Chromatic · voice or instrument
Online tuner
For your voice or any instrument: sing or play one note and see which note it is, and how many cents sharp or flat. Free, with no account.
How to use it
- Pick Voice to sing or Instrument to tune, tap Listen and allow the microphone, then sing or play one steady note.
- Follow the hint, like "Sing a little higher" or "Tighten slightly", until the needle sits in the middle and it says In tune.
Reading the tuner
The big letter is the note you're on, and the small number beside it is its octave. Octaves are counted from C, and middle C is C4, so A4 is the A just above middle C and A3 the one below it. The notes either side are its neighbours: the one you're drifting toward brightens.
Under the needle, the cents say how far you are from that note: minus is flat, plus is sharp. A few cents is close enough to sound right on its own, but two voices 10 cents apart on an A4 beat against each other about two and a half times a second, which a listener hears as a rough, wavering sound.
Hz, in small type, is the note's frequency: how many times a second the sound vibrates.
Standard tunings in Hz
Each instrument's open strings in standard tuning, with their frequencies when A4 is 440 Hz, in equal temperament, the tuning of a piano. In Instrument mode, tap a string to hear it and tune to it.
A ukulele's strings are listed in playing order: its G is the high one, above middle C. A five-string bass adds a low B0 at 30.87 Hz. With A4 set to 442 Hz every frequency rises by about half a percent, so a guitar's low E becomes 82.78 Hz.
| Instrument | Strings | Frequencies (Hz) |
|---|---|---|
| Guitar | E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 | 82.41, 110.00, 146.83, 196.00, 246.94, 329.63 |
| Bass (4 strings) | E1 A1 D2 G2 | 41.20, 55.00, 73.42, 98.00 |
| Ukulele | G4 C4 E4 A4 | 392.00, 261.63, 329.63, 440.00 |
| Violin | G3 D4 A4 E5 | 196.00, 293.66, 440.00, 659.26 |
| Viola | C3 G3 D4 A4 | 130.81, 196.00, 293.66, 440.00 |
| Cello | C2 G2 D3 A3 | 65.41, 98.00, 146.83, 220.00 |
Singing in tune with a tuner
Pick Voice, sing an easy "ah" on one note and hold it for a few seconds. Watch your pitch over time rather than the needle: a line that sags at the end of a breath, or starts under the note and slides up to it, shows you a habit worth working on.
Then turn it round: sing the note first, decide whether you think you're flat or sharp, and only then look. That way the tuner trains your ear instead of standing in for it.
In a choir, use a tuner for single notes, not chords. It measures against the piano's equal temperament, while a choir singing a chord in tune leans toward pure intervals: the third of a major chord rings about 14 cents lower than the tuner's, and the fifth about 2 cents higher. So listen to the chord, and use the tuner to check your starting note and your long held ones.
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Questions
Can I use a tuner to practise singing in tune?
Yes, and Voice mode is made for it. It smooths out vibrato and draws your pitch over time, so on a held note you see where it drifts instead of a twitching needle. Instrument mode answers faster, for plucked strings.
What is a chromatic tuner?
One that names whichever of the twelve notes you sing or play, not only an instrument's open strings. That makes it work for voices, wind and brass as well as strings. Pick an instrument in Settings when you want its strings shown as targets.
What is a cent, and how close counts as in tune?
A cent is a hundredth of a semitone, so 50 cents is halfway to the next note. The tuner says In tune once you stay within 10 cents in Voice mode, or 5 in Instrument mode, for half a second. You can set that zone from 2 to 15 cents in Settings.
How accurate is an online tuner?
It shows you to the nearest cent; what limits it is the sound that reaches it. A clear, steady note close to the microphone in a quiet room reads well. A breathy note, a noisy room or a very low string on a small phone microphone reads less steadily, and low notes take a moment longer to settle.
Can I tune my guitar with my phone's microphone?
Yes. Pick Instrument, choose Guitar in Settings, and tap a string to hear its note and make it the target. Drop D, half step down, Drop C, DADGAD, open G, open D and open E are there too, and so are bass, ukulele, violin, viola, cello, mandolin and banjo.
Why isn't the tuner hearing my note?
First check the browser may use the microphone: if it's blocked, the tuner shows how to allow it. Then play or sing one note at a time, a little closer to the phone, in a quieter room. If it still says "Too quiet, come closer", raise the Sensitivity in Settings.
What is A440, and can I tune to 442 or 415?
A440 means the A above middle C is 440 Hz, the usual reference today. Some orchestras tune a little higher, to 442 or 443, and baroque groups often use 415. Open More (⋯) beside Listen to set it anywhere from 415 to 466 Hz, with one-tap choices for the common ones.
Why does my trumpet, clarinet or sax show a different note?
They're transposing instruments: a B♭ trumpet's written C sounds as a concert B♭. Set Transposition in Settings to B♭, E♭ or F (G and A are there too) and the tuner names each note as you read it.
Why does it say "Last note"?
When the sound stops, the last reading stays for a few seconds, dimmed, so you can look up after you play or sing.
Is my voice recorded?
No. The microphone opens only when you tap Listen, your pitch is worked out on this device, and nothing is recorded, kept or sent. There are no ads and no account.
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