tuning violin at shruthi C or below

kommu · Post by **kommu** » 22 Nov 2006, 14:15

How do you tune the violin to C or below? Male singers sing at this kind of shruti and I'm wondering how to tune to that. The regular 'sa' string becomes too loose if I try to tune to C and is impossible to go below that. I can tune the lower 'pa' string to C and the regular 'sa' will become the new 'pa'. It doesn't sound very good. The volume becomes very low and the notes are not crisp. How do professional accompists do that? Do they use a different set of strings that sound better at lower shrutis?

Any help really appreciated.

thanks
kommu

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 22 Nov 2006, 20:46

I believe they use a different set of strings. One of my friends uses viola strings when playing at D or below, I think.

meena · Post by **meena** » 23 Nov 2006, 00:07

hope this will help
DELETED

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 23 Nov 2006, 01:15

Tuning violin to C may depend on the quality of the violin.
I cannot tune below B (that's when the strings become loose) on my violin.
As far as the strings used. I heard that for C shruti Indian violin strings are good. I haven't checked what the difference is myself.

I remember cmlover telling me that my violin was hypertuned while accompanying DRS who sings at C. If I would use a different quality string may be it will sound coarse and match the male voice.
Any other inputs from experts are welcome.

sanvenk · Post by **sanvenk** » 06 Feb 2007, 16:47

You can tune by shifting the strings

Sa becomes Pa
Pa(D) becomes Sa
Sa (G) becomes Pa (D)

use viola C for manthram or gauge 19 string of Karuna

msakella · Post by **msakella** » 01 Apr 2007, 08:16

Dear brother & sister-members, kommu, sankirnam, meena, sujiram & sanvenk and all others, Just like the taste of a person to wear a loose pant or a tight pant, basing upon the habituated finger touch of a person on the finger board of Violin, the strings of the Violin should be selected taking their different gauges and the respective Shruti. At the first instance, a professional Violinist, must get quite a number of Violin or Viola strings of different gauges. Generally, these strings are supplied with names E, A, D & G or 1, 2, 3 & 4 respectively but, unfortunately, not with any numbers indicating their guage. This head-ache of getting the numbers of relevant gauges of these strings has surprisingly and conveniently been thrown upon the Violinistâ€™s head. None of the manufacturers of Violin strings is ever used to note the guage of a particular string on its cover except â€˜Karunaâ€™ of Bangalore. This also happened on my insistence only long long ago. OK, leave it. Then, get a micro-wire-guage, which is very highly sensitive, and note down the guage of each string, even of steel-string (as there are umpteen varieties of gauges in steel-strings alone). The finger touch of a Violinist differes basing upon the thickness of the string, the gap between the string and the finger-board right from the starting point to the ending point of the finger-board, the soft bend of the Meru where the strings at first are based in the starting point, the fine and hard touch of the bow basing upon its proper shape â€“ all these things count while selecting the guage of a string. Generally, Violinists are not ready to do all these things. But, unless the Violinist takes every pre-caution of such things and select the guage of each and every string for each and every Shruti he cannot get through the concert and truly feel the happiness of it to his satisfaction. Being a professioinal Violinist, in 60s, I did all these things and I have always been used to prepare the suitable steel-strings of all the Shrutis getting the bundles of steel-strings, cutting each one of them the length of one round of my head which is equal to the needed length and fixing one metal-ball at one end to fix it in the adjuster. Like this, there are a number pre-cautions to be taken by a Violinist, not only to prepare his Violin but also to train himself to become a successful Soloist as well as Accompanist. All these things can only be demonstrated. Even though I have been going through many of such posts of our brothers and sisters of our forum and even though I, really, wish to anwer them sincerely, my age is not permitting me to sit with my computer and to type the needed matter with my limited physical energy and very limited English-knowledge.I canâ€™t help except wishing you all the best. Thanking you all, amsharma.