is only about . On the shorter scale of the violin, the left hand may easily reach a range of slightly more than two octaves without shifting position, while on the bass' longer scale, a single octave or a ninth is reachable in lower positions.