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
Scientific pitch Pyke Hullah in the mid-19th century, but never established as a standard. In the 19th century, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi tried to stop the increase in pitch to which orchestras were tuned. In 1874 he wrote his "Requiem" using the official French standard "diapason normal" pitch of A4 tuned to 435 Hz. Later, he indicated that 432 Hz would be slightly better for orchestras. One solution he proposed was scientific pitch. He had little success. In 1988, Lyndon LaRouche's Schiller Institute initiated a campaign to establish scientific pitch as the classical music concert pitch standard. The Institute called this pitch