Is this octave mandola tuner free?

Yes, and there is no account or app. It runs in the browser using your microphone.

What is the difference between an octave mandola and a mandolin?

Pitch. Both are tuned GDAE with the same fingering, but an octave mandola sounds an octave lower, which puts it in the same range as an Irish tenor banjo.

What is an Irish octave mandola tuned to?

GDAE, low to high: G2, D3, A3, E4. That is the same as a fiddle or mandolin, which is why Irish players use it: the tunes sit under the fingers exactly as fiddle players play them.

Do I tune up or down from CGDA?

Down on three strings and up on one. Standard tenor tuning is CGDA, a fifth below GDAE on the bottom three. Going to GDAE means the C string goes up to G, the G up to D, the D up to A, and the A up to E. Every string rises, so slacken first and come up to pitch slowly. Standard CGDA strings will feel tight and may snap, which is why gauges matter.

Will I break something retuning it?

Possible if you use CGDA gauges. Fit a set intended for GDAE at your scale length, use the table above, and come up to pitch over a few minutes rather than all at once. A nut cut for heavier strings may also need easing.

What string gauges for GDAE?

It depends on scale length, not fret count, and that is why the question never gets a straight answer on forums. A 17-fret banjo with a 19 inch scale needs heavier strings than a 23 inch instrument to reach the same pitch at the same tension. The table above gives a starting point for each.

How do I tune it without a tuner?

Tune the A string to a reference, then tune each other string to it in fifths. Fret the D string at 7 and it should match the open A. Fret the G at 7 and it matches the open D. Fret the A at 7 and it matches the open E. Fifths are harder to hear than octaves, so a clip-on tuner is worth the money at the start.

Octave mandola tuner: GDAE

Free, in the browser, nothing recorded.

Tap a string to hear its reference tone and tune to it by ear. The microphone pauses while a tone sounds.

Microphone tuner

Tune your octave mandola

Listens through your microphone. Nothing is recorded and nothing leaves your browser.

Choosing

Which tuning to use, and what for

The tuning you choose decides what the instrument is good at. This is the part that is rarely written down.

People dancing on a pier at the Kilmakilloge Pattern in County Kerry, 1913, with a melodeon player — Melodeon and dancing. The closest thing in the set to where these tunes were actually played.National Library of Ireland on The Commons. Source · No known copyright restrictions

GDAE

The standard. Same pitches as an Irish tenor banjo, so tab and fingering transfer directly.

FAQ

Octave mandola tuning questions

Everything people ask before they tune up.

Yes, and there is no account or app. It runs in the browser using your microphone.
Pitch. Both are tuned GDAE with the same fingering, but an octave mandola sounds an octave lower, which puts it in the same range as an Irish tenor banjo.
GDAE, low to high: G2, D3, A3, E4. That is the same as a fiddle or mandolin, which is why Irish players use it: the tunes sit under the fingers exactly as fiddle players play them.
Down on three strings and up on one. Standard tenor tuning is CGDA, a fifth below GDAE on the bottom three. Going to GDAE means the C string goes up to G, the G up to D, the D up to A, and the A up to E. Every string rises, so slacken first and come up to pitch slowly. Standard CGDA strings will feel tight and may snap, which is why gauges matter.
Possible if you use CGDA gauges. Fit a set intended for GDAE at your scale length, use the table above, and come up to pitch over a few minutes rather than all at once. A nut cut for heavier strings may also need easing.
It depends on scale length, not fret count, and that is why the question never gets a straight answer on forums. A 17-fret banjo with a 19 inch scale needs heavier strings than a 23 inch instrument to reach the same pitch at the same tension. The table above gives a starting point for each.
Tune the A string to a reference, then tune each other string to it in fifths. Fret the D string at 7 and it should match the open A. Fret the G at 7 and it matches the open D. Fret the A at 7 and it matches the open E. Fifths are harder to hear than octaves, so a clip-on tuner is worth the money at the start.

Now learn the chords