TuneHaven Tuning guides
The exact pitches for every instrument TuneHaven supports, plus the handful of concepts that explain why tuners disagree with each other. Written to be useful whether or not you install anything.
Guitar
- How to tune a guitar Standard tuning is E A D G B E, from the thickest string to the thinnest. Here are the exact pitches, the order to tune in, and the two mistakes that make a guitar sound wrong even when the tuner says it is right.
- How to tune a guitar by ear, without a tuner Tune the six strings to each other with the fifth-fret method or with harmonics. One reference note gets the guitar to concert pitch; without one it is only in tune with itself.
- Drop D and drop C tuning Drop D lowers only the sixth string, from E2 to D2. Drop C takes the whole guitar down a further whole step. The exact pitches for both, and what changes once you are in them.
- Half step down tuning (E♭ standard) Every string down one semitone, E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭. The exact pitches, how to get there quickly, and what it changes about chords, string feel and playing with others.
- Whole step down tuning (D standard, DGCFAD) Every string down two semitones, D G C F A D. The exact pitches, how it differs from drop D and drop C, and the string gauge and setup questions it raises.
- Open G, open D and DADGAD Three tunings where the open strings form a chord or a drone. Exact pitches for each, what they are used for, and which strings you actually have to move.
- DADGAD tuning D A D G A D, three strings moved from standard. The exact pitches, how to get there and back, why it sounds neither major nor minor, and the first shapes to try.
- How to tune a 12-string guitar Twelve strings, six pairs, ten different notes. The exact pitch of every string, which pairs are octaves and which are unisons, and the order that keeps the neck from fighting you.
- 7-string and 8-string guitar tuning Standard 7-string tuning adds a low B below the low E; standard 8-string adds a low F♯ below that. Exact pitches for both, and why the lowest strings are hard for tuners.
- Why new guitar strings won't stay in tune Fresh strings keep going flat because they are still stretching and the windings are still settling. How to stretch them in five minutes, and what to check if the guitar still drifts.
- Beginner guitar chords, the first eight to learn Em, C, G, D, Am, E, A and Dm cover a huge number of songs. Fret charts for each, the order to learn them in, and the chord changes worth practising first.
Tune your instrument
- How to tune a ukulele Standard ukulele tuning is g C E A, and the g is higher than the C, not lower. Pitches for standard, low-G and baritone, plus why that fourth string trips up every tuner that assumes strings go from low to high.
- How to tune a bass guitar Four-string bass is E A D G, an octave below the bottom four strings of a guitar. Exact pitches for four and five string, plus why bass is the instrument where a bad tuner does real damage.
- How to tune a violin Violin strings are G D A E, tuned in fifths, starting from A4 at 440 Hz. How to use the fine tuners rather than the pegs, and why bowing beats plucking when you are checking pitch.
- How to tune a viola and cello Both are tuned C G D A in fifths. The viola sits a fifth below the violin, the cello an octave below the viola. Exact pitches, and what changes when the C string gets low.
- How to tune a mandolin A mandolin has eight strings but only four pitches. G D A E in fifths, in unison pairs. How to tune a doubled course without chasing your own tail.
- How to tune a banjo Five-string banjo in open G is g D G B D, and the fifth string is the highest note on the instrument despite sitting closest to your thumb. Pitches for five-string and Irish tenor.
- Tuning reference for all 18 instruments Every tuning TuneHaven ships, with exact note names and frequencies at A440. Guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, the bowed family, and the ten instruments most tuners forget.
Understanding tuning
- Why your tuner keeps jumping to a different string You are tuning the A string and the display suddenly says D. That is not the tuner hearing better than you, it is the tuner guessing, and the guess is what sends you tuning the wrong string in the wrong direction.
- Octave errors, and why tuners misread low strings A tuner that tells you a low E is an octave flat will have you tightening toward a broken string. Here is the physics behind the mistake and how a detector avoids it.
- What cents mean, and when "in tune" is in tune A cent is a hundredth of a semitone. Here is how many of them you can actually hear, why ±5 is the usual target, and why a tuner that flashes green instantly is lying to you.
- What A440 means, and when to change it Concert pitch puts the A above middle C at 440 Hz, and everything else follows from it. When you would deliberately use 442, 415 or something else, and what happens if you get it wrong.
- Temperaments, and why pure fifths disagree with a piano Equal temperament makes every key equally usable by making every interval slightly wrong. Why that compromise exists, and when you would want a different one.
- Note names around the world C D E F G A B, do re mi, and the German H that is not a typo. Four naming systems for the same twelve notes, and why your tuner should speak yours.