Guitar tuner
Standard tuning E A D G B E. Tap Start tuner and pluck any string: the tuner finds it on its own.
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.
Guitar tuning: notes and frequencies
Standard guitar tuning, from the thickest string to the thinnest, is E A D G B E. The low E string (6th) sounds at 82.41 Hz and the high E (1st) two octaves above it at 329.63 Hz. Each pair of neighbouring strings is a perfect fourth apart, except G to B, which is a major third. That one exception is what makes common chord shapes fit under the fingers, and it is also why the B string often drifts differently from the rest.
| String | Note | Frequency (Hz) | MIDI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | E₂ | 82.41 | 40 |
| 5 | A₂ | 110.00 | 45 |
| 4 | D₃ | 146.83 | 50 |
| 3 | G₃ | 196.00 | 55 |
| 2 | B₃ | 246.94 | 59 |
| 1 | E₄ | 329.63 | 64 |
Frequencies in equal temperament with A4 = 440 Hz. If you calibrate A4, the tuner shifts every target with it.
How to tune a guitar, string by string
- Start with the 6th string (low E, the thickest). Pluck it with the flesh of your thumb over the neck, let it ring, and turn its peg until the needle settles at the centre.
- Move to the 5th string (A, 110 Hz), then the 4th (D, 146.83 Hz) and the 3rd (G, 196 Hz). In Auto mode the tuner picks the string you are playing.
- Tune the 2nd string (B, 246.94 Hz) and the 1st string (high E, 329.63 Hz). Thin strings react to small turns, so move the peg gently.
- Play all six strings again. Tightening one string pulls the neck a little and lowers the others, especially on guitars with a floating tremolo or nylon strings. Two rounds are normal.
- Strum an open E major or G major chord to check by ear. If it sounds sweet, you are ready.
Tips for the guitar
- Tune up to the note. If a string is sharp, loosen it below the note and come back up. The string then holds its pitch, because the slack in the gear is taken up in the right direction.
- New strings stretch for a day or two. Pull each one gently away from the fretboard along its length, then retune; repeat two or three times.
- Steel-string acoustics and electrics sound clearest for the tuner when plucked with the thumb at the 12th fret; nylon strings settle more slowly, so wait a second after each turn.
- If open strings are in tune but chords high up the neck sound off, the problem is intonation (saddle position), not tuning. Compare the 12th-fret note with the open string in Chromatic mode.
Other guitar tunings
Changing the tuning changes the sound of open strings and the chord shapes. These are the most common alternatives; each page sets the tuner to that tuning and shows exactly which strings to change.
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.
- Blocked by mistake? The panel that appears tells you how to allow the microphone in your browser.
Questions and answers
How do I tune a guitar without a tuner?
Tune the low E to a reference (the “Tune by ear” buttons here, or a piano). Then press the 5th fret of the low E: that note is A, so tune the open A string to it. Do the same on each string, using the 5th fret, except on the G string, where the 4th fret gives the B.
Is a guitar tuned the same in every country?
Yes. E A D G B E is the standard everywhere, whether you call the notes Mi La Re Sol Si Mi or E A D G H E. Only the names change, not the pitches.
Which string is the 1st string?
The 1st string is the thinnest, the high E closest to the floor when you hold the guitar. The 6th is the thickest, the low E closest to your face.
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.