Shamisen three" or "lowered third" refers to tuning the shamisen to honchoshi and lowering the 3rd string (the string with the highest pitch) down a whole step, so that now the instrument is tuned in fourths, e.g. D, G, C. Instead of having a set tuning, such as on a guitar (i.e. E, A, D, G, B, E) or a violin (i.e. G, D, A, E), the shamisen is tuned according to the register of the singer, or simply to the liking of the player. The shamisen player can tune the shamisen to whatever register desired, so long as the above
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