Free · Microphone, tones or fifths

Violin Tuner

Tune your violin online with the microphone or by ear. This free violin tuner hears which string you're playing and shows how far it is from G, D, A or E, to the cent. It also plays each string's note as a held, bowed tone. Two strings can sound together as a perfect fifth, the way violinists tune in an orchestra. Set A to 440 or 442 Hz to match your group, and switch to cross-tunings for fiddle.

  • 3tunings
  • 415–466Hz reference A
  • ±1cent precision
Start tuning

Tune Your Violin Online

Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone. Bow or pluck one open string and hold it. Use the peg for big changes and the fine tuner for the last few cents, until the string shows a tick.

Reference pitch
A4 = 440 Hz
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Tap Start tuner, allow the microphone, then play one string.

 

Tune in fifths Two strings together, held, so you can hear the beats slow down and stop.

Violin Notes in First Position

The notes under your fingers in first position on every string. When the tuner hears a note, it lights up here, so you can check a fingered note as well as an open string.

Violin first-position notes, E string at the top. Columns are fingers: 0 = open, ↓ = low finger, ↑ = high finger (Standard)
01↓12↓233↑4
E5 E5F5F#5G5G#5A5A#5B5
A4 A4A#4B4C5C#5D5D#5E5
D4 D4D#4E4F4F#4G4G#4A4
G3 G3G#3A3A#3B3C4C#4D4

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Violin Tuning: G D A E

Seen from the player's side, the G string, the lowest and thickest, is on the left. Then come D and A, and the thin E string on the right. Each string is a perfect fifth above the one before it. That's why violinists tune by playing two neighbouring strings together and listening.

Standard: G D A E

Four strings a perfect fifth apart, from the low G to the high E. Every method book, orchestra and school uses it.

4th string
G3 · 196.00 Hz
3rd string
D4 · 293.66 Hz
2nd string
A4 · 440.00 Hz
1st string
E5 · 659.26 Hz

Other tunings in the tuner

  • Cross-A (A E A E) (A3 E4 A4 E5) An old-time fiddle tuning. The G string comes up to A and the D string up to E, so open strings ring under tunes in A.
  • Cross-G (G D G D) (G3 D4 G4 D5) The fiddle's cross-tuning for G. The A string drops to G and the E string drops to D, giving open drones under tunes in G.

How to Tune a Violin with This Tuner

Tune the A string first, the way an orchestra does. Then tune D, G and E against the tuner, or against the A in fifths.

  1. Set the reference A

    Leave it at A = 440 Hz unless your orchestra or teacher tunes to 442 (common in Europe). Tap + twice to set 442.

  2. Start the tuner

    Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone. A phone on the music stand is close enough. A steady bow stroke gives the steadiest reading. Pizzicato works too.

  3. Tune the A string

    Bow the open A and hold it. If the needle leans left (Tune up), turn the fine tuner clockwise. If it leans right, turn it anticlockwise. If the string is far off, use the peg: turn it a little while pushing it into the pegbox so it holds.

  4. Then D, G and E

    Tune each string the same way. Each one gets a tick after it has stayed in the green for a moment. The E string is thin and moves a lot for a small turn, so use its fine tuner.

  5. Check the A again

    Raising the tension on three strings pulls the bridge and top slightly, so the first string you tuned often drifts. Play all four once more. Then look at the bridge: it should stand straight, not lean towards the fingerboard.

How to Tune a Violin by Ear, in Fifths

Violinists have always tuned by ear: one A from the oboe or piano, then fifths. Use the tones and the fifth drones in the tuner to practise it.

  1. Match the A

    Tap the A string above to hear a held A. Bow your open A with it and turn the fine tuner until the slow wobble (beating) between the two sounds disappears.

  2. Tune D against A

    Play A + D in the fifths row, or bow the open D and A strings together. When the fifth is out of tune it wobbles or sounds rough. Turn the D until the two strings ring as one smooth, pure sound.

  3. Tune G against D

    Bow the D and G together and adjust the G the same way. Low strings beat slowly, so give each adjustment a moment.

  4. Tune E against A

    Bow the A and E together and bring the E into a pure fifth with the A. Small turns: the E string is the most sensitive.

  5. Know the 2-cent difference

    A pure fifth is about 2 cents wider than a piano's fifth. Tuned perfectly by ear from A, your G ends up about 4 cents below the tuner's G, and your E about 2 cents above. Both are correct. Many players narrow the fifths slightly when they play with piano.

What This Violin Tuner Does

Built around how violinists actually tune: A first, fine tuners for the last cents, and fifths by ear.

Fifth drones for tuning by ear

Play G + D, D + A or A + E together as a held, bowed sound. Bow your own two strings along with it and listen for the beating to stop. It's the skill your teacher wants you to learn, with a steady model to copy.

Start tuning

  • Hears which string you bow

    Auto string detection follows you from string to string. Turn it off and tap a string to lock the tuner to it when a string is far out.

  • Reference A from 415 to 466 Hz

    440 Hz by default, 442 for many orchestras, 415 for baroque pitch. The tuner remembers your setting for next time.

  • Cents and hertz, not just a needle

    The readout shows the exact cents and both frequencies, which helps when you're adjusting a fine tuner a fraction of a turn.

  • Bowed reference tones

    Each string's note is a sustained bowed tone, not a beep. It's easy to match by ear, and it keeps sounding until you stop it.

  • Fiddle cross-tunings

    A E A E and G D G D are built in, with their own string tones and fingerboard map.

  • First-position fingerboard map

    Every note from open to 4th finger on each string, with low and high fingers marked. The note you play lights up.

Pegs, Fine Tuners and Other Snags

The peg slips back

Push the peg gently into the pegbox as you turn it. The taper is what holds it. If it still slips, a little peg compound (or chalk on a slipping peg, soap on a sticking one) fixes most cases. A peg that won't hold at all is a job for a violin shop.

The fine tuner won't turn any further

The fine tuner has run out of thread. Unscrew it back to the middle of its range, then bring the string up to pitch with the peg, and finish with the fine tuner.

The bridge is leaning

Tuning up drags the top of the bridge towards the fingerboard. After a big retune, hold the violin on your knee and ease the top of the bridge back with both thumbs until it stands at a right angle to the top. A leaning bridge can warp or fall.

The reading flickers

Bow with steady speed and light pressure on the open string. Avoid the very end of the bow, and don't let a neighbouring string ring. If the room is noisy, pluck near the end of the fingerboard and read the note as it rings.

The string keeps going flat

New strings, synthetic and gut especially, stretch for several days. Expect to retune before every practice that week. Humidity and temperature changes move the pitch too, which is why violinists tune every time they play.

Free, in Your Browser

  • Nothing to install Runs in Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox on a phone, tablet or computer. No app, no plugin.
  • Sound stays on your device The microphone is analysed in your browser. No audio is recorded, uploaded or stored.
  • No account No sign-up and no limits. Open the page and tune.
  • Works without a mic The string tones and fifth drones let you tune entirely by ear.

Violin Tuning Questions

What are the notes of the violin strings?

G, D, A and E, from the lowest string to the highest: G3 (196 Hz), D4 (293.66 Hz), A4 (440 Hz) and E5 (659.26 Hz). Each string is a perfect fifth above the one before.

Which string should I tune first?

The A string. It's the string an orchestra tunes to, and the other three are tuned from it in fifths. With this tuner you can tune in any order, but finishing with a second check of A catches the drift that tuning the others causes.

Should I use the pegs or the fine tuners?

Fine tuners for the last few cents, pegs for anything more than about a quarter of a semitone. Turn a fine tuner clockwise to raise the pitch. If a fine tuner runs out of thread, reset it to the middle and use the peg.

Should I tune to 440 or 442 Hz?

440 Hz is the standard reference and the right choice for practice, school and most groups in the Americas. Many European orchestras tune to 442 Hz, and baroque ensembles often use 415 Hz. Use whatever your group or teacher tunes to.

Can I tune a viola with this tuner?

A viola shares three strings with the violin (G, D, A) but adds a low C instead of the E. Use the online tuner's viola preset, which listens for C G D A.

What are violin strings made of?

Most modern strings have a synthetic core (nylon or composite) wound with metal. Steel-core strings are bright and stable, and popular with fiddlers and beginners. Gut core is the traditional, warmer option. The E string is almost always plain or plated steel. The core matters for tuning: synthetic and gut strings stretch more when new.

How often should I tune my violin?

Every time you play. Strings, wood and pegs all react to temperature and humidity, so a violin that was in tune yesterday is rarely in tune today. A quick check takes under a minute.

Is it better to bow or pluck when using a tuner?

A steady bow stroke gives the most stable reading, because the pitch doesn't change as it would during a decaying pluck. Plucking (pizzicato) works well too: read the note just after the attack, while the string rings.

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