Blog · Practice · 31 October 2026

How to tune a guitar with your browser

You do not need a clip on tuner or an app. A browser can listen through your microphone and tell you which note you are playing and how far off it is. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.

Start the tuner

Open the Instrument tuner, choose your instrument and press Start tuning. Allow the microphone when the browser asks. On a phone, hold it near the sound hole or headstock. On a computer, sit close to the microphone.

Tune one string at a time

Pluck a single string and let it ring. The large letter is the nearest note and the needle shows how far off you are. If the needle is left of the middle the string is flat, so tighten it. If it is right of the middle the string is sharp, so loosen it. When the meter turns green you are within five cents of the note.

Standard tuning

A normal guitar is E A D G B E from the thickest string to the thinnest. A bass is E A D G, a ukulele is G C E A, and a violin is G D A E. Choose the instrument and its strings appear as buttons. Press one to hear a reference tone and tune by ear if you prefer.

Get a steady reading

Play in a quiet room and let the note ring for a second. Tune up to the note instead of down from above, because strings hold their pitch better that way. Check the first string again after you finish, since tuning one string can nudge the others.

When 440 is not right

Most music is tuned so that A above middle C is 440 Hz. Some groups use 432 or 442. The A4 box lets you change it, and the meter follows.

Next steps

Once you are in tune, practise with the Metronome, or find the notes and chords of a key in Keys and scales.

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