“The concert failed. This is a mess of sounds, not music! ” It is unpleasant to read such a review when all the strength was given to the performance, and endless rehearsals were in vain. Dissonance cut the ear in every measure.
An upset instrument will put the musician in an awkward position, and will cause discomfort for a demanding listener. Therefore, the guitarist should not only stock up on picks, but also keep the tuner on hand.
Programs for customization
The set of utilities that determine the pitch of sound is huge. Each of them copes with the task. It doesn’t matter if a program is written for a PC or mobile phone. At home or in the studio, they will do the tune perfectly.
In concert conditions, software tuners are useless. No one will connect a guitar to a computer or bring a smartphone to the strings. But the instrument must be tuned throughout the concert. There is a solution, but first we’ll look at the types of guitar tuners. Each of them has its own purpose.
Guitar Tuners: General Features
For the most popular musical instrument, a whole line of instruments has been developed. If the accordion or flute does not require tuning (which is impossible in principle), then the guitar needs it every day.
It is enough to put in order six strings, and the instrument will sound. Guitar tuners are not overloaded with features. Their task is to accurately determine the height of six notes.
Acoustic tuners
The signal is captured by the built-in microphone. This is a simple setup tool. By and large, it is no different from the software tuner installed on your smartphone.
Advantages - compactness and low price. The microphone works well in the frequency range of guitar strings. Therefore, this tuner will cope with the tuning better than software.
The downside will be the dependence on extraneous noise. Any sound will certainly interfere. Acoustic waves are able to add up and change frequency and amplitude.
Clothespins
The principle of operation is similar to acoustic tuners, but the pickup is not a microphone, but a piezoelectric element that fixes the frequency of oscillation of the guitar deck. This method gives a fairly accurate result, since it does not depend on external noise. However, deviations in frequency measurement are possible due to the resonance of the case, which distorts the pitch of the note.
Line Out Tuners
The pickup captures the frequency of the string as accurately as possible. Its oscillations cause electromagnetic induction and are transmitted through a circuit to an amplifier. No external noise or vibration of the case affects the sound.
The tuners receiving the signal from the line output determine the pitch of the note to the nearest hundredths of a hertz. The most convenient of them are pedals. In idle mode, they pass the signal directly to the amplifier, and when turned on, they begin to work as a tuner. The sound from the guitar does not enter the speakers, and the musician can tune the instrument during a pause.
Chromatic Tuners
The standard tuning is repelled by the reference frequency of the note “A” of the first octave, equal to 440 Hz. But there are times when an instrument sounds lower or higher. Many concert pianos are tuned for a tuning fork 444 Hz. This adds expressiveness to the sound of solo piano pieces. The reverse situation is also possible, when an old piano is tuned much lower than the modern standard.
In such cases, you have to adjust the tension of the strings on the guitar. The note “la” of rare German piano can sound like a modern “salt”. As a result, you can tune your guitar only by ear or with the help of a chromatic tuner. He understands all 12 notes of the scale. With it, you can configure any instruments whose pitch is different from the classic six-string.
So that the performance does not turn into a cacophony, it is better to take care of tuning the instruments in advance. A guitar will make an excellent duet for a concert grand piano or chamber harpsichord. The main thing is to sound on the same wavelength.