Tuner

How to tune

1. Pick your instrument and tuning above. Standard tuning is already chosen.
2. Press Start the tuner and let your browser use the microphone. Hold the instrument near it, in a quiet room.
3. Play one open string (no fingers on the frets) and let it ring. The big letter is the note you played; the needle shows how far off it is.
4. Needle to the left (flat): the string is too low, so tighten it a little with its tuning peg. Needle to the right (sharp): loosen it a little. Turn slowly and play the string again as you go.
5. When the needle is in the green middle and it says In tune, move on to the next string. Then check them all once more: tuning one string can pull the others a little.

A cent is a hundredth of a half step. Within 5 cents, most ears hear the string as in tune.

It’s easiest to tune up to a note. If a string is sharp, loosen it a little below the note, then bring it back up.

Tuning by ear

Press a string’s button to hear its note, a steady tone for a few seconds. Play your string along with it. When the two are close but not the same, you hear a slow “wah-wah” beating; turn the peg slowly until the beating slows down and stops.

About the microphone

The tuner listens only after you press Start, and your browser asks you first. The sound is turned into a pitch right here on your device, many times a second, and thrown away. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent anywhere. Press Stop the tuner and the microphone turns off; it also turns off when you leave the page or switch tabs.

If the tuner can’t hear you, check that the right microphone is chosen in your computer’s sound settings, and that this site is allowed to use it (look for a camera or microphone icon in the address bar).