Correctly tuning your instruments can be a real drag and nobody wants to keep paying the store to do it for them. Luckily, with the advancement of technology - we can now access helpful apps via our smartphones to help us with everyday life.
Tuners are no exception to this. But with the Apple app store so full of different apps, it can be very difficult to find the best ones, and even harder to find the best free apps to help tune your gear.
The good news for you though is that we’ve done the hard work for you. So, let’s get the guitar - what are the five best free tuner apps available for the iPhone?
Despite the name, Guitar Tuna offers tuning resources for 15 different instruments! It’s perhaps no surprise that it has over 80 million downloads and boasts being the most downloaded tuning app in the world!
With the free version, you can use the ear training feature and handy guidance for chords - along with other fun games and exercises.
Using your iPhone’s microphone, Guitar Tuna can listen to your notes being played and uses its smart background noise cancellation technology to listen only to that.
You can see on your iPhone’s screen if your instrument is in tune or not and allows you to see where the note should be.
From one of the most recognizable names in the guitar world - Fender Tune is incredibly popular among musicians. It has a number of different modes for you to choose from and lets you work out what is best for you!
The modes are:
Autotune: You pluck one of your strings and the app will give you assistance with diagrams to help you tune your guitar.
Manual Tune: Using the notes on the app, you can try to tune your guitar to the sound being played.
Chromatic: The app will use its intelligent tuner technology to recognize the chromatic scale. This gives you the ability to tune your guitar to all notes.
Preset: This allows you to set your guitar to a specific tuning like drop D, drop C etc.
Custom: You can create your own tuning and save it in your personal account ready for next time!
Fender Tune has an extensive library of chords and notes which you can listen to, practice with and use to tune your guitar. The possibilities are nearly endless on the free version - there are more features with the subscription service though.
Tuner T1 allows you to tune a variety of instruments. It provides example notes for you to listen to and tune your instrument - known as Tone Generator.
It’s a simple and easy to use tuner app and has a feature that not many tuner apps have - vocal pitch detection. If you’re wanting to improve your singing and vocal accuracy, this app can help with that too!
The app also does not respond to sounds or noises that shouldn’t be there during tuning - such as doors closing or a pet. This means that you can be sure of the accuracy that the tuner is telling you.
Although basic, this app is useful and user friendly. Probably the best thing about this app - although it has small ads that appear infrequently as banners, there are no features that require a subscription service to access!
This tuner app provides a very handy graphic and visual assistance for you to tune your instruments. A wheel appears and guides you through the best way to get the right pitch - this can help you either manually tune (pitch pipe) or tune with the help.
It has a fantastic display which is completely uncomplicated - no need to learn how the app works because it is so simple. Play and tune. Done.
Using your microphone, Instuner can understand how far away your note is and how you can fix it - using the handy wheel. If there are any drawbacks to this app is that there are plenty of features that are missing but included in the premium versions.
Practice+ has appeared on Apple’s list of “amazing apps” and it’s easy to see why. With plenty of features for you to get involved with, you’ll find it difficult to find another tuner app with so many helpful tools at your fingertips.
It has five main modes. Tuner, recorder, metronome, loop and setlist. The metronome mode can work alongside another mode so that you have seamless and accurate tuning. This is controlled by the bar which remains on your screen throughout.
You can record your tuning or practice with the app using its record feature which is good if you want to tune your instrument and then get straight to playing! If you’re worried about the accuracy of your notes - worry no more.
The app uses smart tuner technology to inspect your intonation and ensure that you’re playing what you should be playing.
It is incredibly user friendly and has a visually pleasing display. It’s very easy to use and the free features are excellent - with a surprising number.
As with all apps that offer premium features, you can upgrade this app and get the full benefits like needle damping or multitasking etc.
App Store Rating: 4.4/5 Stars
And On That Note
That’s our list! Remember that with all of these free apps, you’ll find some great features and there’s definitely one here that you’ll use frequently if you’re a keen musician. However, nothing is without its flaws.
You may find the free versions have ads which can interrupt your tuning or that you can’t access some of the features that they may say they have unless you pay for premium. Always use the free version first before considering paying or subscribing for more.
Hi, my name is David Williams, and I play the french horn. However, I can also play the piano, violin, and the majority of wind instruments. I have been reading music and playing musical instruments from a young age, and I love regularly playing instruments as part of an orchestra. There is something so fantastic about hearing the instruments all come together to perform an impressive piece of music, especially when it is a classical piece.
I recently decided to share my love for music and instrument playing online, in the hopes that it would encourage others to try something new. Playing an instrument is both fantastic and rewarding. Through this blog, I hope that you will gain a clearer understanding of both music and musical instruments.
