0b.2 Tuning the four playing strings and the three side strings

Written from the tradition, August 2026. The parts of the instrument and the fret count were checked against the veena reference under Go deeper. The tuning is given as the common one, and where teachers and makers differ the lesson says so rather than choosing quietly.

What this is and why it exists

Nothing you practise is worth anything on an instrument that is out of tune. On the veena that is not a one-off setup task. Seven strings move with temperature and with playing, and you will tune before every sitting for years.

There is one honest warning in this lesson. The exact pitch of each string differs between teachers and between instruments. Ask your teacher before you turn a peg, and never guess.

The vocabulary

Sruti — the pitch you have chosen for sa. Every string is set against it.
Peg — the tuning key at the far end of the neck for each playing string.
Bead — the small adjuster near the bridge, for fine changes.
Sarani — the melody string, and the first one tuned.
Side strings — the three drone and beat strings, tuned to sa and pa.
Octave — the same swara, higher or lower. Sa exists in every octave.

The mental model

The veena is tuned to two notes, sa and pa, spread across three octaves. It is not tuned to a scale.

That is why one instrument plays every raga without retuning. The frets provide the scale; the strings provide the two fixed points that every scale is measured from.

Tune to an outside reference, never to the instrument alone. A veena tuned only against its own strings will still sound consistent with itself while drifting further from your sruti every week. A drone stops that.

Work from the sarani outward. Set the melody string first, then set each of the others against it. If you start in the middle you will chase yourself around the instrument.

The work

Start a drone at your sruti and leave it running.
Tune the sarani first. On most instruments it takes the middle-octave sa.
Check it against the drone until the wavering between them stops.
Tune the remaining three playing strings to pa and sa below the sarani.
Check each one against the drone as you set it.
Ask your teacher which octave each of those three takes. It varies.
Tune the three side strings to sa and pa, so they sound the drone against your sa.
Ask your teacher the order they use for those three as well.
Use the pegs for large changes and the beads for small ones.
Play for ten minutes, then check everything again.
Check again after moving the instrument to a different room.

What you should now be able to explain or do

Tune the veena from a drone rather than from itself. Set the sarani first and the rest against it. Say why the instrument is tuned to sa and pa and not to a scale. Say which parts of the tuning differ between teachers.

Check yourself

Why tune against a drone instead of against the instrument?

An instrument tuned to itself stays consistent while drifting away from your sruti. The drone is the outside reference that stops the drift.

Which string do you tune first?

The sarani. It carries the melody, so everything else is set against it.

The veena is in tune, and you want to play a different raga. What do you retune?

Nothing. The strings give sa and pa, and the frets give the scale.

A book gives you exact pitches for all seven strings. Should you use them?

Take them to your teacher first. Instruments and schools differ here, and a peg turned on a guess can cost you a string.

Go deeper

Back to Tuning the four playing strings and the three side strings: work through the checklist