Violin completely losing tension. A violin in which the tuning pegs are slipping needs to be repaired by a luthier or violin repairperson. Peg dope or peg compound, used regularly, can delay the onset of such wear, while allowing the pegs to turn smoothly. The tuning G–D–A–E is used for most violin music, both in Classical music, jazz and folk music. Other tunings are occasionally employed; the G string, for example, can be tuned up to A. The use of nonstandard tunings in classical music is known as "scordatura"; in some folk styles, it is called "cross tuning". One famous example
String instrument string with higher mass per unit length produces the lower pitch. The length of the string from nut to bridge on bowed or plucked instruments ultimately determines the distance between different notes on the instrument. For example, a double bass with its low range needs a scale length of around , whilst a violin scale is only about . On the shorter scale of the violin, the left hand may easily reach a range of slightly more than two octaves without shifting position, while on the bass' longer scale, a single octave or a ninth is reachable in lower positions.