Questions tagged [tuning]
The system of pitches used by an instrument or in a piece of music, or the practice of adjusting the pitches that instruments or voices produce to be in accordance with the chosen system. When relevant, please also include the tag of your instruments, e.g. [guitar] or [violin].
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Why is the guitar tuned like it is?
Why is there that funny tuning kink between the G and B string on a guitar in standard tuning? I.E. the gap (interval) between the rest of the adjoining strings is 5 frets (semitones) (or a perfect ...
David Kethel
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How long would it take to learn to tune a piano?
I have a piano that is out of tune, and I know tuning pianos properly is complicated enough to have its own profession. But I think it would be interesting to have a go myself, for fun.
But is this ...
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What's the difference between a G♭ and an F#?
I've heard it said that, whilst on most instruments these notes are played with the same fingerings/technique/etc., there is a subtle difference.
This isn't specific to this particular note ...
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Why Is Just Intonation Impractical?
I've read about the debate of "just intonation" vs 12-tone equal temperament. And nowhere it was clearly stated why just intonation is impractical. Here are my assumptions. Please let me know if I am ...
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Why are pianos traditionally tuned "out of tune" at the extremes?
My understanding is that the vast majority of western music uses equal temperament, i.e. all semitones have a frequency ratio of the 12th root of 2.
However I can hear in my piano that the notes at ...
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Why are orchestras tuned differently?
In 1936 American Standards Association (and the International Organization for Standardization in 1955) accepted that A would be tuned at 440 Hz (or cycles per second). Yet despite the fact that a ...
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Why is the double bass the only instrument in the violin family tuned in fourths?
Out of the 4 instruments of the Violin Family (Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass), the bass is the only instrument tuned in fourths.
Wikipedia states
The double bass is generally tuned in fourths, ...
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Software that allows playing in different temperaments
Do you know of any software out there that will allow me to play in different musical temperaments (e.g. Well temperament and Meantone temperament)? I'm especially interested in software that accepts ...
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Why is my guitar's saddle at an angle?
Most acoustic guitars I've seen, including my own, have an angled saddle (the white strip holding up the strings):
This makes the bass strings longer than the treble strings. Why is this?
...
Bill Cheatham
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Why do pianos not need to be tuned every time you play?
I usually tune my guitar and violin whenever I play them. I assume most people do too. But what makes piano strings different?
I know it is a lot of work to tune a piano, but I'm under the assumption ...
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Can wind instruments be played out of tune?
I believed that the trombone stands almost alone among wind instruments, in that it allows to play a continuous pitch range. The rest have a discrete set of possible notes (pitches), hence things are ...
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When tuning a guitar, should you always end with tightening the string rather than loosening it?
I used to have a guitar teacher that said you should always finish tuning each string by tightening/sharpening the string. So for example if the top E is a little sharp, you should turn the peg to ...
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Why do people with perfect pitch perceive tunes not in 440 Hz out of tune?
I do not have perfect pitch, but I heard that people who have it might have difficulty when a piece of music is not tuned to the usual 440 Hz pitch standard; it sounds out of tune for them.
But this ...
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Why are C♯ and D♭ different frequencies?
I am a music enthusiast, and I was recently reading What is the difference between equivalent Flat and Sharp keys as far as musical notation? Are there any reasons to prefer one over the other?
This ...
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Why is dropped D tuning used so often?
Many metal/rock songs use dropped D tuning. What reasons are there for it?
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Why is A4 the standard pitch reference for tuning?
Why do musicians use concert A, the A above middle C, as the standard pitch reference for tuning? Various national and international standards define the frequency of this note. For example, ISO 16 ...
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Why do some artists tune their guitars half a step or whole step down?
Is there a reason some guitarists tune down half or whole steps, other than preference or style?
It bugs me sometimes when I would like to play along with a song only to find that it's played down ...
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What is the practical reason for reentrant tuning on ukulele and similar instruments?
I'm intruiged by the fact that some stringed instruments, like the ukulele, are traditionally tuned in the way of reentrant tuning where the strings are not ordered from the lowest to the highest ...
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Can I just tune my guitar how ever I like?
I wrote a song, and have a guitar I never got to using, and I decided to write a guitar part to the song. The thing is, I know what intervals and harmonies sound good so I just got my guitar out, and ...
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Is there a sound theoretical reason why a capella choirs "drift off" of the starting pitches in a piece?
Is the "comma pump" an empirical problem, or merely theoretical?
It's a standard music theory exercise to show that certain chord progressions don't actually quite work. For example, in the I-IV-ii-V-...
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Why is a 440 Hz frequency considered the "standard" pitch for musical instruments?
I was reading the Idiot's Guides: Music Theory (3rd edition), and I read:
The "standard" pitch today that most musicians tune to is the A above middle C, which equals 440 Hz; all the other ...
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Why does the orchestra tune to the oboe?
Most of the time, an orchestra will tune to the oboe.
Why is that? What is the next instrument if, for some reason, there are no oboes?
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Are there pieces that require retuning an instrument mid-performance?
Are there any musical pieces that call for the musician to detune/retune the instrument, not in advance like a scordatura, but mid-performance?
I think it would be a neat avant-garde concept—for ...
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What is concert pitch?
I was watching a song video lesson earlier today and it mentioned that the guitar should be tuned to concert pitch. What does that mean? Is it different from the normal EADGBE tuning?
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What do the terms E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 actually mean?
I am attempting to learn guitar, and I keep coming across this notation in various apps that I've downloaded.
I know that E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 are something to do with tuning, but I'm not exactly sure ...
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How does a piano go out of tune?
I haven't tuned my upright acoustic piano for one, maybe two, years. I'm inept, so I can't tell if it's out of tune, but a friend recommended me to get a tune-up at least once a year.
My question is:...
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Do capable harmony singers sing in just intonation or tempered tuning?
I understand that the mathematical frequency ratios between certain intervals will correlate with the overtones that are present when a note sounds in a fundamental frequency. Certain predictable ...
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My guitar goes out of tune at a higher pitch rather than lower, is that normal?
It is my understanding that strings, over time, stretch and are unable to maintain their tension, so they go out of tune at a lower pitch.
When I pick up my guitar and I tune it with my electronic ...
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How should I tune a guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo?
A number of my guitars have a Floyd Rose tremolo system with the locking nuts near the headstock.
How can I effectively tune a guitar that has a Floyd Rose locking tremolo?
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When tuning a guitar, how should I strike the strings?
When tuning a guitar, what is the best way to strike a string to get it as close to pitch as possible? I'd like to get it as close to the right pitch as I possibly can. I've noticed with my tuner (it'...
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Why does plucked and bowed string of violin produces slightly different pitches?
I know that when plucked as in pizzicato, the violin produces a muted sound. However, I was surprised to find out when I checked with my tuner that if I tune my violin by plucking, it seems somewhat ...
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How do I properly stretch my newly strung strings?
I came across this string stretcher device.
It's called The Stretcha.
It claims to properly and evenly stretch new strings and maintain tuning.
I never really made a point to properly stretch ...
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Poor quality guitars that don't tune
So since I got it at a discount price, I noticed this Yamaha I have won't tune properly. Specifically if I tune the strings to a perfect EADGBE (using a good digital tuner), then I cross check the ...
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How can I minimize going out of tune when using the whammy bar?
Perhaps my selection of musicians is biased, but usually when I see a whammy bar used, it's usually with a locking tremolo bridge like a Floyd Rose. Everybody else seems to take the whammy bar out and ...
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How to properly tune drum heads?
I would like to know if there are any tips on tuning drumheads; I keep hearing harmonics.
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Why did equal temperament become the standard tuning system for keyboard instruments?
Some people seem to make the case that having some keys beat more than others (as is in the case in the older well-tempered tuning systems) is a feature not a bug. But on the other hand, the equal ...
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Why are guitars strung low-to-high?
Why not the high E at the top and the low E bottom? I haven't even heard of an alternate tuning that's similar. Is there a reason for this?
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Moving a grand piano 2 meters
I currently have a grand piano on a stage and was wanting to move it 2 (or so) meters back to make more room on the stage for an upcoming concert where it will not be used. I was wondering if I will ...
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Classical examples of a 'fifth voice' or 'ghost soprano'
There is an interesting phenomenon in choral (and perhaps also instrumental?) singing in which typically four voices are arranges in such a way that a 'fifth voice' or 'ghost voice' can be heard. It ...
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Does tuning music to A = 432 Hz versus A = 440 Hz have a measurable effect on listeners?
A brief internet search for "432 vs 440" will bring up a large number of chat discussions and videos discussing whether the tuning makes a real difference. These often seem to boil down to ...
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Why is violin tuning order the way it is?
I get that A is how we define concert pitch, so we tune that first, but then we always tune D-A, G-D, then A-E. Why is that? Is it just convention?
My best conjecture/hypothesis is that it makes it ...
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Why do wind bands use a concert Bb for tuning?
Back when I was part of my school's wind band, we used to always tune to a concert Bb. Why do wind bands tune to a Bb rather than an A (as discussed here)?
I recall our director once vaguely ...
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-fourths guitar tuning?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-fourths guitar tuning being E, A, D, G, C, F (the high E and B strings being raised a half-step from standard tuning).
One reason to do this is ...
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Is it harmful to use an electronic tuner to check intonation while practicing ?
Is it a bad habit to use an electronic tuner while practicing an instrument in which the notes are not fixed after tuning (e.g. violin, trombone)?
I'm asking because I've heard a lot of people say ...
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How can I effectively secure guitar strings to the tuning pegs?
One of the bigger problems I face when restringing my guitars is properly securing the strings to the pegs.
How should I wind the strings around the pegs before tightening them to prevent the string ...
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Tuning a tuning fork?
I just purchased a new 440 Hz tuning fork. But several different computer, iPad and iPhone tuners say it's almost half a percent sharp (around 442) of Concert A.
Is there any way to adjust the ...
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Do classical pieces sound different today than the originals due to temperament?
I was reading how classical music used to not be in equal temperament. So each of their keys sounded completely different and that's why they named their pieces after the keys they were playing. ...
user34288
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Trumpet low C♯ and D
Most trumpets' low C♯ and D are too high, and need correcting by pulling the 1st of 3rd valve.
My first understanding was that the distance between tones in the lower register is larger than between ...
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What is an "open tuning"?
I know that Keith Richards has been known to use open tunings on some songs, but what is an open tuning exactly and when/why would you use it?
JustnBeaver
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How to accurately intonate a 3 saddle telecaster?
I have a traditional 3 saddle telecaster bridge. With two strings on each saddle my intonation is always a slight compromise. This is OK on the first four strings, but the bass strings are noticeably ...
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