Mike's Oud Forums

Oud Tuning Frequency

oudbeginner - 3-11-2013 at 03:02 PM

Can anyone please tell me what the corresponding frequencies for each string approximately are?

I'm trying to tune my Oud per Turkish tuning (E A B e a d)

Thanks!

jdowning - 3-11-2013 at 03:18 PM

You will need to specify the pitch standard that you are using (for example A440 Hz international pitch - A being a').

An convenient way to calculate the frequencies of each tone is to use Arto Wikla's on-line string calculator. Just plug in the value for the pitch standard chosen at the top right of the calculator, choose the octave range in the adjacent box and then read off the frequency for each tone selected in the left hand box.

http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/wikla/mus/NewScalc/

So for example a top string pitched at d' (a' 440 Hz standard) choose the octave range c'-b', plug in d in the left hand box et voila your required pitch is d = 293.66 Hz.

You can also calculate string tension for a given string diameter, length and string material if you wish.
(Note that this calculator calculates string tensions for plain monofilament strings only).

Brian Prunka - 3-11-2013 at 05:06 PM

This is based on A440 Equal temperament, rounded to nearest 1/10Hz:

d' 293.7Hz
a 220Hz
e 164.8Hz
B 123.5Hz
A 110Hz
E 82.4Hz

If you use classical pure 4ths tuning (A440 center):
d' 293.3Hz
a 220Hz
e 165Hz
B 123.8Hz
A 110Hz
E 82.5Hz

As you can see, they are very close, the most noticeable one is the B string.