Scordatura
Encyclopedia
A scordatura also called cross-tuning, is an alternative tuning
used for the open strings
of a string instrument
, in which the notes indicated in the score would represent the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch is altered. In the Western classical music tradition it is sometimes an extended technique
to allow the playing of otherwise impossible note sequences or note combinations, or to create unusual timbres. Scordatura was much used by composers for violin and cello, including J.S.Bach, Biber
, Vivaldi, Ariosti
, and others such as Vilsmayr in compositions for violin during the early 18th century and a special type of notation was used to make it easier to read. This notation was also used to notate music for the viola d'amore, an instrument played and composed for by composers such as Biber and Vivaldi. The viola d'amore
used a great number of different tunings and writing music for it in scordatura notation was a natural choice for composers of the time.
Musical tuning
In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...
used for the open strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
of a string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, in which the notes indicated in the score would represent the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch is altered. In the Western classical music tradition it is sometimes an extended technique
Extended technique
Extended techniques are performance techniques used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments to obtain unusual sounds or instrumental timbres....
to allow the playing of otherwise impossible note sequences or note combinations, or to create unusual timbres. Scordatura was much used by composers for violin and cello, including J.S.Bach, Biber
Biber
The Biber was a German midget submarine of the Second World War. Armed with two externally mounted 21-inch torpedoes or mines, they were intended to attack coastal shipping. They were the smallest submarines in the Kriegsmarine.The Biber was hastily developed to help meet the threat of an Allied...
, Vivaldi, Ariosti
Attilio Ariosti
Attilio Malachia Ariosti was an Italian composer in the Baroque style, born in Bologna. He produced more than 30 operas and oratorios, numerous cantatas and instrumental works.-Life:He was born into the middle class...
, and others such as Vilsmayr in compositions for violin during the early 18th century and a special type of notation was used to make it easier to read. This notation was also used to notate music for the viola d'amore, an instrument played and composed for by composers such as Biber and Vivaldi. The viola d'amore
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
used a great number of different tunings and writing music for it in scordatura notation was a natural choice for composers of the time.
In classical music
Notable examples of scordatura tunings:- H.I.F. BiberHeinrich Ignaz BiberHeinrich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Born in the small Bohemian town of Wartenberg , Biber worked at Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his Kroměříž employer and settled in Salzburg...
's "Rosary SonatasRosary SonatasThe Mystery Sonatas, also known as the Rosary Sonatas or Copper-Engraving Sonatas, by early Baroque composer and virtuoso violinist Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber are a collection of 15 short sonatas for violin and continuo with a closing passacaglia for solo violin that are relevant to the christian...
" for violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and continuoFigured bassFigured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...
(c. 1674). Aside from the first (Annunciation) and last works (PassacagliaPassacagliaThe passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
, for solo violin) of this collection, where in the instrument is set to the common G-D-A-E tuning, the violin for each sonata is tuned to a different array of pitches. Sonata XI (the Resurrection) is a special case: in addition to a unique scordatura, the two inner strings of the violin are interchanged between the bridge and tailpiece of the instrument, thus attaining a tuning (from top string to bottom string) of G-g-D-d. Harmonia Artificiosa no. VII for two violas d'amore (tuned in c minor) and B.C. is written in a form of scordatura on a nine line stave. See under viola d'amoreViola d'amoreThe viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
for more information. - Vilsmayr "Artificiosus Consentus Pro Camera", a set of six partitas published in 1715. The middle four partitas use scordatura tunings.
- Johann PachelbelJohann PachelbelJohann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
's Musikalische Ergötzung bestehend in 6 verstimmten Partien (Musical Entertainment consisting of six suites for mistuned violins, 1691), six suites for two violins and continuo. Tunings include C-F-C-F, C-G-C-F, B-E-B-E, B-E-B-E, C-G-C-F, and B-F-B-E. - In the original version of Vivaldi’s opera Tito ManlioTito ManlioTito Manlio is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi, to a libretto by Matteo Noris. It was written in celebration of the marriage of Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt , the governor of Mantua, which he had announced at Christmas. Vivaldi quickly composed the opera within five days...
(Mantua, 1719), Servilia’s aria ‘Tu dormi in tante pene’ also contains an obbligato part for viola d'amoreViola d'amoreThe viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
written in scordatura notation. This part would undoubtedly have been played by Vivaldi himself. He was the only known player of the instrument at the court of the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt in Mantua, his employer at that time and for whom this opera was written. The obbligato part is on smaller paper inserted into the first violin part. Vivaldi would have led the orchestra from the concert masters chair and would have played the first violin part, presumably switching to viola d'amore for this aria. The aria "Quanto Magis Generosa" in Vivaldi's Oratorio "Juditha triumphansJuditha triumphansJuditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie translated as Judith triumphant over the barbarians of Holofernes, Vivaldi catalogue number RV 644, is an oratorio by Antonio Vivaldi, the only survivor of the four that he is known to have composed...
" (1716) also contains an obbligato part for viola d'amore written in scordatura notation. This piece was written for the Ospedale della PietaOspedale della PietàThe Ospedale della Pietà was a convent, orphanage, and music school in Venice.Like other Venetian ospedali, the Pietà was established as a hostel for Crusaders...
and the obbligato part would have been played either by Vivaldi or by Anna Maria del violino, one of the senior musicians there at the time who was a known player of the viola d'amore. Curiously, all Vivaldi's other works for viola d'amore, (eight concertos and two obbligato numbers in different settings of the "Nisi Dominus"), are written in normal notation at sounding pitch. - Also by Vivaldi is his violin concerto in A major, Op.9, No.6, in which the violin's G string is tuned up to an A, allowing for a beautifully resonant scale and arpeggio motif ending on the retuned string.
- MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
wrote the solo violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
part for his Sinfonia Concertante a semitone lower, with the viola strings to be tuned a semitone higher to D, A, E, B. A common practice of the time, changing the pitch of the open strings was primarily intended to make the viola sound louder, and so better discernible in the symphonic orchestra: indeed, increasing the tension in a string, not only sharpens the pitch, but also makes it sound louder, the loudest sound being obtained just before breaking. Other viola concertiViola concertoThe viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments, usually an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of the viola concerto include, among others, Georg Philipp Telemann's concerto in G major, and several concertos by the Stamitz clan...
employing this type of scordatura were written by Carl StamitzCarl StamitzKarl Philipp Stamitz , who later changed his given name to Carl, was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry , and a violin, viola and viola d'amore virtuoso...
, Johann Baptist VaňhalJohann Baptist VanhalJohann Baptist Vanhal also spelled Wanhal, Waṅhall or Wanhall was an important classical music composer born in Nechanice, Bohemia to a Czech family.- Biography :...
, Johann Andreas AmonJohann Andreas AmonJohann Andreas Amon was a German virtuoso horn player, violist, conductor and composer. Amon composed around fifty works, including symphonies, concerti, sonatas, and songs...
, Jiří Družecký, Johannes Matthias SpergerJohannes Matthias SpergerJohannes Matthias Sperger, also often Johann, was an Austrian contrabassist and composer....
and Johann Georg Hermann Voigt. - Georg Philipp TelemannGeorg Philipp TelemannGeorg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually...
, Concerto in A Major for two Violins, TWV 43:7 - MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, scordatura violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
soloist in the 2nd movement of his 4th SymphonySymphony No. 4 (Mahler)The Symphony No. 4 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1899 and 1901, though it incorporates a song originally written in 1892. The song, "Das himmlische Leben", presents a child's vision of Heaven. It is sung by a soprano in the work's fourth and last movement...
. In this case the composer probably desired the specific tone of the sound produced by a scordatura violin, which is less "suave" than the sound of a standard tuning. - Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
, solo violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in Danse MacabreDanse Macabre (Saint-Saëns)Danse macabre, Op. 40, is a tone poem for orchestra, written in 1874 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It started out in 1872 as an art song for voice and piano with a French text by the poet Henri Cazalis, which is based in an old French superstition...
, where the E-string is tuned to E. - Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's The FirebirdThe FirebirdThe Firebird is a 1910 ballet created by the composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor....
is a rare, perhaps unique, piece which calls for the entire violin section to retune a string, in order to play some natural harmonicHarmonicA harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
s. Similarly, the final chord of his The Rite of SpringThe Rite of SpringThe Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
requires the cellos to retune a string so it may be played "open" (unstopped by the fingers and consequently more resonant) as part of a quadruple stop. - Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's tone poem Ein HeldenlebenEin HeldenlebenEin Heldenleben, Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898, and heralds the composer's more mature period in this genre...
includes a passage in which the second violins must tune their G strings down in order to play a G. In Don QuixoteDon Quixote (Strauss)Don Quixote, Op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
, the solo viola tunes the C string down to B. - Ottorino RespighiOttorino RespighiOttorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's tone poem The Pines of Rome requires the cellos to tune the low C string down to a B in the third movement. Also, the basses must either have a fifth low B string or tune a C extension down to the B in the third and fourth movements. - Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Fifth Cello SuiteCello Suites (Bach)The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are some of the most performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello...
is written with the A string, the highest string, tuned down a whole step to a G. This tuning allows chords which would be difficult or impossible at regular tuning. The Suite is also played with standard tuning, but some pitches must be altered to accommodate the tuning. - The cello in George CrumbGeorge CrumbGeorge Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
's chamber work Vox Balaenae (scored for electric flute, electric cello, and electric piano). The traditional C-G-D-A tuning is changed to B-F-D-A, which serves to emphasize the key of B major that emerges in the final movement. George CrumbGeorge CrumbGeorge Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
's A Haunted Landscape has a bass drone that requires two bassists to tune their C extensions down to B. - Zoltán KodályZoltán KodályZoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
's solo cello sonata in B minor requires the cellist to tune down the two lower strings from G and C to F and B, to emphasize the key with recurring B-minor chords. - LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
's Violin ConcertoViolin Concerto (Ligeti)The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by György Ligeti is a violin concerto written for and dedicated to the violinist Saschko Gawriloff. A performance of the work lasts about 28 minutes.-History:... - PaganiniNiccolò PaganiniNiccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
's Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 in D Major - Franz von VecseyFranz von VecseyFranz von Vecsey was a Hungarian violinist and composer.He was born in Budapest and began his violin studies with his father, Lajos Vecsey, and at the age of eight he entered the studio of Jenő Hubay...
's Nuit du Nord, a 1921 work for violin and piano, requires the G string to be tuned down to F. - SchnittkeAlfred SchnittkeAlfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
's Monologue for viola and strings - SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
's Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47, requires the cellist to retune the C string down to B for the last 42 bars of the third movement. - In some double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
solo music, a specific solo tuning (F-B-E-A) that requires a different set of strings to be used. This is to allow the bass to be heard better over the pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
or orchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. With better instrumental technology and string manufacturing, orchestrally tuned (E-A-D-G) bass editions are becoming more common. - In Haydn'sJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
Symphony No. 60Symphony No. 60 (Haydn)The Symphony No. 60 in C major, Hoboken I/60, was written by Joseph Haydn. It is sometimes given the nickname Il Distratto , or in German, »Der Zerstreute«.- Nickname :...
in C (Il Distratto), the first and second violins start the finale of this unusual six-movement symphony with the lowest string tuned to F, but tune up to G in the course of the music to create a comical effect. The title of the symphony means "the absent-minded man" – so it is as if the violins have "forgotten" to tune their strings. The music fully pauses for the violins to re-tune before continuing. Haydn also uses a violin with the lowest string tuned to F in the trio of his Symphony No. 67Symphony No. 67 (Haydn)The Symphony No. 67 in F major, Hoboken I/67, is a symphony by Joseph Haydn. It was composed by 1779. H. C. Robbins Landon praises this work, saying "without any question, this is one of the most boldly original symphonies of this period."-Movements:...
in F. - In Béla BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's piece ContrastsContrasts (Bartók)Contrasts is a 1938 composition scored for clarinet-violin-piano trio by Béla Bartók . It is based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies and has three movements with a combined duration of 17-20 minutes. Bartók wrote the work in response to a letter from violinist Joseph Szigeti, although it...
for clarinet, violin and piano, the opening bars of the third movement utilize a different turning on a separate violin (G-D-A-E) for a Hungarian folk effect. - In Carlo DomeniconiCarlo DomeniconiCarlo Domeniconi is an Italian guitarist and composer known as a concert artist in both the classical and jazz idioms. Born in Cesena, Italy, he received his first instruction with Carmen Lenzi Mozzani at the age of 13...
's work "Koyunbaba" (Opus 19) for guitar solo, the tuning of the strings are C, G, c, g, c, e
External links
- Violadamore.com: About Scordatura and the Viola d'amore
- WA's Encyclopedia of Alternate Guitar Tunings "...a wonderful site devoted to guitar tunings—dozens and dozens of ‘em, including tunings used by Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, and Sonic Youth. Cool!" - Andy Elllis