Online kobza tuner
Several different Ukrainian instruments are called kobza today, so first choose yours in the Tuning menu. The first type is the orchestral (fretted) kobza: Professor Mykola Prokopenko designed this family in the 1970s from the four-string domra, reshaping the body without changing the tuning. It has frets and four single strings tuned in fifths, G3 D4 A4 E5 — the same open notes as the violin and the mandolin.
Kobza string notes and frequencies
Orchestral kobza prima and Veresai kobza (conventional tuning after Kushpet) at A4 = 440 Hz.
| String | Note | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|
| Prima: 4th string | G3 | 196.00 |
| Prima: 3rd string | D4 | 293.66 |
| Prima: 2nd string | A4 | 440.00 |
| Prima: 1st string | E5 | 659.26 |
| Veresai kobza: bunty 1–6 | G2 C3 D3 G3 A3 D4 | 98.00 · 130.81 · 146.83 · 196.00 · 220.00 · 293.66 |
| Veresai kobza: prystrunky 1–6 | G4 A4 B4 C♯5 D5 E5 | 392.00 · 440.00 · 493.88 · 554.37 · 587.33 · 659.26 |
| Prystrunok 4, beginner version | C5 | 523.25 |
Kobza Veresaia — Ukrainian Wikipedia (table after V. Kushpet)
How to use it
- Enable the microphone and choose your kobza in the Tuning menu: orchestral prima, Veresai kobza, six-string or seven-string.
- Play one open string while muting the others. The tuner highlights the nearest string and shows the deviation in cents.
- An up arrow means tighten the peg, a down arrow means loosen it. When the string stays in the green zone, a ✓ appears next to it.
- Tap a string to hear its reference note and lock the tuner on it; Auto returns to automatic detection.
Help and explanations
The Veresai kobza is a reconstruction of Ostap Veresai's instrument, made by Mykola Budnyk in 1983 and popularised by Volodymyr Kushpet: six bunty (neck strings) on a fretless neck plus six prystrunky (short treble strings) on the soundboard. The tuner gives the reference tuning from Kushpet's 1997 method as a convention, because traditionally each kobza was tuned to its owner's voice. There are also accompaniment kobzas: the six-string one is tuned like a guitar and the seven-string one to open G, like the Russian seven-string guitar.
Orchestral kobza prima tuning
From lowest to highest: 4th string G3 (196.00 Hz), 3rd string D4 (293.66 Hz), 2nd string A4 (440.00 Hz), 1st string E5 (659.26 Hz). Start with the 2nd string, A4: it is the reference string, as on the domra prima. Neighbouring strings form perfect fifths, so the 7th fret of each string gives the note of the next open string. Because the tuning is the same as a violin's, you can also tune together with a violin or a mandolin.
The orchestral family also includes alto, tenor, bass and contrabass sizes. The sources say the kobza was adapted from the domra without changing the tuning, but they publish no separate tuning tables for these kobza sizes, so they are not offered here: check the notes against your part or with your orchestra leader. Do not confuse the Ukrainian kobza with the Romanian cobză or the Hungarian koboz, short-necked lutes with double courses and other tunings.
Veresai kobza: a conventional tuning after Kushpet
Bunty, from lowest to highest: G2 C3 D3 G3 A3 D4, alternating a perfect fourth and a major second. Prystrunky: G4 A4 B4 C♯5 D5 E5. The prystrunky G4, A4 and D5 sound exactly an octave above the bunty G3, A3 and D4, so you can check the octaves by ear. On the 4th prystrunok, C♯5 (554.37 Hz) is the authentic note recorded by Mykola Lysenko in 1874; Kushpet suggests C5 (523.25 Hz) for beginners, and that version has its own entry in the menu.
This G-based tuning is a reference, not a required historical pitch. If it sits too high or too low for your voice, move all 12 strings by the same interval and check the notes with the chromatic tuner. The neck has no frets, so the tuner helps only with the open strings; notes stopped on the bunty are placed by ear.
Tips
- Identify the type first: four strings and frets means an orchestral kobza; a fretless neck with six strings plus six short strings on the soundboard means a Veresai kobza; six or seven fretted strings means an accompaniment kobza.
- Pluck one string at a time and mute the rest: on the Veresai kobza the open prystrunky ring in sympathy and confuse the tuner.
- New strings, whether gut, nylon or metal, stretch during the first days. Retune several times before playing with others.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tune a four-string kobza?
The orchestral kobza prima is tuned in fifths: G3 D4 A4 E5, from the 4th string to the 1st. Start with A4 = 440 Hz on the 2nd string, then tune D4, G3 and E5.
How is the orchestral kobza different from the domra?
It is a four-string domra with a reshaped body and the same tuning; only the name is shared with the historical kobza. Mykola Prokopenko proposed in 1974–1976 that the four-string domra be called kobza; the idea was not adopted then, but the name gained ground after 1991.
What is the Veresai kobza tuning?
Following V. Kushpet's 1997 method: bunty G2 C3 D3 G3 A3 D4 and prystrunky G4 A4 B4 C♯5 D5 E5, with C5 as the simplified beginner option. It is a conventional tuning in G: traditionally each kobza was tuned to its owner's voice.
How do I tune a six-string or seven-string kobza?
The six-string kobza is tuned like a guitar: E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. The seven-string kobza uses open G, like the Russian seven-string guitar: D2 G2 B2 D3 G3 B3 D4, and all open strings together sound a G major chord.