Scordatura: alternate tunings for bowed and plucked strings

How scordatura works and what it changes

Retuning one string changes its tension and therefore affects volume, brightness and the way it vibrates sympathetically with other strings. A string tuned higher tends to sound more brilliant and project more, while one tuned lower can add warmth or bass extension. Beyond timbre, scordatura can simplify fingerings or make otherwise awkward chords and double-stops physically possible. It is also used to provide open-string drones and to exploit sympathetic resonance that would be impossible in standard tuning.

Historical development and notable repertoire

Scordatura appears throughout the history of plucked and bowed instruments. In Renaissance and Baroque lute and viol practice alternate tunings were common, and Baroque composers sometimes specified retuning for expressive or technical reasons. One of the most famous examples is the 17th‑century violinist-composer Heinrich Biber, whose Rosary (Mysterien) sonatas use different tunings for many individual sonatas to achieve unique sonorities. The technique continued to appear in later repertoire for the violin family and in folk and popular music traditions on fretted instruments.

Notation, performance and practical issues

Composers indicate scordatura at the start of a piece by showing the intended pitches for each open string. Notation practice varies: sometimes music is written "sounding" (what the listener hears) and sometimes it is written as if the instrument remained in standard tuning so the player can read familiar fingerings. Players must take care when changing tuning: higher tension may risk breaking strings and affect instrument setup, while lower tension can change response and intonation. Different string materials (gut, gut-core, steel) react differently to retuning and may require adjusted technique or setup.

Common uses and examples

• To create resonant open-string drones and sympathetic overtones.
• To enable unusual chord shapes or multi‑string sonorities that are otherwise impractical.
• To alter color for expressive effect — a bright high string or a deep, sonorous low string.
• Practical contemporary uses on guitar include popular alternate tunings such as drop tunings that facilitate power chords and extended ranges.

When studying or performing scordatura it helps to consult editions and sources that explain the intended sounding pitches and the notation convention used. Teachers and modern editors sometimes supply fingerings or transcriptions to help musicians adapt. For further reference and historical examples see general discussions of scordatura, instrument-specific resources on the standard tuning of the violin family, and background on fretted instruments such as the lute and the guitar. Other useful contexts include writing for the viols and the violin family, and technique notes addressing string tension and the bow. Contemporary compositions occasionally revive or reinvent scordatura; consult modern editions and performers' accounts via specialist catalogs and articles (Italian terminology, historical surveys at specialist sites or libraries via musicology resources).

Because scordatura modifies both the physical and notational aspects of performance, it remains a powerful expressive tool. Whether used to evoke an archaic sound on a viol or to unlock new technical possibilities on a modern violin, scordatura links acoustics, instrument design and notation in a direct, audible way.