How to Tune a Guitar and Bass with a Chromatic Tuner

By Alok Singh · Published October 21, 2026

An out-of-tune guitar makes even perfect chords sound wrong, and it's the most common reason beginners think they're playing badly. The good news: tuning with a chromatic tuner takes under a minute once you know what the display means.

Standard tuning: notes and frequencies

From the thickest string (6th) to the thinnest (1st), standard guitar tuning is E A D G B E. With the usual reference of A = 440 Hz:

A four-string bass uses E A D G, an octave below the guitar's lowest four strings: E1 41.20 Hz, A1 55.00 Hz, D2 73.42 Hz, G2 98.00 Hz.

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What a chromatic tuner shows

A chromatic tuner recognises any of the 12 notes, not just the six guitar strings. It shows:

• The nearest note name (for example A).
• How far off you are in cents. There are 100 cents between two neighbouring notes (a semitone). Within about ±5 cents sounds in tune to most ears.
• Flat or sharp. Flat means too low; sharp means too high.
• Often the frequency in Hz.

Many tuners use colour: one colour when you're in tune, others when you're close or need to adjust.

Tuning step by step

1. Quiet the room and hold the guitar near the microphone (for a phone tuner) or clip the tuner on the headstock.
2. Pluck the 6th string firmly once and let it ring. Don't keep re-plucking; the attack of the note confuses the reading.
3. Read the note. If it shows the wrong note entirely (say D♯ instead of E), get to the right note name first.
4. Turn the tuning peg slowly until the needle centres.
5. Repeat for each string, then go round once more: tightening one string slightly changes the tension on the neck, so the others drift.

Always tune up to the note

If a string is sharp, loosen it until it's slightly flat, then tighten up to pitch. Tuning up leaves the string held firmly against the tuning post's gear, so it stays in tune longer. Tuning down to a note often leaves slack that slips back.

Common problems

• The needle jumps around: pluck more gently, mute the other strings with your fretting hand, and check for background noise.
• The tuner reads an octave or a different note: harmonics can fool tuners; pluck over the soundhole or the neck pickup rather than near the bridge.
• New strings won't stay in tune: they stretch for the first day or two. Gently pull each string away from the fretboard along its length, retune, and repeat a few times.
• Chords still sound off when in tune: check the intonation (the 12th-fret note should match the open string an octave up). That's a setup issue, not tuning.

Alternate tunings

For Drop D, tune the 6th string down until it sounds an octave below the open 4th string, or until the tuner reads D (D2, 73.42 Hz).

How often should you tune?

Every time you pick up the instrument, and again if you play for a long time or the room temperature changes. It only takes a minute, and it makes practice sound better instantly.

A tuner on your phone

You don't need extra hardware: your iPhone's microphone works for acoustic guitars and, in a quiet room, for unplugged electric guitars and basses.

Try it on your iPhone: Guitar Tuner: Chromatic (free, by the author of this guide) shows the note, a live Hz readout and colour-coded feedback (blue in tune, yellow close, red adjust), with Guitar (6-string) and Bass (4-string) modes. E-Standard, D-Standard and D♯-Standard are free; the listing's Premium tier adds all 15 presets (including Drop D, Drop C, Open G and Open D) and Auto Mode, which detects the string you're playing.

Quick checklist

1. Quiet room, guitar close to the mic.
2. One clean pluck per reading.
3. Tune up to the note.
4. Go round the strings twice.
5. Retune often with new strings.

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