Charango tuner – Standard (GCEAE)
G-C-E-A-E · 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 Charango is to Standard (GCEAE) tuning (G-C-E-A-E). 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 (GCEAE) tuning
Standard (GCEAE) is the reference tuning for the Charango – 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 G-C-E-A-E – from E4 at the bottom to E5 at the top, a span of 1 octave.
Standard (GCEAE) is re-entrant: the strings do not rise steadily in pitch, so the string nearest your thumb is not the lowest note available. That is deliberate, and it is a large part of why the instrument sounds the way it does.
Left open, the strings together spell C6. 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 C6 shapes in this tuning →
The charango has five courses tuned GCEAE, and the third course is the unusual one: its two strings are tuned an octave apart rather than in unison, which puts a high E in the middle of every strum. That re-entrant octave pair is the sound of the instrument.
It comes from the Andes – Bolivia, Peru and northern Argentina – where it was built small, originally with an armadillo shell back, because the Spanish guitar it descends from was rebuilt at the size local players wanted. The tuning is what makes its shimmering, bell-like strum possible.
History
Charango
The charango was born in the Andes of the colonial Viceroyalty of Peru, today's Bolivia and Peru, probably in the 18th century, when indigenous and mestizo musicians adapted the Spanish vihuela and guitar into a small instrument of their own. The traditional body was the dried shell of an armadillo (quirquincho); today most charangos are carved from a single block of wood.
Bolivia and Peru both claim it, and the Bolivian mining town of Potosí is often named as a birthplace. The charango spread worldwide with the Andean folk music of the 1960s and 70s, through groups such as Los Jaivas and Inti-Illimani and the solo playing of the Bolivian virtuoso Ernesto Cavour.
Where the Standard (GCEAE) tuning comes from
G-C-E-A-E is the standard charango tuning, with the E strings of the middle course an octave apart. It became standard in the 20th century. Its intervals resemble those of the Spanish vihuela and guitar, from which the charango descends, but it is re-entrant, with bright high strings in the lower positions.
Other Charango tunings
Standard
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my Charango to Standard (GCEAE)?
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 (G-C-E-A-E).
Which notes are used in Standard (GCEAE) tuning?
Standard (GCEAE) tuning for Charango uses the notes G-C-E-A-E, 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.