Mandolin Tuner
A free mandolin tuner for all eight strings: tune each pair to G, D, A or E and hear a reference tone for every course.
Your microphone is analysed on this device and is never recorded or sent.
Keyboard: Space starts and stops the tuner.
How to use the mandolin tuner
This mandolin tuner online reads one string of a pair at a time. Press Start tuner, allow the microphone, and pluck just one string of a course: two strings a few cents apart make the needle waver. Your microphone is analysed on this device and is never recorded or sent.
In Auto the mandolin tuner picks the course, G, D, A or E, and the needle shows which way to turn the tuning machine. Each of the four buttons is a course: tap it to hear a plucked tone at that pitch and to lock the tuner there. Keys: 1 is the E pair, 4 the G pair, A goes back to Auto and Space starts or stops. There is one tuning, standard G D A E, so there is no tuning menu. The needle is explained on the chromatic tuner page.
Mandolin tuning: G D A E in pairs
A mandolin has four courses of two strings tuned in unison, eight strings in all, a fifth apart like a violin. The pair nearest the floor is course 1, E; the lowest is course 4, G.
| Course | Note | Frequency at A4 = 440 Hz | Strings in the course |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | G3 | 196.00 Hz | Two G strings, the thickest pair |
| 3 | D4 | 293.66 Hz | Two D strings |
| 2 | A4 | 440.00 Hz | Two A strings at the reference pitch |
| 1 | E5 | 659.26 Hz | Two E strings, the thinnest pair |
Because it shares the violin's notes, a mandolin and a fiddle can tune to each other string for string.
Tune each string of a pair
Work one course at a time, starting with course 4 (G):
- Rest a fingertip lightly on one string of the pair so it cannot ring.
- Pluck the other string and tune it until the needle is centered and the display says In tune.
- Swap: mute the string you just tuned and tune its partner.
- Pluck both together. If they match, the note sounds like one clear string. If you hear a slow wobble (beating), turn the second string slightly until it stops.
Then move to D, A and E. Go across all eight strings once more at the end: changing one pair pulls on the others a little. Even a few cents between the two strings of a course gives the note a wavering, chorus-like sound, so the pair matters more than the exact center.
Tuning machines and the floating bridge
Modern mandolins use geared metal tuning machines, which make fine changes easy; very old instruments may still have wooden pegs. The bridge is a movable piece of hardwood that is not glued: only the downward pressure of the strings holds it on the top. So if you take all eight strings off at once, the bridge can shift, and a bridge in the wrong place puts the fretted notes out of tune even when the open strings are perfect. Change strings a pair at a time and the bridge stays where it is.
Mandola, octave mandolin and after tuning
The mandola is tuned a fifth below the mandolin, C3 G3 D4 A4: the same notes as a viola, so the viola tuner covers it. The octave mandolin is an octave below the mandolin, G2 D3 A3 E4; use the chromatic tuner for it.
Check with a chord or two from the mandolin chord chart, and practice tremolo and picking in time with the metronome. Playing with a fiddler? The violin tuner uses the same notes and the same A4 setting.
More for mandolin: Mandolin Chords · Fretboard Notes
Questions
What are the notes of a mandolin?
G3 D4 A4 E5, from the lowest course to the highest. Each note has two strings tuned in unison.
Is a mandolin tuned like a violin?
Yes. Standard mandolin tuning is G D A E, the same notes as the violin, with two strings per note.
Why does the needle waver on my mandolin?
You are probably plucking both strings of a pair, and they are slightly apart. Mute one string with a fingertip, tune each on its own, then check the pair together.
Can this tune a mandola?
Yes, with the viola tuner, since a mandola is tuned C G D A like a viola. The octave mandolin (G D A E an octave lower) works on the chromatic tuner.