Guqin tuner – Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D)
C-D-F-G-A-C-D · Standard
Also known as 正调, Standard
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your Guqin is to Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D) tuning (C-D-F-G-A-C-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 Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D) tuning
Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D) is the reference tuning for the Guqin – 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 C-D-F-G-A-C-D – from C2 at the bottom to D3 at the top, a span of 1 octave and 2 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a whole tone, a minor third, a whole tone, a whole tone, a minor third, a whole tone, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
Zhengdiao, the "standard mode", tunes the guqin's seven strings to a pentatonic C-D-F-G-A-C-D. The guqin has no frets and no bridges to move: pitches are stopped against the bare board, guided by the thirteen inlaid hui dots, and harmonics played at those dots are as important in the music as stopped notes.
Absolute pitch on the guqin is a convention rather than a rule – silk strings in particular are often tuned lower – so treat the tuner's C as a reference and set the other strings by their intervals. The relationship between the strings is what the notation assumes.
History
Guqin
The guqin is the zither of Chinese scholars, with a history of about three thousand years; it is associated with Confucius, and the ideal gentleman of old China was expected to master it along with chess, calligraphy and painting. It has had seven strings since at least the Han dynasty, and its players use a special notation, jianzipu, which records fingering and technique rather than pitch.
The oldest surviving printed qin handbook, the Shenqi Mipu, was compiled by Prince Zhu Quan in 1425. In 1977 a recording of “Flowing Water” (Liu Shui) played by Guan Pinghu was sent into space on the Voyager Golden Record, and in 2003 UNESCO proclaimed guqin music a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Where the Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D) tuning comes from
Zhengdiao, the “standard mode”, is the basic guqin tuning, recorded in Ming dynasty handbooks such as the Shenqi Mipu of 1425. The pitches are relative; in modern practice the strings are usually tuned to C-D-F-G-A-C-D.
Other Guqin tunings
Alternative
How do I tune my Guqin to Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D)?
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 (C-D-F-G-A-C-D).
Which notes are used in Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D) tuning?
Zhengdiao (C-D-F-G-A-C-D) tuning for Guqin uses the notes C-D-F-G-A-C-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.