Puerto Rican Cuatro (Antiguo) Tuning

Standard Puerto Rican Cuatro (Antiguo) Tuning

The 10 strings of a Puerto Rican cuatro (antiguo) sit in 5 courses, tuned A-D-G-C-F from the 5th course to the 1st in standard tuning — the tuning almost every player starts with. The two lowest courses pair each string with one an octave above; the others are unison pairs.

How to Tune a Puerto Rican Cuatro (Antiguo)

Pluck one open string at a time and turn its tuning peg or machine head while the string rings, listening until the pitch matches a reference tone. Small, unhurried turns are easier to judge by ear than fast ones. Work one course at a time: bring one string to pitch, then tune the rest of that course to it — an octave apart on the octave courses, the same note on the others.

Use an electronic tuner for the fastest, most accurate result — clip-on and app tuners read the pitch directly, so you don't need a reference tone at all. Open the String Warrior tuner to tune with your microphone: it listens to each string and shows exactly how sharp or flat it is.