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Beginner's Questions
Notes, Switching
Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 (1 votes) 
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Baradiche

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December 20, 2017 - 6:45 pm
Member Since: December 20, 2017
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Everytime I tune, my G, F sharp, and E change locations as well. Am I tuning wrong? Also, when I use the tuning sound device, my note isn't exactly in the middle is that ok? When I'm trying to play songs on the right tempo my fingers can't change fast enough and get into the right locations so I know the notes are off. How do I fix these problems? I don't have a teacher to ask.

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ryonass
Maryland
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December 20, 2017 - 6:54 pm
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I’m not really sure I understand the first question. As for the second question, it happens to me all the time when I try to play a song in tempo too quickly. Practice slowly and gradually build up the tempo and your fingers will fall in the right place.

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Ferenc Simon
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December 20, 2017 - 7:29 pm
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Baradiche said
Everytime I tune, my G, F sharp, and E change locations as well. Am I tuning wrong? Also, when I use the tuning sound device, my note isn't exactly in the middle is that ok? When I'm trying to play songs on the right tempo my fingers can't change fast enough and get into the right locations so I know the notes are off. How do I fix these problems? I don't have a teacher to ask.  

Hey there :)

So let's get the tuning stuff cleared up.

You have 4 strings on the violin, from thickest to thinnest they should be tuned to: G, D, A, E. However these need to be in the right octave, that's why if you're unsure, I recommend using a tuner that displays the actual frequencies as well in Hertz (Hz)

So in case you have one of those tuners, or a tuning app on your phone, the values are the following:

G: 196 Hz

D: 293.7 Hz

A: 440 Hz

E: 659.3 Hz

Now, it's not easy to get them exactly to those values, it might take several tries of slightly loosening the peg, then tightening back again (only really really slightly). The idea is to have them as close as possible. Usually tuners light up green or signal you in some way when you're within an acceptable tolerance (that would usually be somewhere around +/- ~1 Hz so it has to be pretty close to the center).

Be sure to push the pegs inwards as you're tuning up, to make them stay in place, otherwise they wind down from the tension.

As to the second part of your question, there is no 'magic fix' for that. You simply need to practice a lot at slower speeds, trying to be as accurate as possible and it will automatically speed up, once you completely learn the movements and eliminate hesitation.

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BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
December 21, 2017 - 4:47 am
Member Since: March 22, 2014
Forum Posts: 3746
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Every thing @Ferenc Simon wrote above.

Also worth noting that, depending on just how loose strings were originally, after you have brought each one separately into tune, go back and check, and possibly re-adjust them all.

So, although you may have started by tuning the A exactly on the tuner, by the time you have tightened the other strings the overall tension on the instrument from the strings will have changed, resulting in lowering the frequency of the first (and other subsequent strings) you set up....

Unless you are really happy identifying the musical gap in 5ths between strings by ear, then it's always advisable, even for minor retuning adjustments on a single string to go back and check them all....

Note - you can of course play equally well on an instrument where all strings are "out of tune" but still 5ths apart - (i.e. no longer A440) it will sound fine - but you'll have problems playing along to a backing track that IS A440.....  That's why although tuning to 5ths by ear may be a quick way to get the overall instrument in "relative-tune" it really is worthwhile doing that final check with the tuner to get the whole instrument centered on open A440

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

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