Lute tuner – Renaissance G (6 course)
G-C-F-A-D-G · 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 Lute is to Renaissance G (6 course) tuning (G-C-F-A-D-G). 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 Renaissance G (6 course) tuning
Renaissance G (6 course) is the reference tuning for the Lute – 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-F-A-D-G – from G2 at the bottom to G4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a fourth, a major third, a fourth, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
The Renaissance lute in G is tuned in fourths with a major third in the middle – the same interval pattern a modern guitar uses, which is not a coincidence: the guitar inherited it through the vihuela and the Baroque guitar.
What differs is that lute music was written in tablature for the instrument's own courses, and that the lute was normally tuned to whatever pitch its top string would safely bear. "G tuning" is therefore a modern convention as much as a historical fact.
History
Lute
The European lute came from the Arabic oud, which crossed into Europe through al-Andalus and Sicily in the 13th century. Europeans added frets and, around 1500, abandoned the plectrum for playing with the fingertips, which made polyphonic music possible on a single instrument.
For two centuries the lute was the most prestigious instrument in Europe. Francesco da Milano in Italy and John Dowland (1563–1626) in England wrote its best-known music, and more lute music survives than for any other Renaissance instrument. In the 17th century extra bass courses and new tunings produced the Baroque lute; by the end of the 18th century the keyboard and the guitar had replaced it, and it returned only with the early-music revival of the 20th century.
Where the Renaissance G (6 course) tuning comes from
G-C-F-A-D-G, the Renaissance lute tuning, has fourths with a major third in the middle. It was the standard lute tuning of the 16th century, used by Francesco da Milano and John Dowland.
Other Lute tunings
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my Lute to Renaissance G (6 course)?
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-F-A-D-G).
Which notes are used in Renaissance G (6 course) tuning?
Renaissance G (6 course) tuning for Lute uses the notes G-C-F-A-D-G, 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.