Editing Musical tuning (section)

==Tuning practice==
[[File:Man tuning guitar.jpg|thumb|Man turning tuning pegs to tune guitar]]
[[File:ErardHarpTuning.jpg|thumb|Tuning of [[Sébastien Érard]] harp using [[Korg]] OT-120 Wide 8 Octave Orchestral Digital Tuner]]
'''Tuning''' is the process of adjusting the pitch of one or many tones from musical instruments to establish typical intervals between these tones. Tuning is usually based on a fixed reference, such as [[A440 (pitch standard)|A = 440&nbsp;Hz]]. The term "''out of tune''" refers to a pitch/tone that is either too high ([[Sharp (music)|sharp]]) or too low ([[Flat (music)|flat]]) in relation to a given reference pitch. While an instrument might be in tune relative to its own range of notes, it may not be considered 'in tune' if it does not match the chosen reference pitch. Some instruments become 'out of tune' with temperature, humidity, damage, or simply time, and must be readjusted or repaired.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Obataya |first=Eiichi |date=2017-10-01 |title=Effects of natural and artificial ageing on the physical and acoustic properties of wood in musical instruments |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1296207416300541 |journal=Journal of Cultural Heritage |series=Wooden Musical Instruments Special Issue |volume=27 |pages=S63–S69 |doi=10.1016/j.culher.2016.02.011 |s2cid=138058574 |issn=1296-2074}}</ref>

Different methods of sound production require different methods of adjustment:
* Tuning to a pitch with one's voice is called ''matching pitch'' and is the most basic skill learned in [[ear training]].
* Turning [[Tuning peg|pegs]] to increase or decrease the [[Tension (mechanics)|tension]] on strings so as to control the pitch. Instruments such as the harp, piano, and harpsichord require a wrench to turn the tuning pegs, while others such as the [[violin]] can be tuned manually.
* Modifying the length or width of the tube of a [[wind instrument]], [[brass instrument]], [[Pan pipes|pipe]], [[bell (instrument)|bell]], or similar instrument to adjust the pitch. In woodwind instruments, this is usually done by adjusting the instrument's [[Mouthpiece (woodwind)|mouthpiece]] or neck to change the pitch. In brass instruments, this is usually done by moving a tuning slide.

The sounds of some instruments, notably [[unpitched percussion instrument]] such as [[cymbal]]s, are of [[indeterminate pitch]], and have irregular overtones not conforming to the [[Harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]]. See {{slink||Tuning of unpitched percussion instruments}}.

Tuning may be done aurally by sounding two pitches and adjusting one of them to match or relate to the other. A [[tuning fork]] or electronic tuning device may be used as a reference pitch, though in ensemble rehearsals often a [[piano]] is used (as its pitch cannot be adjusted for each performance). [[Orchestra|Symphony orchestra]]s and [[concert band]]s usually tune to an [[A (musical note)|A]]440 or a [[B♭ (musical note)|B♭]], respectively, provided by the principal [[oboe|oboist]] or [[clarinet]]ist, who tune to the keyboard if part of the performance.<ref name="Rock">{{cite web |title= Why does the orchestra tune to the oboe? |url= http://www.rockfordsymphony.com/faqs/why-does-the-orchestra-tune-to-the-oboe |website= RockfordSymphony.com |date= 2019-03-11|access-date=2022-08-29}}</ref>
When only strings are used, then the principal string (violinist) typically has sounded the tuning pitch, but some orchestras have used an electronic tone machine for tuning.<ref name=Rock/> Tuning can also be done through a prior recording; this method uses simultaneous audio.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bozkurt |first=Barış |date=2012-09-01 |title=A System for Tuning Instruments Using Recorded Music Instead of Theory-Based Frequency Presets |url=https://doi.org/10.1162/COMJ_a_00128 |journal=Computer Music Journal |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=43–56 |doi=10.1162/COMJ_a_00128 |s2cid=1576941 |issn=0148-9267|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Interference [[beat (acoustics)|beat]]s are used to objectively measure the accuracy of tuning.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sfetcu|first=Nicolae|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXyFAwAAQBAJ&q=Interference+beats+are+used+to+objectively+measure+the+accuracy+of+tuning&pg=PT332|title=The Music Sound|date=2014-05-07|publisher=Nicolae Sfetcu|language=en}}</ref> As the two pitches approach a harmonic relationship, the frequency of beating decreases. When tuning a unison or octave it is desired to reduce the beating frequency until it cannot be detected. For other intervals, this is dependent on the [[#Tuning systems|tuning system]] being used.

[[Harmonic]]s may be used to facilitate tuning of strings that are not themselves tuned to the unison.{{Citation needed|date=October 2014}} For example, lightly touching the highest string of a cello at the middle (at a [[node (physics)|node]]) while bowing produces the same pitch as doing the same a third of the way down its second-highest string. The resulting unison is more easily and quickly judged than the quality of the perfect fifth between the fundamentals of the two strings.

===Open strings===<!--[[Open string (music)]] redirects directly here.-->
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}
{{Main|Stringed instrument tunings}}
[[File:Violin - open strings notes.PNG|thumb|The pitches of open strings on a violin. {{audio|Violin open strings.mid|Play}}]]

In [[music]], the term '''open string''' refers to the fundamental note of the unstopped, full string.

The strings of a [[guitar]] are normally tuned to [[perfect fourth|fourths]] (excepting the G and B strings in standard tuning, which are tuned to a third), as are the strings of the [[bass guitar]] and [[double bass]]. [[Violin]], [[viola]], and [[cello]] strings are tuned to [[perfect fifth|fifths]]. However, non-standard tunings (called [[scordatura]]) exist to change the sound of the instrument or create other playing options.

To tune an instrument, often only one reference pitch is given. This reference is used to tune one string, to which the other strings are tuned in the desired intervals. On a guitar, often the lowest string is tuned to an E. From this, each successive string can be tuned by fingering the fifth fret of an already tuned string and comparing it with the next higher string played open. This works with the exception of the G string, which must be stopped at the fourth fret to sound B against the open B string above. Alternatively, each string can be tuned to its own reference tone.

[[File:Violoncello open strings actual.png|thumb|right|Cello open strings. {{audio|Violoncello open strings actual.mid|Play}}]]
Note that while the guitar and other modern stringed instruments with fixed frets are tuned in [[equal temperament]], string instruments without frets, such as those of the violin family, are not. The violin, viola, and cello are tuned to [[beat (acoustics)|beatless]] just perfect fifths and ensembles such as string quartets and orchestras tend to play in fifths based [[Pythagorean tuning]] or to compensate and play in equal temperament, such as when playing with other instruments such as the piano. For example, the cello, which is tuned down from [[A440 (pitch standard)|A220]], has three more strings (four total) and the just perfect fifth is about two [[Cent (music)|cents]] off from the equal tempered perfect fifth, making its lowest string, C−, about six cents more flat than the equal tempered C.

This table lists open strings on some common string instruments and their standard tunings from low to high unless otherwise noted.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Instrument
! Tuning
|-
|[[violin]], [[mandolin]], [[Banjo#Four-string banjos|Irish tenor banjo]]
|G, D, A, E
|-
|[[viola]], [[cello]], [[tenor banjo]], [[mandola]], [[mandocello]], [[tenor guitar]]
|C, G, D, A
|-
|[[double bass]], [[mando-bass]], [[bass guitar]]*
|(B*,) E, A, D, G, (C*)
|-
|[[guitar]]
|E, A, D, G, B, E
|-
|[[concert harp]]
| C{{music|flat}}, D{{music|flat}}, E{{music|flat}}, F{{music|flat}}, G{{music|flat}}, A{{music|flat}}, B{{music|flat}} (repeating)
|-
|[[ukulele]]
|G, C, E, A (the G string is higher than the C and E, and two half steps below the A string, known as [[reentrant tuning]])
|-
|[[5-string banjo]]
|G, D, G, B, D (another [[reentrant tuning]], with the short 5th string tuned an octave above the 3rd string)
|-
|[[cavaquinho]]
|D, G, B, D (standard Brazilian tuning)
|}

===Altered tunings===
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}
{{Main|scordatura}}
Violin scordatura was employed in the 17th and 18th centuries by Italian and German composers, namely, [[Biagio Marini]], [[Antonio Vivaldi]], [[Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber]] (who in the ''Rosary Sonatas'' prescribes a great variety of scordaturas, including crossing the middle strings), [[Johann Pachelbel]] and [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], whose ''[[Cello Suites (Bach)|Fifth Suite For Unaccompanied Cello]]'' calls for the lowering of the A string to G. In [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''[[Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra|Sinfonia Concertante]]'' in E-flat major (K. 364), all the strings of the solo viola are raised one half-step, ostensibly to give the instrument a brighter tone so the solo violin does not overshadow it.

Scordatura for the violin was also used in the 19th and 20th centuries in works by [[Niccolò Paganini]], [[Robert Schumann]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], [[Gustav Mahler]], and [[Béla Bartók]]. In Saint-Saëns' "[[Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns)|Danse Macabre]]", the high string of the violin is lower half a tone to the E{{Music|b}} so as to have the most accented note of the main theme sound on an open string. In Mahler's [[Symphony No. 4 (Mahler)|Symphony No. 4]], the solo violin is tuned one whole step high to produce a harsh sound evoking Death as the Fiddler. In Bartók's ''Contrasts'', the violin is tuned G{{Music|#}}-D-A-E{{Music|b}} to facilitate the playing of tritones on open strings.

American folk violinists of the [[Appalachians]] and [[Ozarks]] often employ alternate tunings for dance songs and ballads. The most commonly used tuning is A-E-A-E. Likewise banjo players in this tradition use many tunings to play melody in different keys. A common alternative banjo tuning for playing in D is A-D-A-D-E. Many Folk guitar players also used different tunings from standard, such as D-A-D-G-A-D, which is very popular for Irish music.

A musical instrument that has had its pitch deliberately lowered during tuning is said to be ''down-tuned'' or ''tuned down''. Common examples include the electric guitar and electric bass in contemporary [[heavy metal music]], whereby one or more strings are often tuned lower than [[concert pitch]]. This is not to be confused with electronically changing the [[fundamental frequency]], which is referred to as [[pitch shifting]].

===Tuning of unpitched percussion instruments===
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2014}}
Many percussion instruments are ''tuned'' by the player, including [[pitched percussion instrument]]s such as [[timpani]] and [[tabla]], and [[unpitched percussion instrument]]s such as the [[snare drum]].

Tuning pitched percussion follows the same patterns as tuning any other instrument, but tuning unpitched percussion does not produce a specific [[pitch (music)|pitch]]. For this reason and others, the traditional terms ''[[tuned percussion]]'' and ''[[untuned percussion]]'' are avoided in recent [[organology]].