Five string violin Five string violin A five string violin is a variant of violin with an extra string tuned to a pitch below the violin's usual range. In addition to the G, D, A, and E strings of a standard violin, a five string violin typically includes a C string. (Six and seven string electric violins also exist, adding lower strings tuned to F and B.) The five string violin was created as a solution for improvisers that allowed musicians to combine the pitch ranges of violins and violas. Bobby Hicks, an award-winning bluegrass fiddler, popularized the five-string violin in 1963 as
Poème élégiaque in D minor, Op.12 (Ysaÿe) for violin and orchestra; "Amitié, Op. 26" for two violins and orchestra, "Poème nocturne, Op. 29" for violin, cello, and orchestra; "Harmonies du soir, Op. 31" for string quartet and string orchestra. This crucial work of Ysaÿe's, which ignited his passion for poem compositions, was inspired by Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Ysaÿe builds on the virtuoso pieces of the 19th century and utilizes devices such as "scordatura", in which the violin's lowest string is tuned down to give it a darker, warmer timbre. The beginning of this piece, marked "soutenu et calme", opens with a very lyrical theme from the