# Chromatic Tuner Start the microphone and play one note. The chromatic tuner names the closest equal-tempered note, reads the frequency in hertz, shows how far you are from it in cents, and marks the note in tune inside five cents. > Canonical: https://aimusicis.com/tuner ## A chromatic tuner that names one note at a time A tuner is only as useful as the notes it can name. A chromatic tuner covers all twelve notes in an octave instead of the strings of one instrument, so the same meter works for a voice, a violin or a saxophone as well as a guitar. ### All twelve notes The chromatic tuner reads the nearest of the twelve equal-tempered notes in an octave, so it is not limited to guitar strings or to a single instrument's tuning. ### Deviation in cents The readout and the meter show the distance from the target note in cents, positive when sharp and negative when flat, so you can see how close you are before you are there. ### A movable A4 reference Set A4 from 415 Hz to 466 Hz when you are matching a fixed instrument or an older recording instead of concert pitch. ## Tune a note in three steps ### Start the microphone Press start and allow microphone access. The chromatic tuner reads the audio in the browser and never records or uploads it. ### Play or sing one steady note Hold a single note. The tuner tracks the pitch, names it and moves the meter toward the center as you settle on it. ### Read the cents and adjust The sign tells you which way to move: positive is sharp, negative is flat. Inside five cents the note is marked in tune. ## Notes, range and tolerance ### 12 notes per octave Every equal-tempered note, named with sharps, across the octaves the microphone picks up. ### 50 Hz to 1500 Hz The pitch band the tuner searches, which spans every standard guitar string and most sung voices. ### 5 cents in tune A note reads as in tune within five cents of the target, and the meter spans the fifty cents either side of it. ### 415 Hz to 466 Hz The range the A4 reference can be set to, from baroque pitch to a pitch sharper than concert. ## Who tunes with a chromatic tuner ### Singers checking a starting note Find the note you can comfortably start on, and watch how far the pitch drifts as you hold it. ### Players of any instrument A violin, a ukulele, a saxophone, or a guitar in an open tuning: the chromatic tuner names the note whatever produced it. ### Anyone double-checking a pitch Read a note in hertz and cents when an instrument's own tuner is missing, or when a second opinion is worth having. ## Tools related to Chromatic Tuner ### [Key & BPM Finder](https://aimusicis.com/key-bpm-finder) ### [Guitar Tuner](https://aimusicis.com/guitar-tuner) ### [Audio Spectrum Analyzer](https://aimusicis.com/audio-spectrum-analyzer) ### [Vocal Range Test](https://aimusicis.com/vocal-range-test) ## Chromatic Tuner FAQ ### What is a chromatic tuner? A chromatic tuner names any of the twelve equal-tempered notes instead of only the strings of one instrument's tuning. This chromatic tuner listens through the microphone and shows the closest note, its frequency in hertz and the signed distance from it in cents. ### What do the cents on the chromatic tuner mean? A cent is one hundredth of a semitone. The chromatic tuner reports the distance from the nearest note in cents: positive is sharp, negative is flat, and a note within five cents is marked in tune. ### Why would I move the A4 reference? The A4 reference is the pitch everything else is measured from, and 440 Hz is concert pitch. Move it between 415 Hz and 466 Hz when the chromatic tuner has to match an instrument or a recording that sits away from concert pitch. ### What are the limits of the chromatic tuner? The chromatic tuner needs microphone permission and a quiet room, and it hears one note at a time, so a chord or a noisy signal gives no steady reading. Its search band runs from 50 Hz to 1500 Hz, it does not record the audio it hears, and it names the nearest equal-tempered pitch rather than transcribing a performance. ### Does the chromatic tuner work for a guitar? Every note a guitar plays sits inside the chromatic tuner's 50 Hz to 1500 Hz band, so all of them read. For standard tuning shown as a row of six strings, a dedicated page lists E2 82.41 Hz, A2 110 Hz, D3 146.83 Hz, G3 196 Hz, B3 246.94 Hz and E4 329.63 Hz. ### Does the chromatic tuner cost credits or need an account? No account and no credits: the chromatic tuner runs in the browser, so nothing is charged and the microphone audio never leaves the page. ### Why does the note name jump while I hold a note? The name jumps when a pitch sits near the midpoint between two notes, or when background noise competes with the note. Hold one note steadily in a quiet room and the chromatic tuner settles on the nearest name. ### How many credits does Chromatic Tuner use? Chromatic Tuner runs in the browser and draws zero credits. ## Keep the reference open while you play Start the tuner before a take, or leave it open to check a note between passes. _Last updated August 28, 2026_