Air on the G String Wilhelmj arranged the second movement of Bach's third Orchestral Suite for violin and an accompaniment of strings, piano or organ (harmonium). On the score he had printed (on the G string) above the stave for the solo violin, which gave the arrangement its nickname. In Wilhelmj's version the piece is transposed down from its original key (D major) to C major. Then the part of the first violins is transposed down a further octave and given to a solo violin that can play the entire melody on its lowest string, the G string. The dynamic markings added by Wilhelmj are
Violone with the violin, but can't necessarily be described as genuine violin family instruments because their tunings, proportions and/or construction issues may be at odds with the other sizes. In the Renaissance and Baroque era and even in the 2000s, there are players who changed or adapted their instruments in unique ways. In this category we might find bass viols that are tuned in E (instead of D), or where the bottom string is tuned an extra step lower, to a C (a pitch found in numerous Baroque works). Or we might find a contrabass/double bass tuned in fourths, but with