Standard erhu tuning is simple to name and easy to mis-hear: the inner string is D4 and the outer string is A4, a perfect fifth above. Tune the open strings before placing a finger. If the open fifth is unstable, every position and every jianpu key system built on it will be unstable too.
01 Know which string you are hearing
With the erhu upright on the left thigh, the string nearer your body is the inner D string; the string farther away is the outer A string. Bow one string at a time with a slow, even stroke. The bow hair remains between the strings: a small change in right-hand pressure selects the string, while excess pressure can add noise that makes any tuner less certain.
02 Set A4 before chasing cents
A4 = 440 Hz is the common starting reference. An ensemble, recording, or teacher may use another reference, so match theirs before you tune. Soloist Erhu lets you calibrate A4 from 428 to 452 Hz; changing that reference moves both open-string targets together. It does not change the interval between D and A.
03 A repeatable D–A tuning order
- Set the A4 reference your session uses.
- Bow the outer A string softly and steadily; turn its peg in small movements.
- Bow the inner D string and bring it to the fifth below.
- Return to A, then D. Peg movement and string tension can slightly disturb the other string.
- Finish by listening to both reference tones and the open fifth, not by staring at the needle alone.
04 The six xianfa keys do not retune the strings
D, G, F, C, A, and B♭ are six xianfa systems: they tell you which jianpu degree each D–A open string represents. The strings remain D4 and A4. In D key they are 1 and 5; in G they are 5 and 2. The six-system xianfa chart maps all six without asking you to retune.
05 When the microphone hears noise instead of pitch
Move away from fans and hard reflective walls, keep the phone microphone uncovered, and use a long open-string bow rather than a short scratchy attack. Soloist Erhu auto-detects inner D and outer A and suppresses uncertain mic evidence; if the signal is still unclear, use its reference-timbre listening mode and try again. A blank or uncertain reading is safer than a confident wrong one.
Related reading
Questions
What are the standard open strings on erhu?
The inner string is D4 and the outer string is A4, a perfect fifth higher.
Should I always tune A4 to 440 Hz?
Use 440 Hz unless your teacher, ensemble, or recording specifies another reference; then match that reference before tuning.
Do D, G, F, C, A, and B-flat xianfa require different tuning?
No. The erhu stays tuned D4–A4; xianfa changes the scale-degree names assigned to those two open strings.