How to tune a guitar with your microphone
- Choose your instrument: guitar, bass, ukulele, violin or chromatic.
- Click Start tuner and allow microphone access.
- Play one string at a time and let it ring. The needle shows how far off you are in cents.
- Tighten the string when it says Tune up and loosen it for Tune down, until the note turns green.
- Tap a string name to hear its reference tone if you'd rather tune by ear.
What you can do with Guitar & Instrument Tuner
- Standard tunings built in
- Guitar E A D G B E, bass E A D G, ukulele G C E A and violin G D A E, with the nearest string picked automatically.
- Chromatic mode
- Detects any note from about 30 Hz to 2 kHz, for alternate tunings, other instruments or checking your singing.
- Cents needle
- A ±50-cent gauge with a green in-tune zone of ±5 cents, plus the exact frequency in hertz.
- Adjustable reference pitch
- Set A4 anywhere from 430 to 450 Hz to match a piano, an orchestra or a recording that isn't at 440 Hz.
- Reference tones
- Tap any string to play its target pitch, handy for tuning by ear or training your ear.
- Accurate pitch detection
- Uses the YIN algorithm on raw microphone input, with the browser's noise suppression and auto gain turned off for a clean signal.
Standard guitar tuning frequencies and tuning tips
Standard guitar tuning from the thickest to the thinnest string is E2, A2, D3, G3, B3 and E4, at about 82.4, 110, 146.8, 196, 246.9 and 329.6 Hz with A4 at 440 Hz. A cent is one hundredth of a semitone, and most people can't hear a difference of less than about 5 cents, which is why the needle turns green inside that window. Tune up to the note rather than down to it: if a string is sharp, drop below the target and come back up so it holds its pitch.
For alternate tunings such as drop D (D A D G B E), half a step down or open G, switch to Chromatic mode and tune each string to the note shown. Use a quiet room, pluck firmly and let the note ring, because the tuner reads the steady part of a note better than the initial attack. On an acoustic guitar, hold the phone or laptop near the soundhole; on an unplugged electric, put the mic close to the strings. New strings stretch and go flat for a day or so, so retune often.
Frequently asked questions
Is this guitar tuner accurate?
Yes, for all practical tuning. It uses the YIN pitch-detection algorithm on the raw microphone signal and shows the deviation to the nearest cent. Accuracy depends on your microphone and background noise, so tune in a quiet spot and play one string at a time.
Does the tuner record or upload my audio?
No. Microphone audio is analyzed live in your browser and immediately discarded. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent to a server, and the microphone is released when you press Stop or leave the page.
Can I tune to drop D or other alternate tunings?
Yes, use Chromatic mode. It shows the nearest note for whatever you play, so you can tune the low E down to D for drop D, or set up any open tuning. The guitar preset always targets standard E A D G B E.
Does the guitar tuner work on my phone?
Yes. It runs in Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android, and a phone makes a convenient tuner because the mic is easy to hold near the instrument. The page needs microphone permission; if you blocked it, re-enable it in your browser's site settings.
What is A4 = 440 Hz and should I change it?
It's the standard reference pitch that every other note is tuned from. Leave it at 440 unless you're playing along with a piano or recording tuned differently, for example 442 Hz for some orchestras, or you prefer an alternative such as 432 Hz.