Hi! My name is Lauryl and I’m an apprentice here at Shar. Today, we’re going to go over how to tune your cello to an electric tuner. When tuning the cello, you want to be in a regular playing position unless one of your strings is drastically out of tune. In that case, you’re going to want to face the cello towards you and then you’re going to want to use your pegs. Always begin by turning the peg towards you just slightly to make sure the peg is not stuck. Then turn the peg away from you to bring the string up to pitch.
When tuning with the pegs, just remember to turn them slowly because if you use too much force, the strings could break. So if your strings are just slightly out of tune, just use the fine tuners that are down by the tail piece.
When tuning, you always want to start with your A string. So go ahead and turn on your tuner and then play your open A string. The tuner will indicate if you’re high or low. Right now, its saying that my A string is a little bit low so I’m going to turn my tuner clockwise just a little bit and test it again. Just a little bit more it looks like and my A string will be in tune. And there it is.
Once your A string is in tune, follow the same steps with your other strings—your D, your G, and your C. When tuning one it may affect another. So after you finish tuning, go back and double check yourself to make sure that everything stayed in tune.
Tuning can be a hard thing to master so don’t discouraged. It’s all right to ask for help until you feel comfortable.
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