What is Scordatura tuning?
Scordatura ([skordaˈtuːra]; literally, Italian for “discord”, or “mistuning”) is a tuning of a string instrument that is different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain passages easier to play.
What does Sul Tasto mean in music?
Definition of sul tasto : with the bow kept over the fingerboard so as to produce a soft thin tone —used as a direction in music for a stringed instrument.
What is an example of Scordatura?
In the classical period a famous example of scordatura is Mozart’s, “Sinfonia Concertante” for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in which he asks the viola to tune all four strings a semitone higher than usual.
Why is Baroque tuning different?
Historically there were many different pitches to which groups of musicians tuned, based on local tradition or, in the Baroque era, to the pitch the local organ was set as it was impractical to tune otherwise. This pitch varied from about A=380 Hz to as high as A=480 Hz, based on surviving examples.
Is violin tuning equal temperament?
The system of tuning most in use today is called equal temperament. This system uses the octave, a frequency with a 2:1 ratio, discovered by Pythagoras in around 530 B.C.E. In equal temperament the octave is divided into 12 equal half-steps or semitones.
What does sul tasto sound like?
Typically, when playing sul tasto, one uses medium or low dynamics. This interesting technique is meant to be soft, sometimes ethereal, magical, or spooky. Some people think that sul tasto causes the violin to sound more like a clarinet or a flute than a violin, but this is entirely one’s own opinion.
How do you tune a baroque violin?
Apart from classical violin, if you ever decided to play the baroque violin, you would tune it to A-415 Hz. The baroque pitch used during the Baroque period in the 17th century sounds almost like a “G” sharp in standard A-440 tuning.
Is baroque pitch higher or lower?
It was generally lower than it is today, but there were exceptions and sometimes it could be even higher. Modern measurements of baroque instruments show that the pitch would mostly have varied between A=400 and A=450 Hz (in extreme cases from about A=380 to A=480 Hz) .