Koboz tuner: Moldavian Csángó D-A-D-G
The koboz, cobză in Romanian, is a very short-necked, fretless lute with a pear-shaped body, plucked with a goose quill. It mostly gives rhythm and two or three chords behind the fiddle or the flute. In 20th-century Hungary only the Moldavian Csángós still played it, and the táncház movement brought it back. It has four courses of two or three strings.
Koboz courses in D-A-D-G
Thick + thin string per course, at A4 = 440 Hz (a convention). The thin strings are D4 A4 D4 G4 in every source; the sources differ on the thick strings of the top two courses.
| Course | All octaves (Lexikon) | Hz | Top courses in unison (Atlas) | Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low D course | D3+D4 | 146.83+293.66 | D3+D4 | 146.83+293.66 |
| A course | A3+A4 | 220.00+440.00 | A3+A4 | 220.00+440.00 |
| Upper D course | D3+D4 | 146.83+293.66 | D4+D4 | 293.66 |
| G course | G3+G4 | 196.00+392.00 | G4+G4 | 392.00 |
How to use it
- Turn on the microphone and start with the low D course. Mute one string of the pair with a finger and pluck the other gently with the quill.
- Tune the thick string to D3 (about 147 Hz) and the thin one to D4 (about 294 Hz). The tuner shows D for both, so watch the octave number or the Hz.
- Go on with the A course (A3 + A4), the upper D course and the G course (G3 + G4). Turn the pegs in small steps and always come up to the note from below.
- Check by ear: the thin string of the low D course (D4) is in unison with the thin string of the upper D course, and G4 sounds a perfect fourth above D4.
Help and explanations
All the sources agree on D-A-D-G (re-la-re-sol): a fifth and two fourths. The Hungarian Ethnographic Lexicon writes it dd′ aa′ dd′ gg′: each course has a thin string (D4 A4 D4 G4) and a thick string an octave lower (D3 A3 D3 G3). The tuner starts there; A4 = 440 Hz is the electronic-tuner convention. This is not the Ukrainian kobza.
Octaves or unisons on the top courses
The sources agree on the two lower courses: D3 + D4 and A3 + A4. They differ on the third and fourth. The Ethnographic Lexicon, the Hungarian Wikipedia (each course sounds in octaves) and the Moldovan heritage register all describe a thick string an octave below the thin one here too (D3 + D4, G3 + G4), so that is the default.
One collector's measured instrument (Atlas of Plucked Instruments) had the top two courses in unison (D4 + D4, G4 + G4); you will find it as the second tuning. In a triple course, two strings may be thicker and an octave lower, but no general rule says which courses are triple.
Other keys and the modern fretted cobza
András Benkő's koboz.hu also mentions G-D-G-C and A-E-A-D, the same pattern of intervals, and the koboziskola.hu online course teaches on a koboz in A. The sources give no octave chart for those, so use the chromatic tuner or set the reference A to your fiddler.
Since the 1980s the Republic of Moldova has also made a fretted cobza with a longer neck; one documented example is tuned like a mandolin, G-D-A-E. Do not use that tuning on a traditional fretless koboz.
Tips
- Do not strum chords while tuning: both strings together confuse the tuner and the needle jumps between octaves.
- Never tune a thin string an octave too high (A5 instead of A4), as it will snap; and do not pull a thick string up to the thin string's pitch, as it will be over-tensioned; a unison course needs two thin strings.
- The neck is fretless, so the tuner only helps with the open strings; stopped chords depend on your ear. New metal strings stretch, so retune after a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How do you tune a koboz or cobza?
To D-A-D-G: thin strings D4, A4, D4, G4 (293.66, 440.00, 293.66 and 392.00 Hz) and thick strings an octave lower, D3, A3, D3, G3.
Are the koboz and the cobza the same instrument?
Yes: the same instrument and the same word in Hungarian and Romanian. In 2025 UNESCO inscribed cobza traditional knowledge, skills and music, nominated by Romania and Moldova, on its Representative List.
What if my fiddler is not at 440 Hz?
Measure the fiddle's A string with the chromatic tuner, set that value as the reference A, then tune the koboz. The two instruments will then agree.
Is the cobza the same as the Ukrainian kobza?
No. The names are similar, but the Ukrainian kobza is a different instrument with other tunings.