Acordaj

Acordaj is the process of adjusting the pitch of the vibrating elements of a musical instrument so that they produce a desired set of pitches, or the resulting arrangement of pitches itself. In Romanian usage, the term can refer both to the activity and to the resulting tuning. The word derives from acord, meaning agreement or harmony, and from acorda, meaning to tune or to harmonize.

Acordaj is most closely associated with string instruments, such as guitars, violins, violas, cellos, and lutes, but it also applies to keyboards in the sense of aligning each string or note to a specified pitch. For wind and brass instruments, tuning is achieved by adjusting embouchure, mouthpiece, or slide positions and is often described as intonation or pitch adjustment rather than acordaj of strings.

Procedures commonly used include electronic tuners, tuning forks, or reference pitches (often A4 = 440 Hz). The usual sequence begins with a reference pitch and proceeds to adjust the remaining strings or notes so that they align with standard intervals or a chosen temperament.

Types of acordaj include standard tunings, which set each string to a fixed pitch (for example, guitar standard tuning E2–E4; violin G3–E6), and alternate tunings that lower or raise pitches to form chords with open strings or to facilitate particular repertoires (open tunings, drop tunings, historical temperaments).

Maintenance considerations include stability factors such as humidity, temperature, string type and age, and hardware condition. Regular retuning is common after playing sessions, especially on instruments with sensitive hardware.