HOW TO TUNE A VIOLA DA GAMBA

Tuning a viola da gamba can be a daunting task. Gut strings are infamously fickle, pegs can be sticky or loose depending on the weather, too much tuning can pull our bridge out of shape – not to mention how physically exhausting the whole affair can be! For something we do every time we play, tuning is one of the trickier aspects of playing the viol. Fortunately, a little strategy and organization can remove most of the frustration.

To start, let's clarify what I am addressing versus what I am not. I’m only focusing on getting the open strings of the viol in tune with a tuner, and training yourself to tune “by ear” with the help of a tuner. I’m avoiding deeper topics like temperaments, tuning frets, or the merits of any tuning system over any other. While I have strong opinions about these issues, I’ll save those for another time. 

First off, get a tuner. Whether you are an amateur just beginning to play or a professional with many years under your belt, a tuner will make your life easier. Tuning by ear is a process that must be learned, practiced and perfected. These days there’s a large variety of hardware and app-based tuners that are quite good and very affordable, so the tuner you select should be chosen more on ease of use and reliability than anything else. Whether you select a dedicated hardware tuner (a device that only tunes) or a tuning app for your smartphone, make sure the tuner is easy for you to read (some displays are tiny, some are confusing, some are just unclear), that it dependably picks up tones regardless of register (often cheaper tuners struggle with extremes of register, particularly low tones), and that it is consistent. 

Over the years I’ve used many types and brands of tuner with varying degrees of success. These days I tend to stick with three tuners in my daily practice, performing, and teaching: a smartphone app, a clip-on tuner, and a dedicated hardware tuner that lives on my music stand. The app I use is called PitchLab Pro, and while it seems to disappear from app stores from time to time, it has been my consistent choice for several years. The features that make it particularly useful to me are its legibility, its flexibility, and its consistency. With several types of visual displays to choose from I find it easier to read than Cleartune or other apps, mainly because PitchLab can tell me how many cents off I am from accurate pitch. Add to that its virtual strobe tuner display (my favorite) I can tell how far away I am from “in tune” quite easily. I’ll get back to why I think having an accurate display is important later. I also like that it is programmable, meaning I can add custom temperaments to it with ease.

Past the app, I use a clip-on tuner and a stand alone hardware tuner from Peterson Strobe Tuners. The StroboClip HD tuner lives on my tailpiece and gives me a clear and easy-to-read display I can see on any stage. I’ve found it particularly dependable in loud settings where many tuners fall short - whether that’s tuning with a modern orchestra, or while playing with an amplified band. In normal early music settings, this tuner has no issues. And while more expensive than other clip-on tuners (like Snark), Peterson’s clip-on has a selection of useful temperaments, and it doesn’t struggle as much as others with register extremes. The stand alone tuner I use is Peterson’s StroboPLUS HDC tuner. Easy to read, rechargeable, programmable with many useful temperaments pre-loaded, and dependable regardless of register, this tuner also does serious double duty as a metronome. All of that has made the StroboPLUS HDC a constant presence on my music stand. 

The Peterson StroboClip HD attached to the tailpiece of my bass viol.

And while these are my personal choices for tuners, I know many students and colleagues use different apps and devices with equal success. I feel this underscores the fact that whatever you choose should be easy for you to use and understand - otherwise you won’t use it. I’ve had a lot of success with Snark clip-on tuners, simple and “old school” Korg tuners with clip-on contact mics, and several different tuning apps on my smartphone. Just use what works for you - but be consistent and observant as you tune. 

When tuning the viol, I’d suggest you pick one device or app and stick with it for a while. Changing methodologies is a fast path to frustration, and consistency allows you to learn the peculiarities of not just the tuner, but your own ear and “taste” in intervallic qualities (more on that later). Start off by playing the first string you’ll tune with a clear and full sound. Listen to the pitch and see what the tuner registers as it “hears” the pitch. Playing with a full sound activates the viol, giving us the overtones we need to hear to make sure that the instrument is in as good tune as possible. Many players just start twisting pegs willy nilly before even registering if the tone is sharp, flat, or even in tune. Others will use tiny bow strokes, tuning in a barely audible fashion as if they are ashamed to tune in the first place. Playing with exaggerated dynamics will distort the pitch in ways that will quickly become evident, particularly if you are playing in an ensemble. Taking a moment to listen and to play with good sound will save you time in the long run.

Once you see how and if the string is in tune, move your peg to correct the pitch. Most of the time I will tune the out of tune string first by lowering the pitch, approaching “in tune” from below. This often helps keep the string winding in place, decreasing the chances your pegs will spontaneously pop loose and undo all your efforts. If your pegs are too tight or too loose, I’d suggest either applying some peg compound or visiting a trusted luthier to address the issue. Some students, particularly those with arthritis or other hand and joint issues, find PegHeads to be a great option. Repeat this process until you’ve got all six or seven strings in tune according to the tuner. Now let's talk about how to expand this practice to tuning by ear.

Tuning a viol by ear is a daunting enterprise at first, even if you’re coming to the viol with other musical experience. Luckily you can teach yourself how to tune by ear if you mindfully use and observe your tuner and the information it's giving you. While I can dependably tune by ear, I still use tuners in my practice sessions not just to ensure accuracy, but to teach myself the intervallic qualities of different temperaments (how wide or narrow the intervals are by ear vs. by tuner), and to illuminate my own predilections as to how I think fourths, fifths, and thirds, etc. should sound. To begin, get two adjacent strings in tune by ear, let’s say the d1 and a2 strings of the bass viol. Once tuned to what you feel is a pleasing fourth, play them together again as a double stop listening to the quality of the chord they create. Now play the two strings individually and see how they register to the tuner. If a2 is our anchor point it should already be in tune. How does the d1 compare? Is it sharp, flat, or spot on?

With the example of d1 and a2 I often find that the interval is wider - or piquant - within many temperaments compared to where I might tune it by ear. The slightly flat d1 sounds so nice against an in tune a2, but it will inevitably lead to trouble down the road. Sweet, narrow fourths and thirds sound lovely, but they are generally not our friends when playing the viol. Sweet, narrow intervals lead to an instrument where the higher strings are considerably flat compared to the bottom strings. Now that you see where your d1 string is standing according to the tuner, correct the pitch and bring it in tune according to the machine. Play the double stop again. How has its quality changed compared to the initial double stop you tuned by ear. Is it strident, narrower, sweeter, wider, piquant? Find your own language, but define these differences so that you learn the color of the tempered interval according to the tuner and temperament you are using. This is where a tuner with a clear display, particularly one that gives you a numeric value in cents for the distance between the played pitch and “in tune,” becomes a great asset. By having a numerical value you can quantify this difference in the interval when tuned by different means, rather than depending on poetic language to describe the quality of interval. 

Detail from a screenshot of the PitchLab Pro tuner app, a mainstay on my phone for several years now.

I have found that mindfully comparing the qualities of the double stops created as we tune is a great way to learn what “in tune” sounds like, as well as a method to teach ourselves the difference of tuning by ear and tuning in a temperament. Tuning by ear almost invariably gives us a sweet and pleasing result, but it often disagrees with getting the viol globally in tune with itself. Bass strings are sharp to the treble strings, the interior third between the fourth and third strings is invariably too narrow/sweet, and the same is often true of the fourths created by the rest of our strings. Taking time to learn the sound of the distance between what our ears say is “in tune” versus what the temperament demands is time well spent. Listening to the difference between the chords created when tuning by ear versus with a tuner is a quick way to learn and memorize the color of tempered tuning. Just like remembering a taste, a smell, or a face you can learn the sound of tempered intervals with steady, patient, and organized practice.

Another approach to tuning by ear with a tuner is by listening to a tone generated by the tuner. Many apps and some stand alone tuners can generate pitches, but not all. If you happen to have a tuner that does have this capacity I’d encourage you to use it. Start off by selecting your starting point on your tuner and have it play the tone at a good volume, somewhere in the ballpark of the volume you’ll be playing yourself. Play the tone then play the corresponding open string on your viol, noting if and how the string is disagreeing with the generated tone. A bit of advice: take your time and listen to the two pitches like you’re comparing two sips of fine wine or bites of exquisite cheese. How do they differ - sharp or flat? Once you hone in on the type and size of difference, bring the string in tune with the generated pitch. One thing to be mindful of as you try this method: tuning unisons can be tricky. Be patient, and don’t be surprised if you have moments of saying “Wait! Is that sharp or flat - I can’t tell?!?!?!?!” That happens to us all, particularly when the difference between the tones is quite small.

In other posts I might throw my hat into the contentious ring of viols and temperaments. But that’s a whole other matter! Until then, I hope sharing my insights into tuning viols helps you make the process easier, less stressful, and easier to understand. Slow down, be observant, and pay attention to what your instrument and your tuner are trying to teach you - it’s not as difficult as it sounds if you approach it with patience.