Online tuner
Sing or play a note and see how close you are. The tuner listens through your microphone, names the nearest note, and shows how many cents sharp or flat you are. Switch to sargam names and pick your Sa if you practise Indian music.
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How it works
Press Start and allow the microphone. The page reads the sound in this tab, works out the pitch, and shows the nearest note with a needle from minus 50 to plus 50 cents. Green means within five cents. Nothing is recorded and nothing leaves your device.
Sargam names and your Sa
Choose Sargam and tell the tuner which note is your Sa. It then names what you sing as Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, with komal notes in lowercase and tivra Ma marked. Male voices often take Sa around C sharp or D, female voices around G or A; the Western note stays visible beside it.
Reference pitch
The standard is A4 at 440 Hz. Some ensembles and recordings sit at 432 or 442 Hz; set the reference to match what you play along with. The harmonium and tanpura you practise with decide your Sa, not the tuner.
Tips for a steady reading
Hold one note at a time, close to the microphone, without vibrato at first. Chords, heavy reverb and room noise confuse any tuner. Sustained sounds such as a bowed string, a held vowel or a flute read best; a plucked string reads at the start of the note.
From the label's own toolbox
BeatRootRaga is an independent label that records ghazals, Indian classical and film-song covers. This tuner is the one the label's singers use to check their Sa before a take, put online for anyone.
Featured releases
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Latest guides
All guidesTeentaal: the 16-beat cycle of Hindustani music
Teentaal is a 16-beat Hindustani rhythmic cycle counted in four groups of four, with claps on 1, 5 and 13, and a wave on 9. Its theka, or basic tabla stroke pattern, is dha dhin dhin dha | dha dhin dhin dha | dha tin tin ta | ta dhin dhin dha.
Taal for beginners: teentaal, keherwa and dadra with clap patterns
A taal is a repeating rhythmic cycle: count 16 beats for teentaal, eight for keherwa, and six for dadra. For teentaal, clap on 1, 5 and 13, wave on 9; for keherwa, clap on 1, wave on 5; for dadra, clap on 1, wave on 4.
Rupak: the 7-beat taal that starts on khali
Rupak is a taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, with seven beats grouped 3 + 2 + 2. Its opening closed strokes make sam, the first beat, sound light; this beat is khali, marked by a wave, rather than tali, marked by a clap.
Keherwa: the 8-beat taal of film songs, bhajans and folk
Keherwa is an eight-beat taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, arranged as 4 + 4. To recognise it, listen for two groups of four, a lighter second half, and the recurring drum pattern: dha ge na ti | na ka dhin na.
Jhaptaal: the 10-beat taal
Jhaptaal is a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle, with ten beats. Its four vibhags, or divisions, follow 2 + 3 + 2 + 3, alternating two-beat and three-beat groups.
Ektaal: the 12-beat taal of khayal
Ektaal is a twelve-beat taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, divided into six two-beat sections called vibhags. Its stretched beats let the tabla player elaborate the stroke pattern in vilambit (slow-tempo) bada khayal, the slow opening composition of a khayal performance.
Questions people ask
Is the BeatRootRaga online tuner free, and does it record me?
Free, no account. The microphone is read live in this tab to find the pitch; no audio is recorded, stored or sent anywhere.
Why does the BeatRootRaga tuner ask for the microphone?
It has to hear the note. Your browser asks once; you can revoke the permission any time from the address bar.
Can I tune a guitar, violin or harmonium with the online tuner?
Yes. It is chromatic, so it reads any pitched instrument and the voice. Play one string or key at a time.
What does cents mean on a tuner?
A cent is a hundredth of a semitone. Within five cents most listeners hear the note as in tune; the needle shows the distance to the nearest note.
What Sa should I choose in the tuner for Indian music?
The Sa you practise with. Many male singers sit at C sharp or D, many female singers at G or A, but it is your comfortable pitch that counts. Play your Sa on a harmonium and read it on the tuner in Western mode to find the letter.