Tune your mandolin accurately — free mic tuner
A chromatic tuner built for mandolin’s paired courses. Listens through your mic, shows the nearest note with cents accuracy, and plays reference tones for each course.
How to tune a mandolin cleanly
Tune one course at a time. The paired strings reinforce each other and give a strong, clean signal.
Start with the A course
The A course at 440 Hz is the standard concert pitch reference. Tune it first, then tune the other courses outward in fifths: D below, E above, G below D.
Pluck or strum one course
Let both strings in the course ring together. The tuner reads the combined fundamental, which is actually cleaner than a single string because the pair reinforces it.
Centre the needle on green
Flat is to the left, sharp is to the right. Adjust the machine head until the needle centres and turns green. Within two cents is accurate enough for any setting.
Match the two strings in each course
Once a course reads in tune, listen for whether the two strings beat against each other. If they do, mute one string and tune the other until the beat disappears. Then check the course together again.
Mandolin courses, notes and frequencies
Mandolin is tuned GDAE in perfect fifths, identical to violin. Each course is a pair of strings at the same pitch.
| Course | Note | Frequency (per string) |
|---|---|---|
| G (4th) | G3 | 196.00 Hz × 2 |
| D (3rd) | D4 | 293.66 Hz × 2 |
| A (2nd) | A4 | 440.00 Hz × 2 |
| E (1st) | E5 | 659.25 Hz × 2 |
The Tempo & Delay Cheat Sheet
Tuned up and recording? Keep this one-page reference by the desk — genre tempos and tempo-synced delay times, all on a page.
- Tempo ranges for 16 genres
- Delay times for every common BPM
- The dotted-eighth and triplet values pros actually use
- Reverb pre-delay and LFO sync tricks
Get the cheat sheet
Free. Straight to your inbox.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Confirm your email and the cheat sheet is yours. See you in there.
Once you are in tune
Tuning is step one. Here is what players and producers reach for next.
Questions, answered
How does the tuner handle the paired courses?
Both strings in a course sound the same pitch, so they reinforce the fundamental and actually give a stronger, cleaner signal than a single string would. The tuner reads this correctly.
My two strings within a course are slightly out with each other — how do I fix it?
Mute one string in the pair and tune the other with the tuner. Then mute that string and tune the second one. When both are right, pluck them together — the beating sound will disappear.
Does it work for mandola and mandocello?
Yes. Mandola is tuned CGDA and mandocello CGDA an octave lower. Use the Chromatic Tuner and tune each course to its target note.
Do I need to download anything?
No. The tuner runs entirely in your browser. Mic audio is processed locally and never uploaded or stored.
Honest reviews, free tools and guides for music producers. Built by people who actually make music, for people who actually make music.