Breaking a string... cross tuning / scordatura

Back from summer recess...
Yesterday I broke a string while teaching:
Was it the string?  I had not changed it for a while.  Or was it my action?  Maybe it was a combination.  I wanted to show my student the fun experience of cross tuning (scordatura).  And I tuned my G-string up, I guess, a little too fast.

We discussed a fun tune by Byron Berline.  "Memories of Scotland".  My student looked at the sheet music we have for this tune and she wondered how to play it...It looked impossible, playing an A note on the G-string and a C# on the D-string.  I showed her the indication to tune the instrument to an A-chord: (AEAC#). It would make all possible.

The string broke and I aborted the attempt to show her.  So far I never broke a string when changing the tuning of the instrument.  However I always have taken time and care in doing so.  I have performed H.F. Biber sonatas (12 mystery sonatas) for violin and harpsichord and found some very interesting tunings:
Ab, Eb, G, D and CFAC among others.  It takes some careful consideration...and I guess at times considering putting another D string on, versus the G string...

Cross-tuning or Scordatura, retunes the strings to chords that cause the violin to differently resonate or sing.  It is a fun and rich experience.  The student asked about cross tuning as she was asked to cross tune her instrument in an Old Time jam session recently.  The tuning GDGD certainly is a fun and safe way to go, since it lowers the two top strings one step and thus relaxes the strings.  No concern for breaking a string, though the strings do like to creep back up to their original tuning.  Keeping that in mind, I would certainly recommend playing cross tuning.  It opens up new experiences and horizons!