Cavaquinho tuner – Standard (DGBD)
D-G-B-D · Standard
Press “Start tuner” – the browser will ask for microphone access. Sound is analysed on this device and never uploaded.
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your Cavaquinho is to Standard (DGBD) tuning (D-G-B-D). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.
About Standard (DGBD) tuning
Standard (DGBD) is the reference tuning for the Cavaquinho – the pitch the instrument normally ships at, and the starting point every other tuning on this page is measured from.
Played open, the strings sound D-G-B-D – from D4 at the bottom to D5 at the top, a span of 1 octave. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a major third, a minor third, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
Left open, the strings together spell G. That is a by-product of how the intervals are laid out rather than the point of the tuning, but it does mean some chords need very few fingers here. See G shapes in this tuning →
The Brazilian cavaquinho is tuned DGBD – the top four strings of a guitar with the highest string dropped to D, so the open strings spell a G chord. It is the rhythmic engine of samba and choro, playing the sharp offbeat chords that drive both.
The Portuguese cavaquinho it descends from is tuned differently; the Brazilian tuning is the one used in samba schools and in choro ensembles, and it is what chord charts for the instrument assume.
History
Cavaquinho
The cavaquinho is a small four-string guitar from northern Portugal, associated especially with the Minho region around Braga – hence the related names braguinha and machete de braga. Portuguese sailors and emigrants carried it around the world: to Madeira, Cape Verde, Brazil and eventually Hawaii, where it became one of the ancestors of the ukulele.
In Brazil it found its most important role. From the late 19th century the cavaquinho has been the harmonic engine of choro and samba, and virtuosos such as Waldir Azevedo, whose “Brasileirinho” (1949) became a national hit, turned it into a solo instrument as well.
Where the Standard (DGBD) tuning comes from
D-G-B-D is the standard tuning of the Brazilian cavaquinho, the tuning of choro and samba. It spread in 19th-century Brazil, and players such as Waldir Azevedo made it the tuning of the cavaquinho as a solo instrument.
Other Cavaquinho tunings
Standard
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my Cavaquinho to Standard (DGBD)?
Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (D-G-B-D).
Which notes are used in Standard (DGBD) tuning?
Standard (DGBD) tuning for Cavaquinho uses the notes D-G-B-D, listed from the lowest string to the highest.
Can I tune without a microphone?
Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.