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Wtf Violin tuning


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Think about it like this

When you are at standard position (at the chin), the easiest approachable note with the bow would be the E in a GDAE tuning.

Rather, the E string requires the most weight to be in the string to get it to sound. It's easier for a player to hit the E string with the dead weight of their arm+gravity when the string is closer to you and get a nice full sounding tone.

When playing further away from you, on the G string hehe for example, you have to angle your bow arm and torque a bit with the wrist in order to get gravity to work for you. Much harder to do that if the thicker string was on the outside.

And violinists say Bassists don't know anything... Stringcism I say.

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Rather, the E string requires the most weight to be in the string to get it to sound. It's easier for a player to hit the E string with the dead weight of their arm+gravity when the string is closer to you and get a nice full sounding tone.

When playing further away from you, on the G string hehe for example, you have to angle your bow arm and torque a bit with the wrist in order to get gravity to work for you. Much harder to do that if the thicker string was on the outside.

And violinists say Bassists don't know anything... Stringcism I say.

Let's just imagine that's totally what I meant

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Rather, the E string requires the most weight to be in the string to get it to sound. It's easier for a player to hit the E string with the dead weight of their arm+gravity when the string is closer to you and get a nice full sounding tone.

When playing further away from you, on the G string hehe for example, you have to angle your bow arm and torque a bit with the wrist in order to get gravity to work for you. Much harder to do that if the thicker string was on the outside.

And violinists say Bassists don't know anything... Stringcism I say.

If you implied that E string is the thickest in the GDAE tuning, I'd have to say you're wrong. From what I know, G string is the thickest (ergo tuned the lowest). Each next string is tuned 7 semitones higher.

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Why is it tuned backward ?

GDAE, not EADG ?

... I never even thought of it that way. Hahaha...

In all seriousness, though, it's primarily due to the fact that the neck lengths of a violin/viola are quite small in comparison to a standard guitar, so it's much easier to travel along the neck & between strings when there's a fifth between strings.

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lol ?

Why is it tuned backward ?

GDAE, not EADG ?

How do you play that ??

you just have to not think of it like a guitar! The strings are a 5th apart whereas the guitar is tuned in 4ths but a 5th up is a 4th down and vice versa so... they're backwards, kinda... Except it goes left to right = lowest to highest, in case you thought it was REEAALLY backwards!

You play it how you play it! hahaha... :)

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I will have to get used to it I guess, it's just very differant!

The fingering must be hard ! It's a very interesting challenge tho.

What should I know first ? (And I'll check for tuts on YouTube)

I thought I would be able to apply what I know on guitars to violin but that'll be for the linear aspect of a single string only..

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I will have to get used to it I guess, it's just very differant!

The fingering must be hard ! It's a very interesting challenge tho.

What should I know first ? (And I'll check for tuts on YouTube)

I thought I would be able to apply what I know on guitars to violin but that'll be for the linear aspect of a single string only..

Please, don't go to youtube. Support the music community and go get lessons! Youtube can't beat 1 on1 for these types of instruments.

other than pressing your fingers down on a string and the calluses you got from that, nothing else will carry over to the instrument. Using the bow itself takes many years to become functional and a lifetime to master.

Check for Rabbath's Art of the Bow to get your mind right. The bow is much more complex than merely drawing it across the string. It functions around a complex system of always moving levers and fulcrums. When you first pull the bow from the frog, by the time you get to the tip you just witnessed the physics of the bow completely reverse from where you started. The weight of the bow itself, gravity, where you are in the bow stroke, feeling every vibration throughout the stroke... and I haven't even hit the subtle and relaxed wrist and finger movements that you need to develop to produce a steady tone.

Welcome to the art of real string playing guitarist. You have many long years ahead of you if you decide to commit to that instrument. ;-) Good Luck!

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Oh, GOD. I should have read all of the letters. :) Cant believe I didn't see that and I was thinking about my bass when responding.

Violin Family=5ths

Viol Family= 4ths

Stringcism be damned. Yea I'm looking at you. Cellist!

Violin is 5ths from G below middle C

Viola is 5ths from C below middle C

Violincello is 5ths from C twice below middle C

Contrabass is 4ths from E thrice below middle C

- Unless it has a low C extension, in which case it's C, A, D, G as the open notes.

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