Methodology · Microphone troubleshooting

How the tuner measures pitch and what its readings mean

tuner.love estimates pitch from your microphone inside the browser. This guide explains the signal path, the green confirmation zone, and the limits that matter when tuning a real instrument.

Open tuner Private by design · no account · audio stays on this device

Tuning target±5 cents

MicrophoneLocal analysisCents

FlatIn tuneSharp

01Microphone processing on your device

02±5 cents is the confirmation target

03Calibration from A4 = 415 to 450 Hz

Know the target

From a plucked string to a note on screen

After you allow microphone access, a local audio processor examines short pieces of the incoming signal. It levels a strong pluck and supports its fading sustain, looks for a repeating period, and follows a stable pitch over successive readings. Notes too close to background noise are allowed to disappear rather than being held indefinitely.

Instrument mode compares the reading with the selected tuning’s physical strings. Free mode follows the sounded string; selecting a string or peg activates Auto and holds that target. Chromatic mode instead reports the nearest semitone. Microphone samples are never uploaded or replayed through your speakers. The short success sound is synthesized separately, not a recording of your playing.

Four clear steps

How to tune accurately

1Open the live tuner in a current browser and allow microphone access for tuner.love.
2Choose the instrument and tuning, then match the A4 reference used by the people or recording you are playing with.
3Sound one open string clearly, mute the others and let the reading settle. Select its card if automatic following chooses another string.
4Use small peg movements near the center, wait for confirmation, and make a second pass through the strings.

The green zone is not a laboratory accuracy specification

One semitone contains 100 cents. The green target is ±5 cents from the selected pitch, with a one-second confirmation period in both Free and Auto. The display smooths small movements so it is easier to use; a centered marker should not be interpreted as proof of zero measurement error.

A ±5-cent acceptance rule describes what the app accepts. It does not establish ±5-cent accuracy for every phone, microphone, note or room. The project’s development tests exercise known generated pitches, octave changes, noise and decaying signals. Those software checks are not an independent calibration certificate or a published comparison of all devices. No such universal accuracy claim is made here.

Reference pitch changes the targets

The default is A4 = 440 Hz. You can choose any whole-hertz reference from 415 through 450 Hz, and every equal-tempered target changes with it. The calculation is frequency = A4 × 2^((MIDI note − 69) / 12); the cents difference is 1200 × log2(measured frequency / target frequency).

Use the reference agreed by your ensemble. Changing calibration shifts the frequency assigned to the notes; it does not change which physical string is selected or fix the instrument’s intonation.

If the microphone or note is not working

Work through the symptom that matches what you see. Stop and start listening again after changing browser or system microphone settings.

Microphone and pitch troubleshooting
What you see	What to check
Microphone access denied	Allow microphone access in the browser’s site settings and check the operating system’s microphone permission for that browser.
No reading after permission	Check the selected input, disconnect an unintended headset microphone, move the instrument closer and try a clean sustained note.
Wrong string or octave	Mute every other string, select the intended target, and pluck again. A brief harmonic reading is not a reason to turn a string by an octave.
Reading moves after a hard pluck	Use a moderate attack and judge the settled part of the note. Repeated hard attacks can make it difficult to see a stable pitch.
The open strings are green but chords sound wrong	Verify the tuning and A4 reference, then check fretting pressure, string condition and instrument intonation.
The note vanishes as it fades	Pluck again. Very quiet sound may no longer be distinguishable from room noise.

What the technical references establish

The W3C references below describe browser microphone access and local Web Audio processing. They explain the platform capabilities, not the measured accuracy of this tuner. The public browser processor files show how this app analyzes the signal; the Privacy page describes the separate, minimized usage analytics.

Try the cents scale

What flat and sharp look like

This is a simulated A4 = 440 Hz reference, not a live microphone measurement. Move the control to compare a flat or sharp note with the exact ±5-cent target. It records and plays no audio.

Explore flat and sharp

0 cents440.00 Hz

Inside the ±5-cent target

Practical answers

Frequently asked questions

Does the tuner record or send my playing to a server?

No. The tuning signal stays in your browser. Usage analytics can count events such as starting the tuner or confirming a note, but do not contain microphone audio or detected frequencies.

Can I use this to tune every note at once?

No. It is designed for one clear pitch at a time. Strum or bow one string while damping the others, and tune paired strings individually.

Why do two tuners disagree?

First match their A4 references and the note’s octave. Different microphones, signal processing, timing and smoothing can produce different readings. Compare the same stable part of a sustained note rather than separate pluck attacks.