Guides

Written guides to the things the tools do: tuning an instrument, finding a song’s tempo or key, and understanding the chords and keys behind the music. Each one links to the tool it is about.

• How to Tune a Guitar — Tune with a tuner, by ear, or with harmonics, and avoid the usual mistakes.
• Guitar Intonation and String Gauges — Why a tuned guitar still sounds off up the neck, and what string gauge changes.
• Alternate Guitar Tunings — Drop D, DADGAD, open G and more: the notes, the sound, and how to change safely.
• How to Tune a Bass Guitar — String notes for 4, 5 and 6 string basses, and why the low strings are hard to tune.
• How to Tune a Ukulele — GCEA and re-entrant tuning, tuning by ear, and keeping new strings in tune.
• What Is BPM? — What beats per minute measures, typical ranges, half-time and double-time, and how to find a BPM.
• How the Circle of Fifths Works — Key signatures, relative minors and the chords of a key, all from one diagram.
• How to Find the Key of a Song — Finding a song’s key by ear, from chords or sheet music, and where software gets it wrong.
• Common Chord Progressions — I–V–vi–IV, 12-bar blues, ii–V–I and more, in Roman numerals and in real keys.
• How an Online Tuner Works — From microphone to note name: sampling, pitch detection and what limits accuracy.