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Songs on the violin

Every song in the catalogue, nearly all of them exactly as written. Four strings and a fingerboard with no frets on it turn out to be the most accommodating surface here.

What this instrument has got

34 notes, G3 to E6 - a reach of 33 semitones, built from 12 pitch letters: G G# A A# B C C# D D# E F F#. Everything below follows from that row.

  1. G3
  2. G#3
  3. A3
  4. A#3
  5. B3
  6. C4
  7. C#4
  8. D4
  9. D#4
  10. E4
  11. F4
  12. F#4
  13. G4
  14. G#4
  15. A4
  16. A#4
  17. B4
  18. C5
  19. C#5
  20. D5
  21. D#5
  22. E5
  23. F5
  24. F#5
  25. G5
  26. G#5
  27. A5
  28. A#5
  29. B5
  30. C6
  31. C#6
  32. D6
  33. D#6
  34. E6

Why 100, and not 100

The four strings are tuned in fifths - G, D, A, E - and each is followed a full twelve semitones up the neck, so between them they cover every note from G below middle C to E two octaves above it without a gap.

Chromatic and three octaves wide is enough for any melody in the catalogue. The violin’s difficulty was never reach; it is that every one of those notes has to be found by ear, on a string with nothing marking where the note is.

Where the tunes sit

Of the 100 it plays, 99 are taught at written pitch , 1 move a whole octave - same note names, different register .

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Easy 47

Medium 27

Hard 26

The same catalogue, other instruments

One song list, nine instruments, and every one of them meets it differently.