What is new
There is a new mini app on our tools page: Ear & Tuning. It comes from the Fretster App, where our students practise with it, and it has two parts.
Tuner. Pluck a string; the tuner works out which string it is and shows how far off you are in cents. It knows guitar (standard, drop D, half step down, DADGAD, open G), four- and five-string bass, violin, viola, cello and ukulele. Concert pitch can be set from 432 to 444 Hz.
Singing trainer. Four exercises: hold a note, sing back, scale, intervals. A staircase shows which step you are on, and a line shows where your voice is right now. A note counts as hit when it is no more than half a semitone (50 cents) off. If you sing the right note an octave too low, the app tells you exactly that.
Why we built it
When you sing, you are the worst judge of your own pitch. Whether the note sits or only nearly sits is something you need to see. That is why the first exercise starts small: hold a note in tune for one second. If you manage that, you have achieved something, and you keep going.
The default range is that of a child's voice (from D4). There are three more ranges for lower voices.
To be honest
- The app needs your microphone. The sound is analysed in the browser only; nothing is recorded or uploaded.
- In a noisy room it measures less accurately.
- It shows whether the pitch is right. Breathing, posture and tone are things only a teacher can see.
- It is a beta, like all our mini apps. If something is off, let us know.