Editing Viol (section)

==Tuning==
The standard tuning of most viols is in [[perfect fourth|fourths]], with a [[major third]] in the middle (like the standard Renaissance [[lute]] tuning), or in [[perfect fourth|fourths]], with a [[major third]] in between the 2nd and 3rd strings. The following table shows the tunings that have been adopted at least somewhat widely during the 20th and 21st-century revival of the viols. (Lyra viol tunings are not included.)

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Viol tuning
! rowspan="2" |Instrument
! colspan="7" |Strings <small>(low to high)</small>
! style="width: 150px" rowspan="2" |Harmonic relation (low to high)
|-
! style="width: 50px"|7
! style="width: 50px"|6 
! style="width: 50px"|5 
! style="width: 50px"|4 
! style="width: 50px"|3 
! style="width: 50px"|2 
! style="width: 50px"|1
|-
| align="left" |'''Pardessus''' (5-string){{efn|name=fn1|The ''pardessus de viole'' most often has only five strings, but six-string instruments are not uncommon.}}
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|D<sub>5</sub>
|G<sub>5</sub>
|5th, 5th, 4th, 4th
|-
| align="left" |'''Pardessus''' (6-string)
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>3</sub>
|C<sub>4</sub>
|E<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|D<sub>5</sub>
|G<sub>5</sub>
|4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th
|-
|align="left"|'''Treble'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|D<sub>3</sub>
|G<sub>3</sub>
|C<sub>4</sub>
|E<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|D<sub>5</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
|align="left"|'''Alto'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|C<sub>3</sub>
|F<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|G<sub>4</sub>
|C<sub>5</sub>
|4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th
|-
|align="left"|'''Tenor in A'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|A<sub>2</sub>
|D<sub>3</sub>
|G<sub>3</sub>
|B<sub>3</sub>
|E<sub>4</sub>
|A<sub>4</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
|align="left"|'''Tenor in G'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>2</sub>
|C<sub>3</sub>
|F<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|G<sub>4</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
|align="left"|'''Bass'''
|style="background: #DFDFDF;" |A<sub>1</sub>{{efn|name=fn2|The baroque bass viol has either six or seven strings.}}
|D<sub>2</sub>
|G<sub>2</sub>
|C<sub>3</sub>
|E<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|D<sub>4</sub>
|(4th{{efn|name=fn2}}), 4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th
|-
|align="left"|'''Violone in A'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|A<sub>1</sub>
|D<sub>2</sub>
|G<sub>2</sub>
|B<sub>2</sub>
|E<sub>3</sub>
|A<sub>3</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
| align="left" |'''Violone in G'''
|style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|G<sub>1</sub>
|C<sub>2</sub>
|F<sub>2</sub>
|A<sub>2</sub>
|D<sub>3</sub>
|G<sub>3</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|-
| align="left" |'''Violone in D'''
| style="background: #BFBFBF;" |
|D<sub>1</sub>
|G<sub>1</sub>
|C<sub>2</sub>
|E<sub>2</sub>
|A<sub>2</sub>
|D<sub>3</sub>
|4th, 4th, Maj3rd, 4th, 4th 
|}

Alternative tunings (called ''[[wiktionary:scordatura|scordatura]]'') were often employed, particularly in the solo [[lyra viol]] style of playing, which also made use of many techniques such as [[chord (music)|chords]] and ''[[pizzicato]]'', not generally used in consort playing. An unusual style of pizzicato was known as a thump. Lyra viol music was also commonly written in [[tablature]]. There is a vast repertoire of this music, some by well-known composers and much by anonymous ones.

Much viol music predates the adoption of [[equal temperament]] tuning by musicians. The movable nature of the tied-on frets permits the viol player to make adjustments to the tempering of the instrument, and some players and consorts adopt [[meantone temperament]]s, which are more suited to Renaissance music. Several fretting schemes involve frets that are spaced unevenly to produce better-sounding chords in a limited number of "[[key (music)|keys]]". In some of these schemes, the two strands of the gut that form the fret are separated so that the player can finger a slightly sharper or flatter version of a note (for example G{{music|sharp}} versus A{{music|flat}}) to suit different circumstances.