Online Guitar Tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string is to the right note. It works for guitar in five tunings, bass, ukulele, violin, viola, cello, mandolin, banjo, and any note in chromatic mode. The pitch is detected on your device, so nothing is recorded or uploaded.
How to tune
- Pick your instrument and tuning from the list.
- Click Start tuning and allow the microphone when the browser asks.
- Play one open string and let it ring. The tuner finds the string by itself and shows its name.
- Watch the needle. Left of centre is flat: the tuner says Too low: tighten (tune up). Right of centre is sharp: Too high: loosen (tune down).
- Turn the tuning peg in small steps until the needle sits in the green zone and the tuner shows In tune. Then move to the next string.
Reading the meter
The needle covers 50 cents either side of the target note. One cent is a hundredth of a semitone, so the full width is one semitone. Within 5 cents the needle turns green, which is closer than most ears can hear. Under the needle you see the note name, the frequency you are playing in Hz and the target frequency for that string, so you can see exactly how far off you are.
Instruments and tunings
| Instrument | Strings, low to high |
|---|---|
| Guitar, standard | E A D G B E |
| Guitar, Drop D | D A D G B E |
| Guitar, half step down | Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb |
| Guitar, DADGAD | D A D G A D |
| Guitar, open G | D G D G B D |
| Bass, 4 strings | E A D G |
| Bass, 5 strings | B E A D G |
| Ukulele | G C E A |
| Violin | G D A E |
| Viola and cello | C G D A |
| Mandolin | G D A E |
| Banjo, open G | G D G B D |
| Chromatic | Any note |
Auto detection or pick a string
By default the tuner listens and picks the string closest to what you play. That is quickest for small corrections. When a string is far out of tune, for example after fitting new strings or switching to Drop D, the tuner may match it to the wrong string. In that case click the string you are tuning in the list of strings. The tuner then measures against that string only, and it also plays its reference note, so you can tune by ear as well.
Tips for accurate tuning
- One string at a time. Mute the other strings with your hand so only one note rings.
- Quiet room. Turn off music and keep the microphone away from fans and other noise.
- Pluck, then wait. The first moment of a note is a little sharp. Read the needle once the note settles.
- Tune up to the note. If a string is sharp, loosen it below the note and come back up. It then holds its pitch better.
- Check twice. Tuning one string pulls a little on the neck, so check all strings again at the end, especially with new strings.
- Electric guitar or bass. Play through the amplifier or use the phone or laptop microphone close to the strings.
A4 reference
The A4 reference setting moves every target note at once. Leave it at 440 Hz, the usual standard, unless you play along with a piano, an organ or a recording tuned slightly differently. You can set any value from 432 to 444 Hz.
More music tools
Keep time while you practise with the Metronome. Check your microphone first with the Mic Test if the tuner does not react. To learn a song at your pace, slow it down with Change Audio Speed, or move a track that is tuned half a step down into standard tuning with Change Pitch.
Private by design
The microphone signal is analysed on your own device and never uploaded or stored. See how it works.