How to tune with the online tuner
- Choose your instrument, or Chromatic for any instrument or voice. The reference pitch is A4 = 440 Hz; change it if your band or orchestra tunes differently.
- Press Start tuner and allow the microphone.
- Play one string or note at a time and let it ring. The note name and needle show how far you are from the target in cents.
- Tighten the string if it says "tune up" (flat) and loosen it if it says "tune down" (sharp) until the needle sits in the green and shows ✓ In tune. Tap a string button to hear its reference pitch.
How the tuner detects pitch
The tuner listens through your microphone and uses the YIN pitch-detection algorithm, a well-known method from music research that finds the repeating period in the sound wave. It handles the low strings of a bass guitar (E1 is just 41 Hz) as well as violin harmonics, and a short median filter steadies the display. A cent is one hundredth of a semitone; most people cannot hear differences smaller than about 5 cents, so anything inside ±5 is in tune.
For best results, tune in a quiet room, play the open string firmly and let it sustain, and hold a phone or laptop close to the instrument's sound hole or amplifier. Tune up to the note rather than down to it: approaching from below keeps the string stable. Audio is processed in real time in your browser; nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
What are the standard guitar string notes?
From the thickest string: E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4 (82.4, 110, 146.8, 196, 246.9 and 329.6 Hz).
Why does the note jump around?
Background noise or several strings ringing confuse pitch detection. Mute the other strings and play one at a time.
Can I tune to 432 Hz?
Yes. Set A4 to 432 and all target notes shift accordingly.