One scale, cut to length
Every lyre on this page plays the same thing: C major, one string per note, no sharps and no flats anywhere on the instrument. The string count does not change the tuning — it only decides how much of that scale you get, and where your slice starts. A 7-string is the octave from middle C upward; a 21-string is the same scale running three notes below it and two octaves above.
That is why the chips under the dial span F3 to E6 rather than one size: every string on every common lyre has a target in there. Count your strings, find your row below, and tune the slice that is yours.
Numbered from the lowest, thickest string upward. Tap a tone to hear the target, then pluck the matching string on your lyre and centre the needle.
How many strings does your lyre have?
| Size | Range | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| 7-string | C4 – B4 | One octave of the scale, middle C upward, no repeat |
| 10-string | A3 – C5 | Two notes below that octave, one above — it closes on the upper C |
| 16-string | G3 – A5 | Three below, six above — the most common size, and what most tabs assume |
| 19-string | F3 – C6 | A full octave above the middle one, closing on high C |
| 21-string | F3 – E6 | A 19-string plus D6 and E6 at the top — the bottom is unchanged |
Notice what does not move: C4 through B4 is in the same place on all five sizes. That octave is the reason a tab written for a 16-string usually plays on a 7-string as long as it stays inside the middle register, and it is the fastest way to check you have identified your strings correctly — find the string you think is middle C, pluck it, and the dial should say C4.
Which string is number one?
This is the question that actually goes wrong on a lyre, and it goes wrong before a single pin is turned. There is no industry standard for which side the low strings sit on: 10 and 16-string lyres are typically strung so pitch rises left to right as you face the strings, while many 19 and 21-string lyres rise the other way. Two lyres on the same shelf can be mirror images of each other.
So do not count in from an edge. Find the thickest, longest string — on a lyre that is unambiguous, because the strings visibly thin out across the instrument — call it the bottom of the scale, and count up from there. The maps above are numbered that way. If your own chart numbers from the top instead, the numbers flip but the notes do not.
The pins are the whole difficulty
A lyre is tuned with zither pins: straight steel pins driven into holes in the wood, turned with the small L-shaped wrench that came in the box. They hold by friction alone— there is no gearing behind them, nothing like a guitar’s machine head where fourteen turns of the button make one turn of the post. A few degrees of wrench is a large pitch change, and the whole skill is learning how small a movement you actually need.
- Push the wrench fully down onto the pin before turning. A wrench sitting half-on rounds the square end of the pin, after which nothing grips it properly again.
- Confirm which way is up, once. On nearly every lyre, clockwise raises the pitch — but check it on a single string against the dial before you trust it on the other fifteen.
- Nudge, release, pluck, read. Do not hold the wrench under load and watch the needle expecting it to creep. Move, let go, then measure.
- Come up to the note, never down onto it. If you overshoot sharp, take the string clearly below the target and bring it back up. Approaching from underneath leaves the string settled under tension instead of stopping halfway through a slip.
- Work from the lowest string up, then go round again. Every string you tighten pulls the frame a little further out of shape and slackens the ones you already did. Two complete passes is the minimum; a new lyre wants three.
New strings stretch for weeks, not days
A lyre that arrives out of tune is not defective, and neither is one that will not hold in its first fortnight. Nylon takes a long time to finish stretching, and the whole frame is settling under tension at the same time. Retune before every session and the drift shrinks on its own. What is not normal is one string slipping while its neighbours hold steady: that is the pin loosening in its hole, not the string.
G major, pentatonic, and 432 Hz
C major is the factory tuning and what nearly every lyre tab is written in, but two alternatives come up often enough to be worth naming. G major is the same scale with every F raised to F♯ — a small retune, since only the F strings move. Pentatonic drops to five notes per octave with no semitones, so every string sounds consonant against every other; it is the standard choice for meditative and therapeutic playing, and a 10-string is often set up as two octaves of D pentatonic (D–E–G–A–B) for that reason.
Players in that world frequently want A = 432 Hz rather than 440. You do not need different numbers for it: open the gear icon on the tuner above, set concert A to 432, and every target on the page moves with it — the chips, the needle and the reference tones all follow the reference pitch you choose. Our 440 Hz vs 432 Hz piece covers what the claim actually rests on.
Equal temperament, and when a lyre should ignore it
The dial measures against twelve-tone equal temperament, the compromise that lets a piano play in every key. A lyre does not play in every key. It has seven notes, no accidentals, and no way to change key without a wrench — which makes it one of the few instruments where the compromise buys you nothing at all.
If your lyre stays in C and you play chords and drones on it, just intonation is a legitimate and audible upgrade: the thirds and sixths stop beating. Open the tuner settings, set Temperament to Just Intonation with C as the root, and the targets shift by a few cents each — E4 lands about 14 cents flat of equal, A4 about 16 cents flat. Tune to the needle exactly as before. It is only worth doing if you never retune into another key, since just intonation is tied to the root you pick. If a number like “14 cents” means nothing to you yet, what cents actually are is a two-minute read.
Frequently asked questions
What notes is a 7-string lyre tuned to?
C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, A4, B4 — one octave of C major, starting on middle C, lowest and thickest string first. That octave is the part every lyre size shares: a 10-string adds A3 and B3 below it and C5 above, a 16-string runs G3 to A5, a 19-string F3 to C6, and a 21-string F3 to E6. Pick your size in the reference tones above to hear every target.
Which string is string 1 on a lyre harp?
The longest and thickest one — that is the only test that works on every lyre. Which physical side it sits on is not standard: 10 and 16-string lyres are usually strung so the pitch rises left to right as you face the strings, while many 19 and 21-string lyres rise the other way. Find the fattest string, call that the bottom of the scale, and count up from there rather than counting in from an edge.
What is the difference between a lyre and a harp?
For tuning purposes, levers. A lever harp carries a small lever beside each string that raises it a semitone, so it is normally tuned in E♭ major with every lever down and changes key mid-piece by flipping levers. A lyre has no levers at all: it is one fixed diatonic scale, almost always C major, and changing key means retuning strings. The pins differ too — a lyre uses straight zither pins held by friction in the wood, which is why a few degrees of wrench moves the pitch so far. If yours has levers, use the harp tuner instead.
Why does my lyre go out of tune so fast?
If it is new or newly restrung, the strings are still stretching, and that takes weeks rather than days — expect to retune every session at first, and it is not a fault. After that, the usual cause is the pin itself: a lyre pin holds by friction alone in a hole in the wood, with no gearing behind it, so a pin that has loosened will creep flat on its own. Wrapping the string so the coils sit tightly against the board helps; a pin that keeps slipping needs to be seated deeper, which is a job for a repairer rather than more turning.
Can I try a lyre without owning one?
Yes — there is a playable one on this site. The online lyre draws 7, 10 and 16-string lyres with the same C-major layout and the same string numbering used on this page, so you can hear what a size sounds like before you buy it, check a tab against the notes, or practise a melody while your own instrument is being restrung. It runs in the browser with nothing to install, and it takes the keyboard as well as touch.
Can I tune my lyre to something other than C major?
Yes, and two alternatives are common. G major is the usual second choice — the same scale with F sharpened — and needs only the F strings moved. Pentatonic is the other: five notes per octave with no semitones, which makes every string sound good against every other and is why it is popular for meditative and therapeutic playing. A 10-string is often set up as two octaves of D pentatonic (D–E–G–A–B) for exactly that reason. The dial names whatever note it hears, so it handles any of them; just decide before you start, because your tabs have to match.