If you have a clip-on tuner, you can clip the tuner onto the bridge or a peg on the opposite side of the instrument from the peg you are currently turning and it will use the vibrations from the instrument to tell you what note is being played. Place your tuner where you can see it while you pluck your strings. Take it slow, get close to the target note, and then use the fine tuners to get from close to in tune to all the way in tune.īelow is a video that walks you through tuning with the pegs on a violin or viola and/or follow the “step-by-step” directions underneath: If you are nervous about peg tuning, it is okay. Even seasoned musicians will break a string from time to time while peg tuning.Īlways loosen the string and approach the note from lower than the target note and plucking constantly as you go. It is really easy to break a string when tuning with the pegs. ![]() Pegs on the violin, viola, and cello have to be pushed in as they are turned so that they stick and hold their pitch. Then follow the set of tuning instructions for making bigger adjustments with the pegs.īut what if you know your instrument is WAY out of tune? At this point, you will need to use the pegs to help tune the instrument.īefore we begin, please keep the following in mind: Turn the fine tuner counter-clockwise, lefty-loosey, until it just barely is no longer in contact with the little lever that is holding the string. Note: If you notice you run out of space to tighten or loosen your fine tuner and you are still out of tune, you will have to tune the string with the peg. Once the string you are working on is in tune, move on to the next string and repeat this process.Īfter you go through all four strings, we recommend checking each string one more time as some strings might change their pitch a little bit while you are making adjustments to the other strings. If your string is too high, you are going to turn the fine tuner attached to the string counter-clockwise, lefty-loosey, plucking repeatedly as you do so until the indicator says you are in tune. If your string is too low, you are going to turn the fine tuner attached to that string clockwise, righty-tighty, plucking repeatedly as you do so until the indicator says you are in tune. If the indicator lines up with the note name, and that note is the correct note for the string you are tuning, and/or lights up green, congratulations, you are in tune! Likewise, if the indicator is to the right of the note, that means you need to make the string lower in pitch. If the indicator is to the left of the note, that means you need to make the string higher in pitch. The tuner will tell you the note that it hears being played and an indicator will tell you how close you are to being in tune with that note. Pluck the string, letting the note ring, and watch the tuner. This is a G if you are playing the violin or a C if you are playing a viola or cello. If you are following along with our video, we start with the lowest string, which is on the left. Start from either the highest string or the lowest string. This is the standard tuning pitch for most orchestras in the USA. If your tuner has a button to change how many hertz a tuning A is set at, you will want to make sure your tuner says 440 Hz. ![]() If you have a clip-on tuner, you can clip the tuner onto the bridge or any peg and it will use the vibrations from the instrument to tell you what note is being played. įind a solid surface to sit where you can securely hold your instrument. If you are looking directly at the front of your instrument, the thickest, and lowest sounding string, will be on the left and each string should be thinner and higher in pitch as you move from left to right. The next thing you need to know is what pitch each of the strings should be. ![]() Any of these should work as long as they will tell you what note you are currently playing on your instrument. Look for words like “violin tuner”, “chromatic tuner”, or even “guitar tuner”. You can purchase one online or download a tuner onto a phone or tablet. To start, we recommend getting an electric tuner. If there is a drastic change in temperature or humidity, or if the peg is bumped roughly, the peg may slip and make your instrument go WAY out of tune. The pegs of the violin, viola, and cello are also held in place by friction and tension. Instruments made of wood and metal respond to changes in temperature and humidity and these small changes can alter the sound, or pitch, of each string. If you or your student has an instrument that doesn’t quite sound right, there’s a good chance it may be out of tune.
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