A five-string violin is a variant of

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

with an extra string tuned below the violin's usual range. In addition to the G, D, A, and E strings of a standard violin, a five-string violin typically includes a lower C string. Violins with 6 or more strings may add a Low F, Low B♭, Low E♭, or a Soprano Violin High A (sometimes a High B). The five-string violin was created to combine the pitch ranges of the violin and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

Bobby Hicks Bobby Hicks (born July 21, 1933) is a Grammy Awardbr>winningAmerican bluegrass fiddler and a professional musician with more than fifty years of experience. Career Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina and learned to play the fiddle befor ...

, a noted bluegrass fiddler, popularized the five-string violin in 1963, first showcasing his modification during a performance in Las Vegas. Due to the size limitations of a five-string violin, the low C string typically resonates with a slightly softer sound than the other strings. Five-string violas, normally tuned C, G, D, and A, and adding a High E string, have in the same tuning, but on a Viola body and don't sound as squeaky. Capable players may be able to compensate for these shortcomings with technique, and electric instruments help these issues with the benefit of amplification. It is also possible for a

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

to create instruments that resolve the issue by adjusting the size of the instrument.

Structure

The components that make up a five-string violin are very similar to those found on a traditional violin, with the shape of the body and neck of a five-string violin closely resembling that of a traditional violin. The strings are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4, A4 and E5. The body, though still smaller than a viola, may be slightly wider and deeper to improve the resonance of the C string. It features a larger

pegbox A variety of methods are used to tune different stringed instruments. Most change the pitch produced when the string is played by adjusting the tension of the strings. A tuning peg in a pegbox is perhaps the most common system. A peg has ...

to accommodate the fifth string.

Uses

Five-string violins excel in musical styles that allow for improvisation because of their wide range and versatility. They are most commonly used in country

fiddling A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, ...

, swing, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music. Players of this instrument favor its ability to play pieces written for either violin or viola, as well as new pieces that utilize the combined ranges of those instruments.

References

* * * * * Violins {{violin-stub