Skip to content
Free · tap to hear

Instrument tunings

The standard tuning of eight string instruments. Pick one and tap a string to hear the note to tune it to, or strum them all.

Tap a string to hear its note, then tune yours to match.

Pick an instrument

Each page has every string to hear, its note and frequency, how to tune it by ear and the instrument’s other tunings.

Guitar tuning

E A D G B E

Standard, drop D, open G, DADGAD and ten more, each to hear.

Ukulele tuning

G C E A

Standard, low G, baritone and D tuning, with the high G explained.

Bass guitar tuning

E A D G

4-string, 5-string, 6-string and drop D, from the low B up.

Banjo tuning

G D G B D

Open G for bluegrass, then double C, open D, G modal and tenor.

Mandolin tuning

G D A E

G D A E in four pairs, like a violin, plus mandola and octave.

Violin tuning

G D A E

Four strings in fifths from the A at 440 Hz, plus cross tunings.

Viola tuning

C G D A

A violin’s G, D and A with a low C in place of the E.

Cello tuning

C G D A

The viola’s four notes an octave lower, down to C2 at 65 Hz.

Standard tunings side by side

Each instrument’s strings in the order players name them, with their octaves, and the lowest note it plays open.

Standard tunings: each instrument’s notes in string order and its lowest open note
InstrumentNotesLowest open note
GuitarE A D G B E
E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4		E2, 82.41 Hz
UkuleleG C E A
G4 C4 E4 A4		C4, 261.63 Hz
Bass guitarE A D G
E1 A1 D2 G2		E1, 41.2 Hz
BanjoG D G B D
G4 D3 G3 B3 D4		D3, 146.83 Hz
MandolinG D A E
G3 D4 A4 E5		G3, 196 Hz
ViolinG D A E
G3 D4 A4 E5		G3, 196 Hz
ViolaC G D A
C3 G3 D4 A4		C3, 130.81 Hz
CelloC G D A
C2 G2 D3 A3		C2, 65.41 Hz

Every other note’s frequency is on the note frequency chart.

Questions about tuning

Which instruments are tuned in fifths?

The violin, viola, cello and mandolin: each string is a fifth above the one below it. The violin and mandolin share G D A E, and the viola and cello share C G D A an octave apart. The tenor banjo is tuned in fifths too.

Which instruments are tuned in fourths?

The bass guitar, E A D G, and the guitar, whose strings are a fourth apart except the G and B, a major third. That one change makes guitar chords easier to finger.

What does re-entrant tuning mean?

A string tuned out of order, higher than the one beside it, so the strings do not run from low to high. The ukulele’s high G and the five-string banjo’s short 5th string are the best known.

What pitch are these tunings measured from?

A4 at 440 Hz, the A above middle C, which nearly all instruments and tuners use. Every frequency on these pages follows from it.

How do I tune by ear?

Tune one string to a reference note, such as its button on these pages, then tune each other string against a fretted note on the one before it, or, on a violin, viola or cello, against the smooth sound of two strings a fifth apart.

Play along with a beat

Open the free editor with a beat playing, then add your instrument’s part, a melody or your voice, part by part. No account needed to start.

Start a beatGuitar tunings

Keep going