Orchestral String Tuning: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass
Accurate tuning frequencies and octave relationships for violin, viola, cello, and double bass in equal temperament at A4 = 440 Hz and 442 Hz.
The modern orchestral string family has four members: violin, viola, cello and double bass. The upper three are tuned in ascending perfect fifths (7 semitones, 700 cents); the double bass is tuned in fourths (5 semitones, 500 cents) because its speaking length is about a meter and fourths keep the left-hand spacing playable.
The frequencies below are 12-tone equal temperament at both common orchestral references: A4 = 440 Hz (ISO 16:1975, ±0.5 Hz) and A4 = 442 Hz, the de facto pitch of many European and Japanese orchestras.
1. Complete Orchestral String Frequency Table
| Instrument | String | Note | MIDI | Freq at 440 Hz (Hz) | Freq at 442 Hz (Hz) | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violin | 4 (lowest) | G3 | 55 | 196.00 | 196.89 | Perfect 5th |
| 3 | D4 | 62 | 293.66 | 295.00 | Perfect 5th | |
| 2 | A4 | 69 | 440.00 | 442.00 | Reference string | |
| 1 (highest) | E5 | 76 | 659.26 | 662.25 | Perfect 5th | |
| Viola | 4 (lowest) | C3 | 48 | 130.81 | 131.41 | Perfect 5th |
| 3 | G3 | 55 | 196.00 | 196.89 | Perfect 5th | |
| 2 | D4 | 62 | 293.66 | 295.00 | Perfect 5th | |
| 1 (highest) | A4 | 69 | 440.00 | 442.00 | Reference string | |
| Cello | 4 (lowest) | C2 | 36 | 65.41 | 65.70 | Perfect 5th |
| 3 | G2 | 43 | 98.00 | 98.44 | Perfect 5th | |
| 2 | D3 | 50 | 146.83 | 147.50 | Perfect 5th | |
| 1 (highest) | A3 | 57 | 220.00 | 221.00 | Reference string | |
| Double bass (4-string) | 4 (lowest) | E1 | 28 | 41.20 | 41.39 | Perfect 4th |
| 3 | A1 | 33 | 55.00 | 55.25 | Reference string | |
| 2 | D2 | 38 | 73.42 | 73.75 | Perfect 4th | |
| 1 (highest) | G2 | 43 | 98.00 | 98.44 | Perfect 4th | |
| Double bass (5-string) | 5 (lowest) | B0 | 23 | 30.87 | 31.01 | Perfect 4th |
| 4–1 | E1–G2 | 28–43 | 41.20–98.00 | 41.39–98.44 | Standard four-string set |
The cello’s reference is A3 (220.00 Hz), an octave below the violin’s A4; the bass’s is A1 (55.00 Hz), two octaves below.
2. Octave Relationships
Orchestral instruments share letter names, so octave numbers matter:
Viola and cello: exactly one octave apart
The two share the same open-string pitch classes, C–G–D–A. The viola sits one octave above the cello: its lowest string is C3 = 130.81 Hz against the cello’s C2 = 65.41 Hz, exactly half the frequency.
Viola and violin: three shared pitches
The viola’s top three strings match the violin’s bottom three: G3, D4 and A4 at 196.00, 293.66 and 440.00 Hz. The violin extends a fifth higher to E5 = 659.26 Hz; the viola extends a fifth lower to C3 = 130.81 Hz.
Double bass: a transposing instrument
Bass parts are written an octave above where they sound, keeping notation off the ledger lines. Its highest string, G2 = 98.00 Hz, is in unison with the cello’s G2. Its lowest four-string note, E1 = 41.20 Hz, is a minor sixth below the cello’s C2 = 65.41 Hz. A five-string bass adds B0 = 30.87 Hz, one cycle every 32.40 ms.
3. Equal Temperament vs. Just Fifths
Solo and chamber players tune open strings by ear to beat-free fifths, which are just 3:2 ratios, not equal-tempered ones. The two differ by 1.96 cents, so tuning outward from A4 = 440 Hz with pure fifths leaves D4 about 2 cents flat, G3 about 4 cents flat and the C strings about 6 cents flat of the equal-tempered numbers above.
In a quartet that is the sound the players want: open fifths ring with no beating. Against a piano or synth pad, tune to the equal-tempered targets.
4. Who Tunes to Whom
An orchestra does not tune to a device. The principal oboe sounds A4, because the oboe is the least adjustable instrument in the wind section: pitch is set by the reed and the player’s air, and it cannot be slid or lipped into a different reference the way a flute or clarinet can. Its tone also carries to the back of the string section.
The sequence in most orchestras:
- The oboe sounds A4 (or the piano, in a concerto).
- The concertmaster takes the A and tunes the first violins; the other string sections follow, then the winds and brass, then the timpani.
- Within each section, players tune to the principal rather than the oboe, keeping the fifths tight against one leader.
From the A, strings work in intervals: violins and violas A4, then D4, G3 and (violins) E5 or (violas) C3; cellos A3, D3, G2, C2; basses A1, D2, G2 above and E1 below.
5. Temperature and Intonation Drift
A hall warms through the evening, and the ensemble’s pitch moves with it. The speed of sound rises about 0.606 m/s per °C (c = 331.3 + 0.606 T, or 343.4 m/s at 20 °C), so a wind instrument’s pitch rises roughly 3 cents per °C of air warming:
Δc / c = 0.606 / 343.4 = 0.00176, which is 1200 × log2(1.00176) ≈ 3.0 cents.
A stage that warms 2 °C between rehearsal and performance lifts the oboe’s A about 6 cents, and the winds and brass follow. Strings move less: thermal expansion of a steel E string cuts its strain by about 0.001 per °C, roughly 1 cent flat before the body’s expansion is counted. Sections re-check the open A between movements and adjust a few cents with the fine tuners. Instruments from a cold case need 15 to 30 minutes to stabilize.
6. Common Mistakes
- Tuning a whole section at once. Twenty instruments together give a pitch detector a moving target. Tune one player at a time.
- Leaving the tuner on 440 in a 442 orchestra. Everything reads 7.85 cents flat and players chase it. The tuners here have a reference slider from 415 to 450 Hz with A415–A444 chips.
- Forgetting the bridge after a big adjustment. Moving a string several semitones drags the bridge top toward the fingerboard; check it after tuning.
- Retuning the A to the piano and leaving the rest. If the piano sits at 441.5 Hz, follow the piano, not ISO 16.
- Tuning the bass from a phone in a loud hall. B0 = 30.87 Hz and E1 = 41.20 Hz are easy to confuse with rumble; use the decimated bass path in the Double Bass Tuner.
Tune each instrument against its own open strings: Violin Tuner, Viola Tuner, Cello Tuner and Double Bass Tuner.