Handbook of violin playing

by Carl Schroeder

Naming and tuning of the strings.

The four strings of the violin are tuned in perfect fifths. The first is the E string (1ᵃ), the second the A (2ᵈᵃ), the third the D (3ᵃ), and the fourth the G (4ᵃ). The usual practice, when the pitch of the A is determined, is to tune the D to it, the G to that, and lastly the E to the A.[11]