Violin/Fiddle: Alternative Tunings

Subject: tuning
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 10:46:03 -0700

I am a 5 string banjo player, never learned to read music, and 2 weeks ago I bought my first (not last) fiddle...what I'd like to know is ...is it ok to tune my fiddle like a banjo? as I can't make music with the g,d,a,e tunning...Im buying another next week...Ian Roy...I am a by ear player

Greetings,

The violin has a very short scale length...which means that the pitch would still have to be relative to the G D A E...anything too much lower, and the strings will not respond well...anything too much higher and the neck, bridge and bracing may become too stressed. There are some unorthodox tunings that have worked out well for fiddling settings...only, they are still only one or two steps within the G D A E tuning...

My suggestion would be to focus on learning the G D A E tuning...I play a variety of instruments myself and have found that given time, the transition from tuning to tuning becomes second nature...the violin is tuned in fifths...which is a more melody oriented tuning than in fourths or thirds as is found on the 5-string banjo D G B D tuning...with your ability to play by ear, as opposed to pattern, you may find the violin tuning to be more adaptive to finding melodies...I know I did after transitioning from the banjo to the violin...take it slowly...try only simple scales and simple melodies for about a month...do not attempt to learn complex melodies from the start or you will hit a brick wall.

Hope this helps, Mickey

Subject: CROSS TUNING
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 16:10:04 -0800

Mickey , this is quite a boon to find your page. My question is: what is cross tuning and how do I approach this on my violin ? Thanx , Jay Sorrell

Greetings Jay,

Yes, I'm familiar with cross tuning a violin...

The version I remember is:

from the G tuned to A
from the D tuned to E
keep the A string tuned standard
keep the E string tuned standard

One of the more popular tunes played on fiddle cross-tuned to the A E A E tuning would be "Black Mt. Rag"...

Here's a website dedicated to Cross Keys on Fiddle:
http://www.psnw.com/~tenorguitr/Fiddle/Fiddletoons.html

Here's a resource from Mel Bay...I do not know if it's still available:

Mel Bay presents Cross-Tuning Your Fiddle
History, Techniques, & Transcriptions.
by Bill Shull
1994 MB95238 $7.95 (US) - No ISBN number
www.melbay.com

P 5 "Cross tuning has a history coequal with the history of the fiddle itself"
He talks about how the standard modern tuning was only one of many tunings,
back to the 15C. He even discusses how you need to change the fingering,
since the violin/fiddle is not an "even tempered" instrument.

Hope this helps...Mickey