Violin Double Bass EADG Tuner — Tune to Double Bass EADG in Your Browser
Mic-based chromatic tuner pre-set to Double Bass EADG. No download, no sign-up, works in your browser.
Tuning summary
- Notes (low to high)
- E1 · A1 · D2 · G2
- Instrument
- Violin
- About this tuning
- Orchestral double bass tunes in fourths (not fifths like the rest of the violin family) — EADG, matching the bass guitar.
Start tuning
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About Double Bass EADG on violin
Double bass standard tuning is EADG, low to high — E1, A1, D2, G2. The double bass is the only member of the violin family tuned in perfect fourths rather than fifths. The pitches match a 4-string bass guitar exactly: E1 at roughly 41.2 Hz on the lowest open string, up to G2 on the highest. The fourths-based tuning is a historical inheritance from the viol family rather than the violin family, and it is the reason orchestral bass technique looks more like bass guitar fingering than cello fingering.
Tuning in fourths makes the double bass dramatically easier to navigate than it would be in fifths. The instrument is so large that fifth-based fingering across two strings would require enormous reaches; fourths keep the open strings closer together in pitch, allowing scale shapes to repeat across strings with manageable left-hand movement. This is the same reason bass guitars use fourths — the physical scale of a low-pitched instrument makes the wider intervals of fifths impractical.
The double bass anchors the bottom of the orchestra and most jazz combos. In classical settings it usually doubles the cello part an octave lower, providing the foundation under the entire string section. In jazz, it carries the walking bass line that defines the rhythm section, often played pizzicato (plucked). Some classical solo repertoire and many concertos use a higher 'solo tuning' (FBEA) a whole step above orchestral pitch to give the instrument more brilliance for soloistic playing — but EADG remains the universal default.
If you are picking up a double bass after a bass guitar, the tuning is identical and most fingering logic transfers. The major adjustments are physical: the strings are far longer, the action higher, and the technique includes both bowed (arco) and plucked (pizzicato) playing. Tune the A string first to A1 (the same A as the bass guitar's open A), then verify each adjacent string by checking the fourth above. After retuning, the strings take time to settle; a second tuning pass is normal.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the double bass tuned in fourths instead of fifths?
- The instrument is too large for fifth-based fingering to be practical — the reaches would be impossible. Fourths keep the open strings close enough that scale shapes can repeat across strings with manageable left-hand movement.
- Is double bass tuning the same as bass guitar tuning?
- Yes — both use EADG, the same pitches at the same octaves. A bass guitarist and a double bassist read the same notes on the same strings.
- Will I need different strings for a double bass?
- Yes — buy double bass-specific strings. They are far longer and thicker than electric bass strings, with separate options for arco (bowed) versus pizzicato (plucked) playing styles.
- What clef is double bass music written in?
- Primarily bass clef, with tenor and treble clefs used for higher passages. Double bass parts are written an octave higher than they sound to avoid ledger lines.
- How do I quickly switch back to standard EADG from solo tuning?
- Lower each string a whole step from FBEA to EADG. Verify each pitch with a chromatic tuner — the strings need a moment to stabilise after the change.