0c.2 Tuning to your sruti: sa, pa, sa, pa

Written from the tradition, August 2026. The South Indian playing position and the sa-pa-sa-pa tuning were checked against Carnatic violin references, August 2026. Nothing here is reproduced from any book.

What this is and why it exists

A violin comes tuned in fifths: four strings, each a fifth above the last. A Carnatic violin is not tuned that way. It is tuned to sa and pa across two octaves.

Every string comes down in pitch when you make that change. The instrument feels different afterwards, and it will not hold the new tuning for the first few days.

The vocabulary

Sa and pa — the first and fifth swaras. They are the two fixed notes of every raga.
Sruti — the pitch you have chosen for sa.
Mandra sthayi — the lower octave.
Madhya sthayi — the middle octave, where most playing happens.
Peg — the tuning key at the scroll, for large changes.
Fine tuner — the small screw at the tailpiece, for small ones.

The mental model

The four strings are two pairs of the same two notes, an octave apart. From the lowest string upward they are the lower sa, the lower pa, the middle sa and the middle pa.

Learn the strings by those names and not by their Western letters. What matters when you are playing is which swara the open string gives you, and that answer changes with every learner's sruti.

Choosing your sruti chooses the strings. If you accompany a singer, their sruti decides yours. Many players work at a sruti around D, which puts the four strings at D, A, D and A.

The work

Choose your sruti and start a drone at it.
Loosen all four strings slightly before you begin. They are all going down.
Tune the lowest string to the lower-octave sa, against the drone.
Tune the third string to the middle-octave sa, one octave above it.
Tune the second string to the lower-octave pa.
Tune the highest string to the middle-octave pa.
Play each string in turn against the drone and listen for wavering.
Go round all four again. The first pass will have moved.
Use the pegs for large changes and the fine tuners for small ones.
Expect to repeat this several times a day for the first week.

What you should now be able to explain or do

Retune a violin from fifths to the Carnatic sa-pa-sa-pa at your own sruti. Name each open string by its swara and octave. Say why the tuning is unstable for the first few days. Say what decides your sruti when you play with a singer.

Check yourself

What are the four strings tuned to?

The lower sa, the lower pa, the middle sa and the middle pa, from the lowest string upward.

Why does the tuning not hold at first?

Every string has come down in pitch, so the whole instrument is under less tension than it was. It settles over a few days.

You are accompanying a singer. Whose sruti do you tune to?

Theirs. The singer sets the sruti and the accompanist follows it.

Should you name the strings by their Western letters?

Not while you are playing. The letters change with every sruti; the swaras do not.

Go deeper

Back to Tuning to your sruti: sa, pa, sa, pa: work through the checklist