Otherwise you are very likely to overturn the peg, creating too much tension. The first time you pick up a violin you should quite simply NEVER turn the peg away from you without releasing it towards you first. otherwise the string might snap!Īlso, do NOT try and turn the peg away from you without first releasing it towards you!Īlthough it can sometimes work to turn the peg away from you straight away, this should only be done if:ī) you've already tuned the violin you're working with by turning the pegs (so that you can feel how the string responds)
WARNING! Whatever you do, don’t turn the pegs too quickly or too far. If your violin is very out of tune, or if you've just changed a string and need to make a big adjustment to the string tension, then start by using the pegs. a higher (or 'sharper') sounding pitch when the string is plucked or bowed.more vibrations of the string, which causes.increases the tension on the string, which causes.The bottom end of each string is pulled further towards the violinist (and away from the pegs). They work by bringing the metal attachments closer together when screwed. The fine tuners are four small metal screws which are mounted near the top of the tailpiece of the instrument. Beware of tuners and apps that aren’t very accurate though, and don’t just follow the traffic light system - look at the dial to see how far you are away from your target pitch. Nowadays, a visual reference can usually take the form of a pitch app such as InsTuner on iOS, or Cleartune on Android. This will give you confidence and certainty about being 'in tune'. This will happen over time.īut whilst your pitch awareness is developing, it’s a good idea to use a visual reference as well as an aural reference.
If you’re a beginner or if you don’t have much experience with music, your listening might not be ‘attuned’ to the subtle differences in pitch. But it's still easier to hear the pitch if you play the strings using the bow! Once you have plenty of experience, it is possible to tune a violin by plucking the strings. So try not to 'pick' at the strings with the bow… instead, play long, resonant strokes and use the whole bow. SIDE NOTE: When tuning the violin, it's really important that you allow the string to vibrate clearly, otherwise you might not hear the pitch accurately.
It's also why violinists will often start by tuning the A string, before they tune the other strings of the violin. This is why you will usually hear a symphony orchestra tuning to an 'A' played by the lead oboe player. This is because the 'international standard' has led to musicians all over the world tuning the A first, to be sure that it fits the fixed standard of 440Hz. So it's a good idea to have a sound that you can 'refer' to. To tune a violin accurately, you need to be sure that you're aiming for the correct right pitch in the first place. The A string, as we've already discussed, is tuned to 440Hz: A (440 Hertz)Īnd the E string is tuned to 659Hz: E (659 Hertz)īefore we get into the physical 'how-to' of tuning the violin, let's get clear on what we actually want to achieve. The D string is tuned to the frequency of 293 Hertz: D (293 Hertz)
The G string is tuned to the frequency of 196 Hertz: G (196 Hertz) if you want to know more about this, look up 'perfect fifth' and 'A440' on Wikipedia, or consult the ViolinSchool Glossary! a 'perfect fifth' actually describes two notes which have a ratio of 3:2 between their frequencies. SIDE NOTE: Tuning is actually a bit more complicated than that. This basically means that each string is five notes of the scale away from the next one. Each violin string is different to the next by an interval of a perfect fifth. so we're going to stick with the A = 440Hz standard for now!įrom A, we can work out the frequency of all the other strings. Since then, the tuning of each string has been measured on the assumption that the frequency of A is 'fixed' at 440 sine waves per second.Īlthough there's a big debate amongst some musicians about whether this is correct (at our London School for example, we generally use A = 441Hz), we're going to assume that you just want to get your violin in tune as fast as possible. This frequency was decided on by the International Standards Organisation in the 1970s. This is the sound produced by 440 sine waves per second. The exact frequency can vary a bit depending on what style of music you're playing, or where you are in the world!īut the most commonly accepted tuning for the note A is 440Hz (Hertz). Each of these 'note names' describes a frequency of sound.