A scordatura (literally Italian for "mistuning"), also called cross-tuning, is an alternative tuning used for the open strings of a string instrument. In the Western classical music tradition it's an extended technique to allow the playing of otherwise impossible note sequences or note combinations. In folk music traditions, by contrast, cross-tunings are more usually used to give the instrument a different sound by altering the pitch of string resonances and drones. Scordatura in classical musi… (More on Scordatura)