This is a chart of stringed instrument tunings. Instruments are listed alphabetically by their most commonly known name.

Terminology

A course may consist of one or more strings. Courses are listed reading from left to right facing the front of the instrument, with the instrument standing vertically. On a majority of instruments, this places the notes from low to high pitch. Exceptions exist: *Instruments using

reentrant tuning On a stringed instrument, a break in an otherwise ascending (or descending) order of string pitches is known as a re-entry. A re-entrant tuning, therefore, is a tuning where the strings (or more properly the courses) are not all ordered from th ...

(e.g., the charango) may have a high string before a low string. *Instruments strung in the reverse direction (e.g. mountain dulcimer) will be noted with the highest sounding courses on the left and the lowest to the right. *A few instruments exist in "right-hand" and "left-hand" versions; left-handed instruments are not included here as separate entries, as their tuning is identical to the right-hand version, but with the strings in reverse order (e.g., a left-handed guitar). Strings within a course are also given from left to right, facing the front of the instrument, with it standing vertically. Single-string courses are separated by spaces; multiple-string courses (i.e. paired or tripled strings) are shown with courses separated by bullet characters (•). Scientific pitch notation octaves of C

Pitch: Unless otherwise noted, contemporary western standard pitch (A₄ = 440 Hz) and 12-tone equal temperament are assumed. Octaves are given in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical pitch by combining a musical note name (with accidental if needed) and a number ide ...

, with Middle C written as "C₄". (The 'A' above Middle C would then be written as "A₄"; the next higher octave begins on "C₅"; the next lower octave on "C₃"; etc.)Ibid. p. 60-61. Because stringed instruments are easily re-tuned, the concept of a "standard tuning" is somewhat flexible. Some instruments: * have a designated standard tuning (e.g.,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

;

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

) * have more than one tuning considered "standard" (e.g.

mejorana The mejoranera or mejorana is a folkloric chordophone from Panama. It is carved from one block of wood (usually cedar) or from dry fibers of Bejuco, and is shaped like a small guitar. It has five nylon, horse hair, or gut strings. The mejoraner ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

) * do not have a standard tuning but rather a "common" tuning that is used more frequently than others (e.g., banjo; lap steel guitar) * are typically re-tuned to suit the music being played or the voice being accompanied and have no set "standard" at all (e.g., đàn nguyệt;

Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of ...

) Where more than one common tuning exists, the most common is given first and labeled "Standard" or "Standard/common". Other tunings will then be given under the heading "Alternates".

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Zither Tuning Chart

Notes

References

*Brody, David; ''The Fiddler's Fakebook: The Ultimate Sourcebook For The Traditional Fiddler''; Music Sales America (1992). *Dearling, Robert; ''Stringed Instruments''; Chelsea House Publishing (2000). *Hanson, Mark; ''The Complete Book of Alternate Guitar Tunings''; Music Sales America (1995). * Marcuse, Sibyl; ''Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary''; W. W. Norton & Company (1975). * Piston, Walter; ''Orchestration''; W. W. Norton & Company (1955). *Randell, D. M. (editor); ''

Harvard Dictionary of Music ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'' is a standard music reference book published by the Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. The first edition, titled ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'', was published in 1944, and was edited by Willi Apel. ...

'', 4th Edition; Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2003).

External links

Atlas of Plucked InstrumentsThe Synthesis of Taiwanese and Western Musical Elements: A Case Study of the ''Zheng'' Concerto—''Dots, Lines, and Convergence'' by Chihchun Chi-Sun LeeChapman Stick TuningsZither Tuning
{{Guitar tunings, state=collapsed * Musical tuning Guitar tunings

Terminology

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Zither Tuning Chart

Notes

See also

References

External links