Guitar Tuner Online
Tune your acoustic or electric guitar with your phone or computer microphone. Pluck a string and the tuner shows the note and how far it is from being in tune.
The tuner listens through your microphone. Allow access when your browser asks.
Auto picks the nearest string. Pick a string yourself when it is far out of tune. Strings get a check once they stay in tune.
What the online guitar tuner does
Each guitar string should ring at one exact pitch. The tuner listens to the string through your microphone, measures its pitch, and compares it with the note the string should play.
The needle shows the difference in cents. Left of center means the string is flat and needs tightening. Right of center means it is sharp and needs loosening. In the middle, it turns green.
Why use our guitar tuner
- ·Finds the string for you. Auto mode works out which string you are playing, so you can tune in any order.
- ·Ten tunings plus chromatic. Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, open tunings, and a chromatic mode for any note.
- ·Tune by ear too. Play a reference note for any string and match it by ear.
- ·Works with an audio interface. Pick any microphone or input your browser can use, including an interface for an electric guitar.
- ·Free and private. No signup and no app. The sound is checked in your browser and never recorded.
How to tune a guitar
- 1
Start the tuner
Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone when your browser asks. Sit close to your phone or computer so the microphone can hear the guitar clearly.
- 2
Pick your tuning
Standard tuning (E A D G B E) is selected by default. Choose another one, such as Drop D or DADGAD, from the Tuning list if you need it.
- 3
Pluck one string and let it ring
The tuner shows the note it is tuning to and a needle. Left of center means the string is too low (flat). Right of center means it is too high (sharp).
- 4
Turn the peg until the needle is centered
Tighten the string to raise the pitch or loosen it to lower it. When the needle stays in the green zone, the string is in tune and gets a check mark.
- 5
Tune every string, then check them again
Work through all six strings, then play each one once more. Changing the tension on one string pulls on the neck a little and can move the others.
Standard guitar tuning notes and frequencies
Strings are numbered from the thinnest (1st) to the thickest (6th). In standard tuning with A4 at 440 Hz, each open string should play:
| String | Note | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 6th (thickest) | E2 | 82.41 Hz |
| 5th | A2 | 110.00 Hz |
| 4th | D3 | 146.83 Hz |
| 3rd | G3 | 196.00 Hz |
| 2nd | B3 | 246.94 Hz |
| 1st (thinnest) | E4 | 329.63 Hz |
A common way to remember the order from thickest to thinnest is "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie". The number after each note is its octave, so E2 and E4 are both E, two octaves apart.
Alternate guitar tunings you can tune to
Pick any of these from the Tuning list. Notes go from the 6th string to the 1st, and the last column says how to get there from standard tuning:
| Tuning | Notes | From standard tuning |
|---|---|---|
| Drop D | D A D G B E | Lower the 6th string a whole step, from E to D. |
| Half step down | E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭ | Lower every string a half step. |
| Full step down | D G C F A D | Lower every string a whole step. |
| Drop C | C G C F A D | Tune a full step down, then lower the 6th string another whole step to C. |
| DADGAD | D A D G A D | Lower the 6th, 2nd, and 1st strings a whole step. |
| Open G | D G D G B D | Lower the 6th, 5th, and 1st strings a whole step. |
| Open D | D A D F♯ A D | Lower the 6th, 2nd, and 1st strings a whole step, and the 3rd string a half step. |
| Open E | E B E G♯ B E | Raise the 5th and 4th strings a whole step, and the 3rd string a half step. |
| Open C | C G C G C E | Lower the 6th string two whole steps, lower the 5th and 4th a whole step, and raise the 2nd a half step. |
Open E raises three strings above standard, which puts extra tension on them and on the neck. Tune up slowly. When you lower a string a long way, Auto mode can mistake it for the next string down, so tap that string in the row of strings while you tune it.
Why the guitar tuner cannot find the note
If the needle jumps around or nothing shows up, check the input level bar under the strings first. Then try these:
- ·Other strings are ringing. Two strings at once do not have a single pitch. Rest your hand lightly on the strings you are not tuning.
- ·The room is noisy. Music, a TV, or a fan close to the microphone can drown out the string. Turn them off or move closer to the microphone.
- ·The level bar barely moves. The guitar is too far from the microphone or too quiet, which is common with an unplugged electric. Hold the guitar closer, or pick a different microphone at the top of the tuner.
- ·You are using a Bluetooth headset microphone. Many headsets switch to a low quality call mode when their microphone is on. Use the built-in microphone of your phone or computer instead.
- ·Microphone access is blocked. If the tuner shows an error when you start it, allow the microphone for this site in your browser's settings. Our microphone test can confirm the microphone itself works.
How to check guitar intonation with the tuner
If your guitar is in tune on the open strings but chords sound wrong higher up the neck, the intonation may be off. You can check it with this tuner:
- Tune the open string until it is in tune.
- Choose Chromatic (any note) from the Tuning list, then play the same string fretted at the 12th fret. It should read the same note one octave higher, in tune.
- If the 12th fret reads sharp, the string needs to be a little longer: move that string's saddle away from the neck. If it reads flat, move the saddle toward the neck.
- Retune the open string and check the 12th fret again.
Most electric guitars have a screw for each saddle. Many acoustic guitars have a fixed saddle, so intonation changes there are a job for a guitar repair shop.
When to use an online guitar tuner
- ·Every time you pick up the guitar. Changes in temperature and humidity move the tuning, so a quick check before playing is normal.
- ·After putting on new strings. New strings stretch and go flat for the first day or so. Expect to retune several times.
- ·When you have no clip-on tuner nearby. Beginners, and anyone who left their tuner at home, can tune with the phone already in their pocket.
- ·Before switching to another tuning. Follow the table above to go from standard tuning to Drop D, DADGAD, or an open tuning, and back again.
- ·For 7-string guitars and ukuleles. Use Chromatic mode. It reads the low B of a 7-string (B1, about 61.7 Hz) and every ukulele string.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I tune my guitar online with a microphone?
- Open this page, tap Start tuner, and allow the microphone. Pluck one string at a time and turn its peg until the needle sits in the green zone in the middle. The tuner works out which string you are playing, so you can go through them in any order.
- What are the notes of standard guitar tuning?
- From the thickest string to the thinnest, standard tuning is E A D G B E. With octaves, that is E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, and E4. The two E strings are the same note two octaves apart.
- Which way do I turn the tuning peg?
- Tightening a string raises its pitch and loosening it lowers it. Which way that is depends on the side of the headstock the peg is on, so turn it a little while the string rings and watch the needle. If it moves the wrong way, turn the other way.
- What do cents mean on a guitar tuner?
- A cent is one hundredth of a half step, the distance between two neighboring frets. The tuner shows how many cents the string is from the note, and treats anything within 5 cents either side as in tune.
- Why does the tuner jump around or show the wrong note?
- The usual cause is other strings ringing at the same time, or noise in the room. Mute the strings you are not tuning with your hand, pluck one string gently, and wait a moment. A hard pluck makes a string start a little sharp before it settles.
- My string is far out of tune and the tuner picks the wrong string. What do I do?
- In Auto mode the tuner guesses the string from the nearest note, so a string that is several notes off can be taken for its neighbour. Tap the string you are tuning in the row of strings. The tuner then measures against that string and tells you to tighten or loosen it, however far off it is.
- Can I tune to Drop D or other tunings?
- Yes. Pick Drop D, half step down, full step down, Drop C, DADGAD, Open G, Open D, Open E, or Open C from the Tuning list. For anything else, choose Chromatic (any note), which shows the nearest note to whatever you play.
- Can I tune an electric guitar with this tuner?
- Yes. Unplugged, an electric guitar is quiet, so hold its body close to the microphone. For a cleaner signal, plug the guitar into an audio interface, then pick the interface from the microphone list at the top of the tuner.
- Does it work for ukulele or bass?
- Ukulele works in Chromatic mode. Standard ukulele tuning is G4 C4 E4 A4. Bass guitar is not supported: the tuner listens from about 58 Hz up, and the low E and A strings of a bass (41.2 Hz and 55 Hz) sit below that.
- What is A4 = 440 Hz, and should I change it?
- It is the pitch all other notes are worked out from, and nearly all modern music uses 440 Hz. Leave it as is unless you need to match a piano or recording tuned slightly higher or lower. You can set anything from 430 Hz to 450 Hz under Reference pitch.
- Can I tune by ear instead?
- Yes. Tap a string in the row of strings, then tap Play to hear its note. Tune the string until the two sound the same. When two notes are close but not quite matched you hear a slow wobble, and it stops when they match.
- Is this guitar tuner free and private?
- Yes. There is no signup and nothing to install. The tuner listens in your browser, and the sound from your microphone is never recorded or sent anywhere.