When the soundwaves of a pitch produce an exact musical value. When a note is flat, it is one semitone below what it should be. When a note is sharp, it is one semitone above what it should be. The pitch of a note will either one of three things: sharp, flat, or, of course, in tune. We measure the difference in notes with semitones, which is a half-step up or down in the pitch of a note.

Thankfully, you won't have to worry directly about the Hertz of a note while you're tuning because a tuner takes care of measuring those sounds for you. Musical notes are usually measured in Hertz and a Hertz is the SI unit of a frequency. A tuner measures the pitch of a note.Ī pitch is defined as the highness or lowness of a musical note. When an instrument or string is out of tune, it can produce a funky sound that can inhibit your ability to play a song well. Tuning is defined by the almightly Wikipedia as being the process of adjusting the pitch of one or many tones from musical instruments to establish typical intervals between these tones. But how does it work? What does it mean to tune something?

A mysterious concept to many, especially those without musical talent who find themselves captivated by live musicians tuning before a show, tuning is vital to creating music. The tricky process that nearly all musicians experience.

Geared ukulele tuner image