Make sure only one string is ringing at a time. If the tuner isn't detecting the notes or the display is jumping around a lot, there are a couple of common reasons. That was easy, right? Well, beginners often run into some common problems using electronic tuners. Often you'll see two arrows light up or the display changes color when the string is in-tune. Then, get the needle, or lights, right in the center. The first goal is to get in range of the target note for the string. Remember, the tighter the string, the higher the pitch. As you tighten the string, you'll see the tuner going up through the musical alphabet. Turn the tuning key for the correct string. Again,until you're more sure of what you're doing, start with a very loose string. Pluck the string you wish to tune and watch the display. Some basses hold their tuning well, others can be troublesome. New strings can stretch for a few days, too. If the weather changes from hot to cold or humid to dry, your bass can shift around enough to go out-of-tune. Other times weather changes can make your bass to move around. What might cause your strings to go out-of-tune? Usually the tuning keys got bumped inside your case, or children love to play with the shiny tuning keys. With more experience you'll have a better sense of how out of tune your strings are. How often should you tune? Well, it's good to check that you're in-tune every time you start playing. If you're scared you passed it or the string seems way too tight, loosen and start over so you don't break a string. As I mentioned before, if you're unsure, loosen your string enough so you know you're well below the target pitch. That means you could accidentally tune your string 12 notes too high and break your string. Tuners rarely tell you what octave a note is in. Many tuners show how many cents above or below the pitch is with a needle or light. If a note is 50 cents off, it's halfway between two notes. Just like there are 100 cents in a dollar, there are 100 cents in a note. How sharp or flat a note is, is measured in cents. Meaning they sang a bit under where the pitch should have been. Maybe you've heard someone say something like a singer sang flat all night. When it's below the note, we describe it as flat. When the pitch is higher than the note, we describe it as sharp. They tell you what note of the musical alphabet a pitch is closest to, and how above it or below it the pitch is. Most electronic tuner displays work the same way. Let's look at how to use electronic tuners. I recommend getting a chromatic tuner because it's more versatile. The ones marked bass tuner tune only to the common standard tuning notes of the bass: E A D G and maybe a few other commonly used bass tuning notes.Ī chromatic tuner will tune to any note in the musical alphabet. You will see some tuners simply labeled 'bass tuner' or 'guitar tuner' and others labeled 'chromatic'. See my recommendations in the shop section of StudyBass. I like the smaller ones that aren't so easy to break. The clip-on style tuners are probably the most convenient and cheapest. Tuners with microphones will usually default to them when nothing is plugged into their input. Others have microphone or vibration.Ĭheck the tuner switches to make sure you're using the one you want. Some have a microphone option and direct input option. Many tuners let you choose between a couple of these methods of pitch detection. If it's not working well, experiment by moving it around. Where you clip it on your instrument can make a difference with its accuracy. Vibration InputĪnother type of tuner clips on to your instrument-usually your headstock-and detects vibrations through your instrument. These types of tuners are often a little box or a pedal. That eliminates the outside noise problem from using a microphone, and it's usually more accurate. Some tuners you plug your bass into directly or through an output on your bass amp. These might come in little boxes or even an app on your phone. So these work okay when you're in a very quiet environment with no other instruments or music playing. Tuners can only detect one note at a time. Some have a microphone that listens for the pitch. There are several different ways electronic tuners can detect pitch. In part 3 of this lesson I'll explain the different types of tuners, the pros and cons of them, how to use them, and common problems beginners experience with them. There are many different kinds of electronic tuners, and most work similarly. The most common way bass players tune their basses is using an electronic tuner.
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