Fiddle tuner – Standard (GDAE)
G-D-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 Fiddle is to Standard (GDAE) tuning (G-D-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 (GDAE) tuning
Standard (GDAE) is the reference tuning for the Fiddle – 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-D-A-E – from G3 at the bottom to E5 at the top, a span of 1 octave and 9 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fifth, a fifth, a fifth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
A fiddle and a violin are the same instrument, and GDAE is the same tuning. What differs is repertoire and often setup: fiddlers frequently use a flatter bridge, which makes it easier to bow two strings at once for the drones that dance music lives on.
It is also the starting point every cross tuning is measured against – old-time players retune between tunes and come back here.
History
Fiddle
The fiddle is the violin – same instrument, different music. The word is Germanic and older than the violin itself: medieval fiddles (fidel, vielle) were bowed instruments of many shapes, and when the Italian violin spread across Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries it took over their role in dance and folk music.
Each tradition developed its own sound: Irish and Scottish fiddling, Scandinavian music with the Hardanger fiddle's sympathetic strings, Cajun and old-time fiddling in North America. Old-time fiddlers kept alive the 17th-century habit of scordatura – retuning the strings for particular pieces – long after classical players had largely abandoned it.
Where the Standard (GDAE) tuning comes from
G-D-A-E is the fiddle's standard tuning, identical to the violin's. Most folk fiddling traditions use it for most tunes.
Other Fiddle tunings
Standard
Alternative
How do I tune my Fiddle to Standard (GDAE)?
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-D-A-E).
Which notes are used in Standard (GDAE) tuning?
Standard (GDAE) tuning for Fiddle uses the notes G-D-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.