How to Tune a Violin: Online Violin Tuner Guide
To tune a violin with an online violin tuner, open the Guitar Tuner, click Violin, press Start tuner, and play one open string at a time until the note turns green. Tune A first, then D, G and E. Use the fine tuners for small changes and the pegs for big ones. Once the strings are close, a full pass takes a minute or two.
Guitar is the tool's default, but the Violin button turns it into an online tuner for violin. The routine matches How to Tune a Guitar With an Online Tuner. What a violin adds is friction pegs that can slip and a bridge held up only by string pressure, and most of the care below is about those.
What you'll need
- A violin (or fiddle) and, ideally, its bow. Plucking works too.
- A phone, tablet, or laptop with a microphone.
- A quiet room.
It's a free violin tuner online: there's no app to install and no account to make. Your browser asks for microphone permission the first time you press Start. The pitch is worked out live in the browser, so your audio never leaves your device, and nothing is recorded.
Violin tuning: G, D, A, E in fifths
A violin's four strings are tuned G, D, A, E, from the lowest and thickest to the highest and thinnest. Each string is a perfect fifth above the one before it, which is seven semitones. Hold the violin in playing position and look down the strings toward the scroll: G is on your left, E on your right.
| String | Note | Frequency (A4 = 440 Hz) |
|---|---|---|
| 4th (thickest, lowest) | G3 | 196.00 Hz |
| 3rd | D4 | 293.66 Hz |
| 2nd | A4 | 440.00 Hz |
| 1st (thinnest, highest) | E5 | 659.26 Hz |
The number after each letter is the octave. In Violin mode the string buttons show these notes with frequencies to one decimal place: 196.0, 293.7, 440.0 and 659.3.
Not sure which peg belongs to which string? Follow the string from the nut up into the pegbox before you turn anything.
Pegs and fine tuners: which to turn
A violin has two kinds of tuning control, and they do different jobs.
Pegs sit in the pegbox at the top of the neck. They hold by friction, with no gears, so a small turn makes a big change in pitch. Use them when a string is well out, after fitting a new string, or when a fine tuner has run out of travel. Turn slowly, and push the peg gently into its hole as you turn so it grips when you let go. Firm pressure is enough; forcing it can split the pegbox.
Fine tuners are the small screws on the tailpiece, below the bridge. Each turn makes only a small change, which is what you want for the last few cents. Turning the screw clockwise raises the pitch and anticlockwise lowers it.
Many student violins have a fine tuner on all four strings. Many others have one only on the E, because a thin steel E is hard to set precisely with a peg. Strings without one are tuned with the peg alone, in very small movements.
A fine tuner has limited range. When one is screwed nearly all the way in, back it off to around the middle, then bring the string up to pitch with the peg. A fine tuner screwed fully down can press its lever against the top of the violin.
Using a violin tuner online, step by step
- Click "Violin". Guitar is selected by default, and in that mode the tool listens for guitar strings. Violin mode knows only G3, D4, A4 and E5.
- Check "A4 =". It's 440 Hz by default, and the field accepts 415 to 466. Leave it unless your group tunes to a different A (see below).
- Press the amber "Start tuner" button and allow the microphone. The hint reads "Listening… pluck a single string and let it ring".
- Play the open A string on its own. A long, steady bow stroke gives the tuner a sustained note to read. Plucking works too, as long as you let the string ring. The readout shows the note name with a line under it such as "438.6 Hz · -6 cents".
- Follow the hint. "Too low — tune up" means raise the pitch. "Too high — tune down" means lower it. If the string is more than 50 cents out, the hint says "Far too low — tighten the string" or "Far too high — loosen the string" instead. Make the change with the fine tuner if the string has one, then play again.
- Stop when it goes green. The note and needle turn green and the hint reads "In tune" once you're within 5 cents. The A4 button in the row labelled "Strings — tap to hear the reference note" lights up as well.
- Tune D, then G, then E the same way.
- Go round a second time. Changing one string's tension moves the bridge and body slightly, which nudges the others. The second pass is usually tiny corrections.
- Press "Stop tuner" to release the microphone.
A comes first by convention: orchestras tune to an A, so the other strings are set against a string that's already right.
The meter runs from ♭ −50 to +50 ♯ cents. A cent is a hundredth of a semitone (see Semitones and Cents: A Pitch Changer Guide). Left of centre is flat, right is sharp, and anything inside the green band is in tune.
How to tune a violin without snapping a string
Strings break when they're pushed past their note, or a peg is wound too far, too fast. A few habits prevent most of it.
Know which note you're aiming for. The E string is the thinnest and most fragile, and it's the one that usually goes. Tightening the A peg while bowing the E is a classic way to lose it. Tap the string's button in the Strings row to hear its target note for about three seconds (tap again to stop). This works without the microphone, and it tells you whether you're in the right octave.
Turn in small amounts. A quarter of a turn on a peg is a big jump. Turn a little, play, check, repeat.
Tune up to the note. If a string is sharp, lower it slightly below the note, then bring it back up. A peg that's been tightened into position grips better than one that was loosened into place.
Watch for readings on the wrong string. In Violin mode the tuner always shows the nearest violin string. The strings are seven semitones apart, so a string more than about three and a half semitones off its note can be read as its neighbour. A slack E might be read as A4 and look sharp. An A tightened far too high might be read as E5 and look flat, and the hint would tell you to tighten it further. If a reading doesn't make sense, or the string is brand new, click Chromatic, which shows the actual note. Get to the right letter there, then switch back to Violin.
Keep the bridge upright. As you tighten strings, friction at the bridge pulls its top toward the fingerboard. Check it every so often from the side. The bridge should stand straight, with its feet flat on the top of the violin. A bridge left leaning can warp or fall over. If yours is tilting, ask a teacher or luthier to show you how to straighten it before you tune any further.
Fiddle tuner online: standard and cross tunings
A fiddle is a violin; the word usually means folk, bluegrass, or old-time playing. For standard tuning, a fiddle tuner online works exactly as above: Violin mode, G D A E.
Fiddlers also use cross tunings, or scordatura, where one or more strings are retuned to suit a key:
| Tuning | Notes, low to high | Strings that change |
|---|---|---|
| AEAE | A3, E4, A4, E5 | G up to A, D up to E |
| ADAE | A3, D4, A4, E5 | G up to A |
| GDGD | G3, D4, G4, D5 | A down to G, E down to D |
For these, switch to Chromatic. Violin mode would snap a G string tuned up to A3 back to G3 and tell you it's too high, which is wrong for this tuning. In Chromatic mode the tuner names the nearest semitone, so you tune each string until it reads the note in the table and turns green.
Raising a string a whole tone adds tension, so go gently, and watch the Chromatic reading so you stop at the right note. (In Violin mode, the A4 and E5 reference buttons give those targets an octave up.) Expect retuned strings to drift for a while as they settle.
Check it by ear in fifths
Tuning by ear is a useful cross-check. Once A is set, bow the A and D strings together. A pure fifth sounds smooth and steady; a slightly wrong one has a slow wobble, called beating, that slows as you get closer. Adjust D until it stops, then pair D with G, and A with E.
A pure fifth is about two cents wider than the equal-tempered fifth a tuner measures, so by-ear D and E land about two cents off centre and G about four. That's still inside the green band.
Orchestra pitch and the A4 setting
Most teachers, recordings and practice apps use A4 = 440 Hz. Many orchestras tune slightly higher, often 442 or 443 Hz, especially in continental Europe. Baroque ensembles playing at historical pitch commonly use A = 415 Hz.
If your group tunes to something other than 440, type it into "A4 =" and every string target moves with it. What Is Concert Pitch? A Pitch Changer Guide covers why 440 became the standard.
Viola and cello: use Chromatic
A viola is tuned C3, G3, D4, A4, and a cello C2, G2, D3, A3. Both are in fifths like the violin, but the tool has no preset for them. Click Chromatic and tune each string to its note. The advice on pegs, fine tuners and the bridge applies to them too.
Troubleshooting
The reading jumps around
The tuner needs one clear note. Play one string at a time and mute the others with your fingers. Bow evenly, or let a plucked note ring. Background noise and a ringing neighbouring string both pull the reading about.
It stays on "Listening…"
The note is too quiet for the tuner to trust. Play a little louder, hold the violin nearer the microphone, and check the browser has permission to use it. If nothing registers at all, see Microphone Not Working? How to Fix It.
The string keeps going flat
New strings stretch, so a fresh set will keep dropping for a few days. Retune each time you play and it settles. With older strings, a slipping peg is the usual cause: retune with the peg, pushing it gently in as you turn. Weather matters too. In dry conditions wooden pegs can shrink and slip, and in damp conditions they can swell and stick. Let a violin that's come in from the cold reach room temperature before tuning it.
The peg won't turn, or jumps
Get the string close with the peg and finish with the fine tuner. If a peg sticks or slips all the time, a violin shop can refit or treat it.
Related
Tuned up? A steady pulse is the next thing to work on, and How to Use a Metronome (Beginner Guide) covers setting one up; the free Metronome runs in the same browser tab. To learn a fast passage from a recording, see How to Slow Down Music to Practice an Instrument. For another four-string instrument, there's How to Tune a Uke With an Online Ukulele Tuner. More walkthroughs live in the audio how-to guides.
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes of a violin's strings?
A violin is tuned G, D, A, E, from the thickest string to the thinnest. With A4 at 440 Hz, the open strings are G3 at 196.00 Hz, D4 at 293.66 Hz, A4 at 440.00 Hz and E5 at 659.26 Hz. Each string is a perfect fifth, or seven semitones, above the one below it. Fiddles use the same standard tuning.
Should I tune a violin with the pegs or the fine tuners?
Use the fine tuners for small adjustments of a few cents, and the pegs for anything bigger, such as a new string or a string that has dropped well out of tune. If a fine tuner is screwed nearly all the way in, back it off to the middle of its range and bring the string up with the peg instead. Strings without a fine tuner are tuned with the peg alone.
Can I use a guitar tuner for a violin?
Yes, if it has a violin mode or a chromatic mode. A tuner fixed to guitar strings will match your notes to the wrong strings. The Vocal Cut Guitar Tuner has a Violin mode set to G3, D4, A4 and E5, and a Chromatic mode that shows whatever note you play. Chromatic is the one to use for fiddle cross tunings, viola and cello.
Why does my violin keep going out of tune?
New strings stretch for the first few days, so they keep going flat until they settle. On older strings, the usual cause is a peg slipping in its hole; push it in gently while you turn it so it grips. Changes in temperature and humidity also move the tuning, because the wooden pegs and body expand and shrink. Retune every time you play.
How do I avoid breaking a violin string while tuning?
Check which note you're aiming for before you tighten anything, and make sure you're turning the peg that belongs to the string you're playing. Turn in small amounts and tune up to the note rather than down. Use a chromatic tuner on a new or very slack string, so the reading names the real note. The thin E string is the most fragile, so take extra care with it.