Violin Tuner
A free violin tuner: bow or pluck an open string and the needle shows whether to tune it up or down, with a reference tone for each string.
Your microphone is analysed on this device and is never recorded or sent.
Keyboard: Space starts and stops the tuner.
How to use the violin tuner
This violin tuner online reads an open string while you bow it. Press Start tuner, allow the microphone, and draw a long, even bow on one string; plucking also works but fades faster. Your microphone is analysed on this device and is never recorded or sent.
The violin tuner recognizes G, D, A or E by itself (Auto) and swings the needle toward flat or sharp. The four string buttons play a steady sustained tone rather than a pluck, so you can hold the pitch in your ear while you turn the peg, and they fix the tuner on that string. There is no tuning menu, because the page is set for standard G D A E. Keys: 1 is the E string, 4 the G, A goes back to Auto, Space starts and stops. The needle and cents are explained on the chromatic tuner page.
Violin strings: G D A E
Violin strings are numbered from the highest: string 1 is E, string 4 is G. Each is a perfect fifth above the one below it. The last column shows where each open string is written in the treble clef.
| String | Note | Frequency at A4 = 440 Hz | Written on the treble staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | G3 | 196.00 Hz | Under the second ledger line below |
| 3 | D4 | 293.66 Hz | Space just below the staff |
| 2 | A4 | 440.00 Hz | Second space |
| 1 | E5 | 659.26 Hz | Top space |
To learn every note up the fingerboard, see the violin notes chart.
Pegs, fine tuners and the order to tune
Tune the A string first, to the standard pitch (usually A = 440 Hz), then D, G and E against it. A violin is tuned two ways. The pegs in the pegbox under the scroll are tapered and held only by the friction of wood on wood, so press the peg gently into its hole as you turn and it will stay put. Turn slowly: a small turn moves the pitch a lot.
The fine tuners are the small screws on the tailpiece. Modern E strings are steel, so the E string almost always has one. Use them for the last few cents, and the pegs only when a string is well off.
Using it as a fiddle tuner
Fiddle is simply the everyday name for the violin, used by players in every style, so this works as a fiddle tuner with the same G D A E. Folk fiddlers often use steel strings for a brighter tone, and some set up a flatter bridge; neither changes the notes.
Fiddlers also retune for some tunes, which is called cross tuning (in classical music, scordatura: Saint-Saëns tunes the E string down to Eb in Danse Macabre). Those notes are not on the string buttons, so use the chromatic tuner for them: it names any note you bow. Return to G D A E before the next tune and check all four.
Check the fifths by ear
Once the needle is centered on each string, bow A and D together, then D and G, then A and E, and listen for a still sound. It is the best way to learn what an in-tune fifth feels like under the bow. Tuning purely by ear from A leaves the G a few cents lower than the needle's G; why that happens is on the chromatic tuner page. Orchestra at 442? Set the A4 box. After tuning, work on intervals with ear training and keep time with the metronome. The viola tuner and cello tuner share the A4 setting.
More for violin: Violin Notes · Treble Clef Notes
Questions
What are the notes of the violin strings?
G3 D4 A4 E5, lowest first. String 1 is the E and string 4 is the G.
Which violin string should I tune first?
The A string. It matches the A4 reference (440 Hz unless your group uses another pitch); then tune D, G and E to it.
Should I use the pegs or the fine tuners?
Fine tuners for small changes, pegs only when a string is far off. The pegs hold by friction, so push the peg in gently as you turn it.
Is a fiddle tuner different from a violin tuner?
No. A fiddle is a violin and standard fiddle tuning is the same G D A E. For cross tunings, use the chromatic tuner.