Violin Tuner
Tune a violin to standard G3 D4 A4 E5, with reference tones and microphone tuning.
Violin tuner
Press start, then play a note.
- Heard
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- Target
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- Cents
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A4 = 440 Hz is the international standard and the right default. Some ensembles tune slightly differently by convention; no reference pitch is acoustically superior.
Tap a string to hear it and tune that string, or leave Auto-detect on and the tuner picks the nearest string to what it hears. The arrow on a peg shows which way the drawn post winds its string; the key on your own instrument may turn the other way — tighten raises the pitch, loosen lowers it.
The microphone is used only while you are tuning. Nothing is recorded and no audio leaves your device. Reference tones are synthesised in your browser and pause while the microphone is listening, so the tuner never measures its own sound.
Small adjustments, and the A string first. Use the fine tuners on the tailpiece where your violin has them; the pegs move a long way for very little turn. Tune A to the reference, then the others to it. Bow steadily and evenly — a scratchy or uneven stroke gives the tuner a signal it cannot read, and it will say so rather than guess.
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Microphone not working? Check it with the microphone test. Hearing nothing from the reference tones? Try the sound test.
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Tuned in fifths, and why that matters
A violin's four strings are each a perfect fifth apart - seven semitones - which is a wider interval than a guitar's fourths. It means a small error compounds: if your A is two cents sharp and you tune D to it by ear, then G to that, the G ends up noticeably out. Tune the A string to the reference first, and tune every other string against the reference too rather than in a chain.
Fine tuners first
Most violins have at least one fine tuner on the tailpiece, and student instruments usually have four. Use them. Pegs are a friction fit and move a long way for a very small turn - they are for large corrections and for a string that has slipped entirely, not for the last few cents.
If a peg slips constantly or squeaks and jumps, it needs peg compound and possibly fitting, not force. That is a job for a luthier and it is not expensive.
Bowing for a clean reading
Bow steadily, in the middle of the bow, with even pressure. A bowed string is far richer in harmonics than a plucked one, and a scratchy or uneven stroke gives the detector a signal that changes several times a second. The tuner will say the signal is unstable rather than guess - if you see that, it is usually the bow rather than the string.
Fifths and open strings
Once the tuner has you close, check by bowing two adjacent strings together. A true fifth sounds smooth and settled; if you hear a pulsing beat, one of them is out. Many players finish this way, using the tuner to get near and their ears for the last part.
Viola, cello and double bass
Not yet, but the tuner is built so they can be added without a second pitch engine - they are the same instrument family a fifth or an octave away.
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Quick answer
Press start and bow a string steadily. Tune the A string first, then the others to it. Use the fine tuners on the tailpiece where your violin has them - the pegs move a long way for very little turn.
Key facts
- Standard G3 D4 A4 E5, tuned in perfect fifths
- A4 is the orchestral reference at 440 Hz
- Reference tone for every string
- Bowed strings are harmonically rich, so steady bowing reads best
- Fine tuners are safer than pegs for small corrections