The best apps to tune the guitar with your phone
An app to tune your guitar at home or on the go is a great help, especially if you’re a beginner and you don’t have an ear used to this task. Therefore, we recommend installing Android or iOS applications on your mobile, which are easy to use and will help you carry out this process in a few seconds.
The state of the strings and their names
Normally, you will find cheap and even free apps on the Internet, but before installing and using one of them to tune your guitar, you should check the condition of the strings. Sometimes they are so rusty or worn that even if you have the best app installed on your phone, you won’t be able to tune them. To find out if the state of your strings is adequate, determine how long you have been playing the guitar. If you have more than 6 months with the same strings on your instrument, you better make an urgent replacement. Otherwise, maybe no app will help you to tune the guitar.
In addition to buying and placing the new strings, the next thing is to learn the names of each of them. For example, the first string is the thinnest of all and is called Mi, followed by Si, Sol, Re, La and Mi. The last string is the thickest and the sound is the same as the first, however it is much deeper.
Also, it should be noted that the thickness of the strings varies depending on the note. They always start from the thinnest to the thickest, that is, from high to low.
Digital Tuners and American Cipher
Even if you know the name of the strings, digital tuners show the notes through letters. In addition, the same thing happens with applications to tune the guitar from your phone, since they use A, G, B, etc. If you are just starting guitar classes and your teacher has not talked about it, in this article we will explain what each letter means.
This is the American cipher, which is used worldwide, for example, the G stands for Sol anywhere you go to play the guitar. The American cipher is a way to keep music as a universal language.
The notes start from A, following the order of the C Major scale, that is, A, B, C, D, E, F and G mean La, Si, Do, Re, Mi, Fa and Sol. This means that In total there are seven letters that you will see in the app on your mobile.
Tuners for iOS and Android
Now that you know the basics, you can install an app on your device to tune the guitar. However, because there are so many apps in the Apple and Google stores, here are some of the best ones.
Chromatic Guitar Tuner Free
This Android app is multifunctional, since it is used to tune acoustic guitar (In this link you can find some purchase options) and electric guitar, ukulele, bass, viola, violin, cello, mandolin, among other string instruments.
Being a chromatic tuner, it can detect natural notes and accidentals, for example, C# and Gb, which stand for C sharp and G flat. Hence, it serves to tune various instruments, even with this application you can check the tuning of flutes, trombones, trumpets, oboes, clarinets, etc.
It has several functions, among which we can mention the tuning fork, which is the classic metal tuner. Of course, in this app you will only find its sound digitally. In addition, another feature of the application is the guitar and ukulele tool, in which you will see the tuning of the strings according to the position where you place the capo-fret.
Guitar Tuna
It is one of the apps that you can enjoy on both Android and iPhone. It has a fairly simple user interface, so beginning musicians will be able to tune their instruments with ease. In addition, it should be noted that it is not only used to tune the guitar, but also ukuleles, basses and other string instruments. You won’t even need microphones to be able to use this app, since it uses the one built into your phone.
In addition to this, it brings functions such as metronome and chord library. The first is for you to practice songs or exercises on the guitar without losing time. On the other hand, the library brings many chords and the different positions in which you can play them.
Also, for those who want to learn while having a little fun, this app offers games. Through them you will be able to learn chords by heart in diagrams, for example, power or power chords, which are very common in rock, punk and heavy metal.
Guitar Toolkit
You can find it in the Apple store and install it on your iPhone, and its price is affordable, so you don’t have to spend a lot of money.
It is a multifunctional application, since it offers a metronome, so you can study exercises and play scores at the tempo you want.
It also comes with scales and arpeggios that you can learn on the guitar. It also comes with a chord library, so it’s a pretty efficient tuner. As if that weren’t enough, this application is compatible with 4, 5 or 6-string basses or 6, 7 and 12-string guitars, banjos, mandolins, etc., so you can use it with various instruments.
In addition to this, we mention that it is chromatic and provides precision as if it were a professional clip-on tuner.
Cleartune Chromatic Tuner
This tuner for Android or iOS phones is chromatic and precise. You simply have to bring the instrument closer to the device to tune it, since the application works with the built-in microphone that comes with the mobile.
On the other hand, we mentioned that the app brings other functions, for example, transpositions, temperament adjustments and calibration. This makes it a versatile application with which you can tune any instrument that emits clear sounds, including violin, guitar, bass, ukulele, oboe and clarinet.
In addition to this, the app can be installed on iPod Touch and Ipad, as well as Android devices, so you won’t be left without being able to use it on your favorite devices.