Standard Tuning for Mandolin

Standard runs G3, D4, A4, E5, in playing order. The lowest-pitched string is G3 (196.00 Hz) and the highest is E5 (659.26 Hz), measured against A4 = 440 Hz. Those are the exact target frequencies the tuner on this page listens for.

Nothing to change — this is the reference tuning for Mandolin. If your instrument is already in tune, you're there.

Tuned in perfect fifths, identical to a violin, which is why fiddle tunes transfer to mandolin note for note. The strings are doubled into courses, so each pitch is tuned twice — the small detuning between a pair is what gives the instrument its shimmer.

G3 is 196.00 Hz at concert pitch (A4 = 440 Hz). That's the fundamental — the string also produces harmonics above it, which is why a tuner reading the wrong octave usually means it locked onto a harmonic rather than the fundamental. This is the lowest string in this mandolin tuning.

Perfect fifths across all four courses, identical to a violin, so fiddle repertoire transfers note for note and the same fingering logic applies. Fifths cover more pitch per string pair than the guitar's fourths, meaning fewer strings are needed for the same range but each position demands a wider stretch. The doubled courses are the other defining trait: two strings tuned to the same pitch never sit perfectly identical, and the resulting slow beating between them is the shimmer that distinguishes a mandolin from a single-strung instrument.

Both strings in a course must match. A course that is even slightly out beats against itself and no amount of picking technique will hide it.