Mandola tuner – Standard (CGDA)
C-C-G-G-D-D-A-A · 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 Mandola is to Standard (CGDA) tuning (C-C-G-G-D-D-A-A). 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 (CGDA) tuning
Standard (CGDA) is the reference tuning for the Mandola – 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-C-G-G-D-D-A-A – from C3 at the bottom to A4 at the top, a span of 1 octave and 9 semitones.
The mandola is tuned CGDA, a fifth below the mandolin and exactly like a viola. In a mandolin orchestra it plays the inner voices, the same job the viola does in a string quartet.
Mandolin fingerings all transfer; they simply sound a fifth lower, so a player can move between the two instruments by transposing rather than relearning.
History
Mandola
“Mandola” was originally just another word for the mandore, the small lute from which the mandolin family grew. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, as mandolin orchestras spread across Europe and the Americas, the name settled on the family's alto or tenor voice, tuned like a viola to the mandolin's violin.
Gibson built its H-series mandolas alongside the F-5 mandolin, including the H-5 designed by Lloyd Loar in the 1920s. The mandola faded with the mandolin orchestras, then came back in the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s, when Irish and British players valued its darker voice.
Where the Standard (CGDA) tuning comes from
C-G-D-A, like the viola, is the tuning of the tenor mandola, established in the mandolin orchestras of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Other Mandola tunings
Standard
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my Mandola to Standard (CGDA)?
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-C-G-G-D-D-A-A).
Which notes are used in Standard (CGDA) tuning?
Standard (CGDA) tuning for Mandola uses the notes C-C-G-G-D-D-A-A, 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.