Air on the G String Wilhelmj arranged the second movement of Bach's third Orchestral Suite for violin and an accompaniment of strings, piano or organ (harmonium). On the score he had printed (on the G string) above the stave for the solo violin, which gave the arrangement its nickname. In Wilhelmj's version the piece is transposed down from its original key (D major) to C major. Then the part of the first violins is transposed down a further octave and given to a solo violin that can play the entire melody on its lowest string, the G string. The dynamic markings added by Wilhelmj are
Dropped A tuning result, it uses the same fingering as drop D tuning and drop C tuning. An alternate dropped A tuning utilizes a guitar tuned to E Standard with the 6th string dropped to a low A, resulting in AADGBE with the 6th and 5th strings an octave apart. Another variation of this tuning is AEADGB, which imitates a 7 on a six-string, excluding the high E. Another dropped A tuning is AGCFAD ("drop perfect fourth in the key of the D", i.e. whole guitar is tuned down one step, then the lowest string is dropped to A). Dropped A tuning Dropped