Online Guitar Tuner

How to use the guitar tuner

1. Choose your tuning (standard is selected by default) and press Start tuner, then allow the microphone.
2. Pluck the low E string (the thickest, 6th string) and let it ring.
3. If the needle is left of centre the string is flat: tighten the tuning peg. Right of centre means sharp: loosen it.
4. When the note turns green and says In tune, move to the next string: A, D, G, B, then high E.
5. Go through the strings twice, because tightening one string slightly changes the others.

• Standard tuning from the thickest to thinnest string is E A D G B E.
• Always tune up to a note: if you overshoot, drop below the note and come up to it again so the string settles.
• New strings stretch and drift flat for the first few days, so check them often.

Guitar tuning chart

Standard (E A D G B E)

Drop D (D A D G B E)

Half step down (E♭ tuning)

Whole step down (D tuning)

DADGAD

Open G (D G D G B D)

Open D (D A D F♯ A D)

Open E (E B E G♯ B E)

7-string (B E A D G B E)

8-string (F♯ B E A D G B E)

12-string (same notes, tune the thin string of each pair)

Tips for an accurate reading

• Pluck one string at a time and let it ring. Muted or buzzing strings are hard to read.
• Use a quiet room. Background music or voices can confuse any tuner.
• Hold the device close to the instrument's sound hole or body.
• Tune up to the note. If you overshoot, go below the note and tighten up to it again.
• Re-check every string once you have finished, as adjusting one affects the neck tension.

How the tuner works

Every note is a vibration with a frequency: A4 is 440 vibrations per second, or 440 Hz. The tuner listens through your microphone and uses a pitch-detection method called YIN to find how often the sound repeats. It compares that frequency with the one the string should have and shows the gap in cents, where 100 cents is one semitone (the step between two neighbouring piano keys). Within 5 cents of the target the note turns green: that is far finer than most listeners can hear.

Troubleshooting

• "The microphone is blocked": open your browser's site settings, allow the microphone for this page, and reload.
• The needle jumps around: let the note ring for a second, mute the other strings and move away from noise.
• It shows the wrong octave or note: pluck more gently, and check the right tuning and instrument are chosen above.
• Nothing happens on iPhone: tap Start tuner yourself; browsers only allow the microphone after a tap.

Frequently asked questions

More tuners and tools

Ukulele tuner, Bass tuner, Violin tuner, Mandolin tuner, Banjo tuner, Chromatic tuner. Once you are in tune, learn the chord shapes in the guitar chord library or the ukulele chord library, find the easiest capo position with the capo calculator, or look up what any set of notes is called with the chord finder.