Balalaika tuner

Balalaika tuning in Hz

Prima, 3 strings: E E A

Every balalaika size

Equal temperament at A4 = 440 Hz; the reference switch above moves them. Prima, sekunda and alto are on the switch; for the others use the chromatic tuner.

How to tune a balalaika with this tuner

Choose your balalaika on the switch: prima, sekunda or alto. Tap start and allow the microphone. The tuner asks for the 3rd string first, the thick E nearest your chin, then the 2nd E, then the thin A. Pluck one string, let it ring and turn: tighten when the needle reads low, loosen when it reads high. A tick comes when it holds within five cents, and the next string is suggested. Tap a note to pick a string yourself; with the microphone off, the tap plays it.

The two E strings are a unison, the same note, and you finish them by ear: play both and turn the 2nd until the wobble between them stops and they sound like one string. On a prima the A is thin steel and the two E's are nylon, so they stretch differently: after new strings the E's keep dropping for days while the A holds. To check, the E string at the 5th fret sounds the same as the open A.

Prima, sekunda or alto: which balalaika is yours

The prima is the solo balalaika and the one most people own, about 66 to 69 cm long, tuned E4 E4 A4. The sekunda, a size larger, plays chords in an orchestra and is tuned a fifth lower, A3 A3 D4. The alto, about 81 cm, is the prima an octave down, E3 E3 A3. The bass and the contrabass stand on a leg and are tuned in fourths, E A D, with no unison pair (sizes and tunings: Bibs Ekkel, The Complete Balalaika Book, 1997, as given by Wikipedia in 2026).

Folk tunings: G B D and the others

Before Vasily Andreyev standardised the balalaika in St Petersburg in the 1880s, players tuned it many ways, and some still do (Wikipedia, "Balalaika", as of 2026):

• Guitar tuning, G3 B3 D4: the top three strings of the Russian seven-string guitar, open G major. Easy for guitarists; classical players avoid it.
• D4 F♯4 A4 and C4 E4 G4: older folk tunings, open D major and open C major.
• D4 D4 G4: the prima a whole tone down (293.66 · 293.66 · 392.00 Hz), for less tension or a lower voice; same strings, same shapes.
• E4 A4 D5: the domra's tuning in fourths, for domra players.

None of these is on the switch: tune them with the chromatic tuner, which names any note. Mind the strings: E A D lifts two strings a fourth, and a string tuned a fourth up carries 78 % more tension. It needs its own string set.

Six-string balalaika tuning

Six-string balalaikas pair the strings in three courses, each pair in unison; most are tuned like the prima, E E A, and some like the guitar tuning, G B D. Ask the maker which. The tuner reads one string at a time, so rest a finger on the other string of the pair while you tune it.

How to tune a balalaika by ear

String 1 is the thin steel A, nearest the floor; some guides number them the other way, so go by the note, not the number.

• Tune the A string to a reference: the tone generator, a piano or a fork.
• Fret an E string at the 5th fret and turn it until it matches the open A.
• Tune the other E to it: play both open; the wobble slows as they meet and stops in unison.

Strum all three open and you hear only E and A: an A chord with no third. Strummed open, E E A is not A minor: there is no C in it. That bare sound is right; the left thumb on the 3rd string turns it into chords.

Balalaika chords

On the prima the thumb frets the 3rd string; these are full three-note chords. Frets for the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings (E E A), 0 is open.

Why a balalaika won't stay in tune

New nylon strings stretch for days: tune, play a quarter of an hour, tune again. Friction pegs on older instruments slip: push in as you turn and come up to the note from below. The bridge is not glued; the strings hold it, so it slides when you restring or knock it. If a string at the 12th fret reads sharp of its open octave, the bridge has moved toward the neck: move it back toward the tail until the 12th fret is exactly an octave. Change one string at a time and the bridge stays put. Weather: the spruce top and the neck move with heat and humidity; let a cold balalaika warm up before you tune it.

The notes you tuned go into Brumm as a short melody over a beat.