Free online violin tuner

How to use this tuner

1. Start the microphone. The browser asks for permission once. If the display stays empty, check that the page is using the microphone you are actually playing into.
2. Bow the A string on its own. Medium speed, steady weight, and clear of the neighbouring strings, so only one pitch reaches the microphone.
3. Read the cents, not just the note name. Zero cents is in tune. A positive number is sharp and a negative one is flat; around ten cents is where a trained ear starts to object.
4. Adjust, then let the string settle. Pegs and fine tuners both need a moment for the tension to even out before the reading means anything.
5. Work down to D and G, then finish with E. Recheck all four afterwards.

That last step is not busywork. The four strings share their tension through the bridge and the top of the instrument, so tightening one genuinely moves the others. A violin usually needs two passes.

Pegs or fine tuners?

Fine tuners handle small corrections — the drift of a string that was in tune yesterday. Pegs handle everything larger, including a new string that is still settling. If a fine tuner has run to the end of its travel, wind it back to the middle and make the correction at the peg instead, or you will have no adjustment left the next time you need one.

Turn a peg while pushing it gently into the pegbox, and move it in very small amounts. The E string is thin, under the most tension, and the one most likely to break, which is why it is worth tuning last and approaching its pitch slowly from below.

440 Hz, 442 Hz, and playing with other people

A4 = 440 Hz is the common reference, but many European orchestras tune to 442 Hz and some ensembles sit higher still. What matters is agreeing with whoever you are playing with. Set the reference pitch to match the oboe, the piano, or the recording, and every other string follows from it.

The reference drone is the other half of this. A tuner tells you where a pitch sits on a number line; a drone lets you hear the string beating against a steady tone, which is how intonation is actually judged on a fretless instrument.

Viola, cello, and alternate tunings

The same tuner covers viola and cello, and it narrows its detection range to the instrument you choose so a low, slack string still reads as flat rather than as nothing at all. Scordatura tunings are included too, among them the Danse Macabre tuning with its raised E string and AEAE cross tuning for fiddle players.

Frequently asked questions

What are the four violin string notes?

From the lowest and thickest string to the highest and thinnest, a violin is tuned G3, D4, A4, and E5. Each neighbouring pair is a perfect fifth apart.

Does my audio get uploaded?

No. Pitch detection runs entirely on your device. Nothing from the microphone is sent to a server or recorded.

Why does the reading jump around while I bow?

A pitch detector needs a steady tone. A very light, scratchy, or changing bow gives it unstable information, and so does a nearby string ringing sympathetically. Use a medium bow speed on one string at a time and wait for the number to settle before adjusting anything.

Can I tune to 442 Hz instead of 440 Hz?

Yes. The reference pitch is adjustable, so you can match an orchestra, a piano, or a recording that does not sit at A4 = 440 Hz.

Does it work for viola and cello?

Yes. Viola and cello are selectable, along with the Danse Macabre and AEAE cross tunings, and the detection range follows the instrument you pick.

Do I need to install anything?

No. The tuner runs in the browser and asks for microphone permission the first time you start it. It works on a phone, a tablet, or a laptop with a built-in microphone.

Is this violin tuner free?

Yes. The tuner, the reference drone, and the alternate instrument tunings all work with no account and no time limit. Violinista only charges for graded scale practice, practice history, analytics, and the cloud library.

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