Scordatura

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/scordatura

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the musical technique?Intentional deviation from an instrument's standard pitch configuration for artistic purposes
2. What is the etymology?Italian origin, translating to 'discord' or 'mistuning'
3. Why do musicians change the tuning of their instruments?Changing the tuning lets the instrument make special colors of sound, like brighter or deeper tones. It can also help the player sing the notes more comfortably.
4. How does scordatura affect the sound of a violin or guitar?When a string is tuned higher or lower, the vibration changes, giving the instrument a new timbre and resonance that you can't get with normal tuning.

Timbre: The characteristic quality of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and loudness.
Pitch: The perceived highness or lowness of a sound, determined by the frequency of its vibration.
Intervallic Relationships: The distance or difference in pitch between two musical notes.