Instrument Tuner
How to tune an instrument
- Choose your instrument, or leave it on chromatic to tune any note.
- Click Start listening and allow microphone access.
- Play one note. The needle shows how many cents sharp or flat you are; tune until it sits in the middle.
Frequently asked questions
Is my microphone recorded?
No. The sound is analysed in your browser frame by frame and nothing is stored or sent anywhere. The microphone turns off when you click Stop.
What is a cent?
A hundredth of a semitone. Most people cannot hear an error under about 5 cents on a single note, which is why anything inside that counts as in tune here.
Why does the reading jump around?
A note is clearest just after it settles, so wait a moment before reading it. Background noise, a note that is still ringing from the last string, and very quiet playing all confuse the measurement. Play one string at a time, fairly firmly, near the microphone.
How does it find the pitch?
By autocorrelation: it looks for the shortest delay at which the waveform repeats itself. That finds the fundamental even when a harmonic is louder, which is common on a plucked string.
What is standard tuning?
Guitar is E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, bass is E1 A1 D2 G2, ukulele is G4 C4 E4 A4, and violin is G3 D4 A4 E5. All of them assume A4 = 440 Hz, which you can change if your ensemble tunes higher.
Can I tune a piano with it?
It will tell you the pitch of each note accurately, but piano tuning also needs stretched octaves and the right tools and technique. Use it to check how far out a piano is, not to tune one.