The violin is a beautiful instrument to play and produces wonderful music when played correctly. But if it is not well tuned before it is played, the music produced will not be as pleasant to listen to! To tune means to fix the intonation of the notes produced by the open strings, one by one. The term " intonation"refers to the frequency (in Hertz) of the sound waves produced. Tuning a violin may seem difficult at first, but with practice it becomes a quick and easy operation.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Diagnosis
Hold the violin still in front of you and pluck the second string in order of pitch of the note produced or the third in order of position counting from your left. This is the "a" string.
Step 1. There are two ways to determine if your violin is out of tune
If you are a more experienced player, you can try playing an "A" on a piano or keyboard and compare the sound with that produced by the violin string. If, on the other hand, you are a beginner, there is an easier way: to use an electronic tuner, which is an instrument that recognizes the frequency produced by the open strings (in reality, they are able to recognize any frequency regardless). Electronic tuners are very useful and precise tools, they cost little and can be found in most music stores. The tuner is able to pick up the frequency of the note produced in real time as you pluck the string and indicate exactly how much higher or lower than the correct frequency.
Step 2. Whichever method you decide to use, the intent is to determine how far the note produced by the string is from the desired frequency
If, when using the tuner or a piano, you only notice a slight difference, then use fine tuners. If, on the other hand, the violin is particularly out of tune, you should use the pegs (also called "bischeri"), and then make fine adjustments with the fine tuners.
Part 2 of 3: Tuning with fine tuners
Step 1. When using fine tuners to tune the violin, you can simply place it on your lap; the important thing is to keep it still and make sure it does not fall
Step 2. The fine tuners are similar to small round head screws and are located on the tailpiece, which is located at the bottom of the violin and is shaped like a triangle
- It is possible to vary the pitch of each string individually by acting on the fine tuner placed at the lower end of the string itself. Not all violins have four fine tuners; some have none at all.
- If your violin doesn't have fine tuners, tuning with tuning pegs is the only solution. Fine tuners can be screwed in clockwise or counterclockwise to alter the pitch of the string and are useful when small adjustments need to be made.
- If the note produced by the string to be tuned is lower than the desired note, the fine tuner should be rotated clockwise (in the direction of the hands of a clock) in order to increase the tension of the string and thus raise the frequency produced.
- If, on the other hand, the note produced by the string to be tuned is higher than the desired note, the fine tuner must be rotated counterclockwise (in the opposite direction to that of the hands of a clock) to loosen the tension of the string and thus lower the frequency produced. Pluck the string again, and pay attention to whether the note is now closer to the desired frequency. Repeat this as many times as necessary. If it seems too low, follow the instructions above.
Step 3. Follow these steps for all four strings
The second string to tune, after the "a", is the "re" (to the left of the "a"), followed by the "g" (to the left of the "re"). Finally, when all three strings are in tune, you can move on to "E".
Part 3 of 3: Tuning with the tuning pegs
This method should be followed for all particularly out-of-tune strings, i.e. which produce a note very far from the desired note. Pegs are not as simple to use as fine tuners, but they are still needed in these cases. Working on the pegs requires a lot of attention: you could break a string by straining it too much!
Step 1. While operating the tuning pegs, hold the violin in front of you, with the lower part resting on your legs, so that you can see the strings clearly
Hold it firmly with one hand while you tune with the other. This position allows you to exert the necessary force to rotate the pegs while keeping the instrument firmly and firmly.
Step 2. Identify the peg to use for the specific string to tune
The pegs, most often in ebony, are the knobs found on the curl, at the bottom of the neck at the top of the instrument. Each string is attached to a specific peg. Rotating a peg has the effect of stretching or loosening the string attached to it, thus changing its pitch. To tune the "E", for example, it is necessary to act on the peg at the bottom right; for the "A" on the top right peg, for the "re" on the top and left peg and finally for the "G" on the bottom left peg (to understand the image below, keep in mind that in English " mi "," la "," re "and" sol "are indicated respectively with the letters" e "," a "," d "and" g ").
Step 3. Once you have identified the tuning pegs, you are ready to tune the violin
Remember which position to hold while doing this.
Step 4. Grab the peg with one hand and rotate it towards you or outwards, depending on how you intend to vary the pitch of the string
- If the note produced by the open string is higher than the desired note, turn the peg towards you.
- If the note produced by the open string is lower than the desired note, turn the peg outwards.
Step 5. While rotating the peg, pluck the string you are tuning while always holding the violin firmly
It is important to continually pluck the string and listen to how the note produced changes.
Step 6. When you want to stop twisting the peg, gently push the peg inside the loop to make sure it sits firmly and the tension of the string does not cause it to slip back and produce the detuning again
It's not easy, so arm yourself with patience…! An alternative is to push the pegs gently inward as you rotate them.
Step 7. When the peg is firmly in place, pluck the string and listen carefully to the note produced
Is it too high? Too short? Can it be adjusted with the tuner, or is the difference with the desired note too much and need to act on the peg again?
Step 8. If you pluck the string and the note produced seems only slightly out of tune, you may want to use the fine tuner to refine its intonation
When the pitch is perfect, the string is in tune. Congratulations! It's time to move on to the next chords: first the "re" (to the left of the "a"), then the "g" (to the left of the "re") and finally the "e".
Advice
- The strings do not last indefinitely: sooner or later they break. If looking at the strings you notice that even one of them is starting to fray, it's time to change them!
- Low quality violins are more difficult to tune than good quality violins. Pegs often stick too tightly in cheaper violins, sometimes so much that it would take a weightlifting champion to help you tune! This is one of the reasons why it is worth spending a little more to buy or rent a higher quality violin.
- If a peg is too hard to twist, pull it out slightly and apply some graphite with the tip of a pencil - it will help reduce friction.
- To avoid breaking a string as you act on the peg, rotate the peg towards you to release tension before twisting it outward to tighten the string.
- If a rope breaks, it's not the end of the world…! You can buy it back at a music store, and maybe ask the shopkeeper if he can change it for you.
- Don't turn the tuning pegs too fast - doing so increases the risk of breaking the strings.
- Buying an electronic tuner is highly recommended!
- A rather frequent drawback is that the pegs do not stay firmly and slide backwards, seriously compromising the intonation. Sometimes it happens because they are not perfectly adapted to the violin. You can try to push them in hard (but not too hard!). If the problem becomes persistent, the only solution to definitively solve it is to go to a luthier to install new pegs or fix the existing ones. A temporary solution can be to take out the pegs and apply plaster to them before pushing them back into their housing.
- If one string is very out of tune, you will probably also need to readjust the others after tuning it.
- It is also possible to tune by playing two strings at a time.
Warnings
- Never hold the violin too close to your face while tuning - if a string breaks, it could hit your eyes.
- If you are a beginner, don't try to tune with the tuning pegs. If the violin is very out of tune, ask a shopkeeper, or your teacher, to tune it for you.
- Be very careful not to drop the violin.
- Do not use the "E" peg unless the string has just been changed. If it is very forgotten, ask a shopkeeper or an experienced violinist for help.
- If you're not careful, you could break a rope.
- Be careful not to overtighten the fine tuners: if you screw them too much, the underside may hit the soundboard on the body of the violin. Over time, this can damage the instrument and the wood on the board. Take a look under the tailpiece to check how much space is left before the fine tuner touches the board. If necessary, loosen the fine tuning screw and adjust the pitch using the corresponding tuning peg.
