Cello Tuner
Tune your instrument quickly and easily
Tap a pegto tune by ear
Or use your micto tune automatically
This online cello tuner listens through your microphone and shows how far each string is from the correct pitch, so you can tune your cello in a few seconds. You can also play a reference tone for C, G, D or A and tune by ear. It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or laptop, so there is no app to install and nothing to sign up for.
How to tune a cello
Sit with the cello
Sit with the cello between your knees as you would to play, with your device near the body of the cello. Tune while the room is quiet.
Start the tuner
Start the tuner and allow microphone access when your browser asks.
Tune the A string
Bow the open A string with long, steady strokes. Turn the peg or fine tuner until the tuner shows the string is in tune. Bowed notes are easier to read than plucked ones.
Tune D, G, then C
Tune the cello string by string in this order: A, then D, then G, then C. Each new string is easy to check against the one before it, because they are a fifth apart.
Fine tuners and pegs
Use the fine tuners for small corrections and the pegs for bigger changes. Turn pegs slowly and push them gently into the peg box while you turn, so they hold.
Check all four strings
Go back over all four strings once more. Tightening one string can shift the others slightly, so a second pass gives a steadier result.
Cello tuning: the four strings (C G D A)
A cello has four strings tuned in perfect fifths. From lowest to highest they are C2, G2, D3 and A3. This is standard cello tuning, and it is the tuning every cello music book and teacher expects.
Violoncello tuning: is it different?
No. Violoncello is the full name of the cello, so violoncello tuning is the same C, G, D, A tuning shown above.
Tips for keeping your cello in tune
Tune each time you sit down
Cello strings drift with room temperature and humidity. Check all four strings before you start practising.
New cello strings
Fresh cello strings go flat as they stretch. Check all four strings each time you play for the first week.
Is the bridge straight?
Tuning can pull the top of the bridge toward the fingerboard. After tuning, check that it stands straight up, and ask a teacher or luthier to straighten it if it leans.
Slipping pegs
If a peg keeps slipping, a violin or cello peg compound or a visit to a luthier will fix it. Forcing it can damage the peg box.
Cello tuner FAQ
The four open strings of a cello are C2, G2, D3 and A3, from lowest to highest. Each string is a perfect fifth above the next lower one. The C string is the thickest and the A string is the thinnest.
Press start, allow the microphone and bow the open A string with long strokes. Turn the peg or fine tuner until the display shows it is in tune, then tune D, G and C.
Reach for the fine tuner when the note is only slightly off, and for a peg when it is far from the target. Many student cellos have fine tuners on every string, others only on the A string. If your cello has none, the pegs are used for everything, slowly and gently.
Tune it each time you pick it up to play. Strings drift with temperature, humidity and use, and new strings stretch for several days, so they need more frequent tuning at first.
Only if it is a chromatic tuner that can read low notes, because the cello's C string is very low. The cello is an octave below the viola. This page is set to the four cello strings, so you do not have to work out the notes yourself.
Yes, in a quiet room it works well. Play each string with the bow, and place the device a short distance from the cello. Noise from other players or a metronome can confuse the reading, so tune while the room is quiet.
More free tuners
Chromatic Tuner
Any instrument or voice, all 12 notes
Guitar Tuner
Standard, Drop D and DADGAD
Ukulele Tuner
Standard G C E A, Low G and D tuning
Violin Tuner
Standard G D A E and Open G
Viola Tuner
Standard C G D A tuning
Bass Guitar Tuner
Standard 4-string and Drop D
Banjo Tuner
5-string Open G and Double C