Air on the G String Air on the G String "Air on the G String" is August Wilhelmj's arrangement of the second movement in Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068. The arrangement differs from the original in that the part of the first violins is transposed down so that it can be played entirely on a violin's lowest string, "i.e.", the G string. It is played by a single violin (instead of by the first violins as a group). Bach's third Orchestral Suite in D major, composed in the first half of the 18th century, has an "Air" as
Violin technique intervals of perfect fifths by bowing them in pairs. This puts the open strings in just intonation, which means the lower strings may sound flat compared to their nominal equal-tempered equivalents. In practice, this means some compromises must be made, and the strings not always tuned in perfect fifths, particularly on the viola and cello, where the lowest string is the C, three fifths away from the reference A, making the difference more apparent. Small, temporary tuning adjustments can also be made by stretching a string with the hand. A string may be flattened by pulling it above the fingerboard,