That of using gut strings on the 5-string instrument, tuning it to baroque pitch (A415) and placing a capo at the half-position. Even so, it may be advisable to use lighter C and G strings to balance the E.Īnother possibilty occurs to me. Violas are naturally heavier and may be able to withstand the stresses more easily. I wonder (I’m not a fiddle maker or repairer) if a 5-string viola (with an E string) might be more feasible. Schubert also wrote a sonata for a 5-string cello (the “arpeggione” sonata) but that’s well within the range of modern technique on the standard cello. The suite is playable (with difficulty I might add!) on the standard instrument, but it’s necessary to make alterations to the chording in the sarabande. You’re getting the same problem of trying to cope with the additional stresses.ĥ-string cellos have been made with an E above the A, only a handful - the late Florence Hooton had one, with the specific object of playing Bach’s 6th suite for unaccompanied cello which was written for a 5-stringed instrument now lost. People have experimented with 10-course classical guitars - the great Narciso Yepes used one for years - but the tone sounds dull compared with the traditional 6-course guitar. But, Brad, have the instrument looked at by an expert - careful adjustment or replacement of soundpost, bridge, bass-bar even, and choice of strings may do the trick. I understand that you may have to use thicker wood, in which case the resonance and response of the instrument will suffer. The difficult problem with a 5-string fiddle (or viola or cello for that matter) is coping with the additional stresses on the body of the instrument.

Heifetz played an aluminum violin once, but he didn’t make a career of it.

5 strings theory violin guy berlin