Online tuner
Pick your instrument, tap Start tuner and play a string. The needle shows how far you are from the note.
Play a string
Tune with your microphone
We listen through your microphone to hear the pitch. Audio stays on this device: nothing is recorded or sent.
Allow the microphone
Your browser is asking for permission. Choose “Allow” in its prompt and the tuner starts listening.
The microphone is blocked
The browser did not let the tuner hear you. You can allow it again in a few taps, or tune by ear with the reference notes.
Chrome or Edge on a computer
Click the icon to the left of the address bar (a slider or a padlock), switch Microphone to Allow, then reload the page.
Safari on a Mac
Open Safari › Settings for This Website (or Safari › Settings › Websites › Microphone), set this site to Allow, then reload.
iPhone or iPad
Open Settings › Safari › Microphone and choose Ask or Allow. In Chrome for iOS: Settings › Chrome › Microphone. Then come back and tap Try again.
Android
Tap the icon next to the address, open Permissions and allow Microphone. If it is still blocked, open Android Settings › Apps › Chrome › Permissions › Microphone.
Firefox
Click the microphone icon with a slash in the address bar, remove the block for this site, then reload the page.
No microphone found
Plug in a headset or use a phone or laptop with a built-in microphone. Until then, the reference notes let you tune by ear.
Another app is using the microphone
Close the call, recorder or other tab that holds the microphone, then try again.
The microphone needs a secure page
Browsers only open the microphone on https pages. Open this page via https to use the tuner.
All strings in tune. Happy playing!
Reference notes
Tap a note, play the same string and turn the peg until the two sounds stop “beating” against each other.
Tuners for each instrument
How to tune with this tuner
- Choose your instrument above, or stay on Chromatic to tune anything: voice, wind instruments, a piano string.
- Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone when your browser asks. You will see a red “Listening” light while the microphone is on.
- Play one string and let it ring. The big letter shows the nearest note with its octave; the needle shows the distance in cents.
- Turn the peg slowly. If the needle sits left of centre the string is flat (too low): tighten it. If it sits right, the string is sharp: loosen it, then come back up to the note.
- When the needle holds within 3 cents for a moment, the display glows green and the string gets a check mark. Move to the next string, then check them all once more, because the neck settles as the tension changes.
What cents mean
A cent is one hundredth of a semitone. The gauge runs from −50 to +50 cents, half a semitone each way, so anything beyond the end of the scale is closer to the neighbouring note. Cents are a better yardstick than hertz because they measure the interval the way we hear it: 5 cents is the same audible distance on a low bass string at 41 Hz as on a violin E string at 659 Hz.
Most listeners notice a difference of about 5 to 10 cents between two notes played together, which is why the gauge turns amber within ±10 cents and green within ±3. A string that is 3 cents off is closer than the stability of the string itself while it rings.
A4 calibration (440 Hz and other pitches)
Concert pitch puts the A above middle C at 440 Hz, and that is the default here. Some orchestras tune slightly higher (442 or 443 Hz), baroque ensembles often play at 415 Hz, and some players prefer 432 Hz. Use the − and + buttons under the gauge to set A4 anywhere from 415 to 466 Hz.
Calibration moves every note together, so a guitar tuned at A4 = 442 Hz is in tune with itself and with a piano tuned to 442. Your choice is remembered on this device. If you play with a recording or a keyboard that sounds a little off, play its A, read the frequency on the tuner and set A4 to match.
Tuning by ear with reference notes
No microphone, a noisy room or a blocked permission? Open “Tune by ear”: each button plays the target note of a string, as a plucked string or as a steady tone. Play your string at the same time and listen for the slow wobble, called beating, between the two sounds. The slower the wobble, the closer you are; when it disappears, the string is in tune.
If the tuner does not react
- Nothing happens after Start: look for the browser’s permission prompt (top of the screen on a computer, bottom on Android) and choose Allow.
- The note jumps around: play one string at a time, let the others ring out or mute them, and pluck a little harder.
- It shows the right note an octave off: that is the second harmonic. Pluck over the neck rather than at the bridge, and wait half a second.
- On a laptop, move the instrument close to the microphone (usually above the keyboard or next to the camera).
- Bluetooth headphones can switch the phone into a low-quality “call” mode. Disconnect them while tuning.
- Blocked by mistake? The panel that appears tells you how to allow the microphone in your browser.
Alternate tunings
Each tuning page lists the notes and frequencies, tells you which strings to change and opens the tuner already set to that tuning.
Questions and answers
Is my audio recorded or sent anywhere?
No. The sound from the microphone is analysed in your browser, a few thousandths of a second at a time, and thrown away. Nothing is recorded, stored or uploaded. The microphone switches off when you tap Stop, when you leave the page and after two minutes of silence.
Why does the tuner sometimes jump an octave?
A plucked string sounds its note and a series of overtones. Right after the pluck, the second harmonic (an octave higher) can be louder than the note itself, especially on low strings. The tuner checks for this and waits for a jump to repeat before believing it, but plucking over the neck with the flesh of your thumb helps too.
What is the difference between Auto, Manual and Chromatic?
Auto picks the nearest string of the selected tuning. Manual locks one string, useful when a string is so far off that it is closer to a different note. Chromatic shows whichever of the twelve notes you are nearest, for any instrument or voice.
Can I tune a 12-string guitar or a bass?
Yes. For a 12-string, tune the six main strings first, then the thin octave strings of the four lower pairs an octave above and the two upper pairs to the same note, using Chromatic mode. For a bass, choose Bass: the tuner then uses a longer listening window for the low B and E.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge on iPhone and Android, with no app to install. Hold the phone near the sound hole or the amp and keep the screen on: the tuner keeps it awake while it listens.