Violin tuner

Standard violin tuning, from the 4th string to the 1st: G D A E. Frequencies are for A4 = 440 Hz.

Violinists tune the A string first. It is the note an orchestra tunes to, and the other strings are tuned from it: D, then G, then E. Bow each open string with a long, even stroke of medium weight; a steady bowed tone gives the tuner a clean reading. Plucking works too if you are not yet comfortable with the bow.

Make small moves. Violin strings are short and under high tension, so a tiny turn changes the pitch a lot, and the thin steel E string is the easiest one to snap by overtightening.

Watch the bridge while you tune. Tightening strings pulls the top of the bridge toward the fingerboard; if it starts to lean, straighten it gently so it stands at a right angle to the top of the violin. A bridge left leaning can warp or fall over.

The pegs sit in the pegbox below the scroll and hold by friction. Use them when a string is well off pitch or has just been changed: turn a little while pushing the peg gently into the pegbox, so it grips as you let go. A peg that slips or sticks needs peg compound, or a visit to a violin shop.

Fine tuners are the small screws on the tailpiece. Each turn moves the pitch only slightly, which makes them the tool for the last few cents. When a fine tuner is screwed nearly all the way in, back it out to the middle and make up the difference with the peg; screwed in too far, its lever can press into the top of the violin.

How many fine tuners a violin has depends on its strings and its player. Student violins usually have four, one per string, often built into the tailpiece. Many advanced players keep only the one on the E string: the steel E is too sensitive to set with the peg alone, while synthetic and gut strings on G, D and A are easy to set with the pegs, and each fine tuner removed makes the tailpiece lighter.

The tuner starts at A4 = 440 Hz, the common standard. Many orchestras tune a little higher, often to 442 Hz, and baroque ensembles often play at A = 415. If your teacher, orchestra or accompanist uses another A, set it in the settings; every string target moves with it, and the choice is kept for all tuners on this site.

If you tune by ear, you tune in fifths: play two neighboring strings together and turn until the sound is smooth, with no wobble. A pure fifth is about 2 cents wider than the tuner's equal-tempered one, so a violin tuned by ear from the A shows the G about 4 cents flat and the E about 2 cents sharp, still inside the green zone.

An electric violin has no hollow body, so unplugged it is very quiet. Hold the phone right next to the bridge, or plug the violin into an amp and put the phone near the speaker.

Every size of violin, from the smallest fractional sizes to a full-size 4/4, is tuned to the same four notes at the same pitch. Smaller violins have shorter strings, and fine tuners on all four make their small adjustments easier for young players.