Related Articles:
How to Tune a Violin
Best Violins
Violin Strings
Digital Tuners
Practice Helps

How to tune a violin: Making it fun for students.

Tips for Teachers on "How To Tune A Violin"

  • Don't always just tune the student, let them participate. Have them play their strings and listen carefully. Have them decide whether the strings are too high or low. If they say the string is too high, tune it lower. Even if you know they aren't right. Let them learn from experience; then guide them in correcting their mistake.
  • Encourage your students to tune by using the fine tuners. Pegs can be difficult to turn. Unless the violin is very out of tune you can often correct the problem by turning the fine tuners.
  • Make a game out of it. Sometime during a lesson, when the student needs a break, have them close their eyes while you turn the fine tuner left or right so it is out of tune. Have them play the note (while using a method of tuning) and guess if it is too high or low, whether it needs to be tuned right or left.
  • When first teaching your student how to tune a violin, train their 'musical ear' by having them sing. My violin teacher taught me that, "You can play anything you can sing." Being able to sing the pitch, or atleast hearing it in your head, is a wonderful way to train your students.
  • The space between the pitches of the strings is called a perfect fifth interval. Some popular songs that include the fifth interval are: do re, mi fa, sol (the do and sol compose make up a fifth interval). The first two notes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, as well as the opening theme of Star Wars are some of the most well-known examples of the fifth interval.
  • An easy way to help your students remember which way to tune the fine tuner is by teaching them this simple rule; Left is Lower; Right is High!

    • Return to Main Tuning Page for other helpful tips and tuning methods. Or click on Home Page to choose from another topic of interest.

    Return to "How To Tune a Violin" Main Page

    Home Page