Chromatic Tuner
A chromatic tuner detects the nearest of all twelve notes for any instrument or voice, showing your cents deviation on a clear needle. It’s the most flexible tuner here — no fixed strings, just play a note and tune.
Not listening
A chromatic tuner shows the closest of the 12 notes and how far off you are. It works for any instrument or voice. Detection happens on your device and is approximate.
01How this test works
The tuners and pitch tools listen to your instrument or voice through the microphone and work out the note you are playing, right on your device. The result is shown as the nearest musical note and how far off you are, measured in cents.
Within ±5 cents of the target counts as in tune. In auto mode the tool picks the closest string for you; in manual mode you choose a string and tune it directly. Tapping a string plays a clean reference tone.
No audio is uploaded. The microphone turns on only when you press start and switches off the moment you stop, leave the page, or switch tabs.
02How to use it
- Press the grant-access button and allow microphone access.
- Play a single, clean, sustained note or pluck one string.
- Read the detected note and the needle: tune up if flat, down if sharp.
- Aim for the green ‘in tune’ zone within a few cents of the target.
- Tap a string to hear its reference pitch, and press Stop when finished.
03What this test covers
What it detects
- The fundamental pitch of a single played or sung note
- The nearest musical note and how many cents sharp or flat you are
- Which string of the selected tuning you are closest to
- Exact detected frequency and MIDI number (in the pitch detector)
What it can’t detect
- Multiple notes at once — detection is monophonic, so play one note at a time
- Perfect accuracy in noisy rooms or with heavily distorted tones
- A strobe-tuner level of precision, though it’s accurate to a few cents on a clean signal
04Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|
| Reading jumps around | Play one clean note and let it ring; background noise and chords confuse monophonic detection. |
| Octave seems wrong on low notes | Pluck or bow firmly and mute other strings; weak low notes can read as a harmonic. |
| No permission prompt | Make sure the site is on HTTPS and the mic isn’t blocked in your browser’s site settings. |
| Hard to tune very low strings | Give bass and cello low notes a firm, sustained attack so the detector can lock on. |
05FAQ
Does this upload my audio?
No. Your microphone signal is analyzed locally in the browser and never sent anywhere.
Why does the reading jump around?
Background noise, chords, or a decaying note can confuse detection. Play a single clean note and let it ring.
How accurate is it?
On a clean, sustained note it’s typically accurate to within a few cents — enough to tune reliably, but not a replacement for a hardware strobe tuner.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in any modern browser over HTTPS after you allow microphone access.
Can I use it without a microphone?
Tuning needs the mic to hear your instrument, but you can still tap strings to hear reference tones. The tap-tempo tool needs no mic at all.
What reference pitch is used?
Standard concert pitch, A4 = 440 Hz, which sets every other note in equal temperament.
Related tests
Read the exact detected frequency, nearest note, cents deviation and MIDI number from your microphone in real time.
Tune a 6-string guitar by ear or mic — standard EADGBE plus Drop D, DADGAD, Open G and more, with a cents-accurate needle.
Sing and watch your pitch scroll across a note graph in real time — a practice aid for hitting and holding notes.