Tuner

Why tune precisely?

Playing in tune is the single most impactful thing you can do for your sound. An out-of-tune instrument clashes with every note you play, regardless of technique or tone. Even a few cents of deviation are audible in chords and become glaring in unison or octave passages.
Tuning also changes with temperature, humidity, and playing time. Strings stretch as you play, and new strings go flat faster than old ones. A quick check before every session costs ten seconds and saves you from an hour of practice that builds muscle memory around wrong pitches.
For recording or playing with other musicians, equal temperament ensures your instrument sits in tune with fixed-pitch instruments like keyboards and fretted string instruments.

How does it work?

This chromatic tuner uses your microphone or audio interface to detect the pitch of the note you play.
In chromatic mode, it identifies the closest note and shows how many cents sharp or flat you are.
Select your instrument and tuning to switch to guided mode: the tuner shows the target note for each string and measures the deviation from that target. Choose between standard, drop, open and other alternate tunings.

Reading the display

The needle and cents value react instantly to your playing. The note name waits for the pitch to stabilize before switching, filtering out attack noise.
The color changes from green (in tune, within 10 cents) to orange (slightly off, 10 to 30 cents) to red (more than 30 cents off).
When an instrument is selected, the tuning notes are shown below the display and the active string lights up in blue.
Switch to Strobe mode for an alternative display: a rotating disc whose speed and direction indicate how far off you are. When the disc stops, you are in tune.

Tips for accurate tuning

Play one note at a time and let it ring clearly. Tune in a quiet environment for best results.
If the needle jumps around, try moving closer to your audio source. For string instruments, pluck the string firmly and tune while the note is still sustaining.
You can fine-tune the detection using the audio knobs in the top right corner of the page:
Gate sets the noise gate threshold: raise it to ignore background noise.
Clarity sets the minimum confidence required to detect a note: increase it if the tuner picks up unwanted harmonics.
Gain adjusts the input volume: boost it if your signal is too weak, or lower it if it clips.

String health analysis

The string health tool analyzes the spectral signature of each string to estimate its condition. It is available for guitar, bass, and banjo (steel strings).
Play each string one at a time with a pick or fingernail near the bridge, and hold it until the progress bar completes. Mute the other strings to avoid sympathetic resonance.
The analysis measures harmonic richness at attack and how it decays over time. Each string receives a score from 0 to 100: green means the string is in good shape, orange means it is starting to wear, and red suggests it should be replaced.
You can re-test a string as many times as you like: only the best score is kept.
Tap a gauge to see detailed metrics: peak harmonics, brightness retention, and harmonic retention.
This feature is experimental and optimized for steel strings. Results may vary depending on your instrument, pickups, and audio input.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is a browser-based tuner?
FretMind uses real-time pitch detection via your microphone or audio interface. The accuracy depends on the quality of your audio input, the room noise level, and how clearly you play. In a quiet room with a good signal, the tuner is accurate to within 1–2 cents — more than sufficient for standard practice and recording preparation.

What is a cent in music tuning?
A cent is 1/100th of a semitone, the standard unit for measuring small pitch differences. An octave contains 1200 cents. Most people can perceive differences of around 5–6 cents in a melodic context. A difference of 10 cents or more is audible in chords. The tuner uses cents to show how far your pitch is from the target note.

What does A4 = 440 Hz mean and can I change it?
A4 = 440 Hz is the international standard for concert pitch, meaning the A above middle C vibrates at 440 times per second. Some ensembles and historical performance groups use different reference pitches (432 Hz, 442 Hz, 415 Hz). You can adjust the A4 reference in FretMind using the +/- buttons near the display.

What is the difference between chromatic mode and instrument mode?
In chromatic mode, the tuner detects whichever note is closest to your input, regardless of instrument. It is useful for quick checks or tuning unconventional instruments. In instrument mode, you select your instrument and tuning preset: the tuner then guides you string by string, showing the target note and measuring deviation from it.

How does string health analysis work?
String health measures the spectral signature of each string: how rich the harmonics are at the moment of attack and how quickly they fade. Old or corroded strings lose harmonic content faster — they sound dull because the upper frequencies decay more rapidly. The score reflects harmonic richness and retention, not raw volume. It works best with steel strings played with a pick near the bridge.