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
String instrument this method of sound production. Even though the piano strikes the strings, the use of felt hammers means that the sound that is produced can nevertheless be mellow and rounded, in contrast to the sharp attack produced when a very hard hammer strikes the strings. Violin family string instrument players are occasionally instructed to strike the string with the stick of the bow, a technique called "col legno". This yields a percussive sound along with the pitch of the note. A well-known use of "col legno" for orchestral strings is Gustav Holst's "Mars" movement from "The Planets" suite. The aeolian