Automatic note detection
Strike a key and Clavituner knows which one it is. Use the padlock to hold a note while you work on it. It then appears in red, so you can’t miss the locked state.
Clavituner – Piano Tuner
The professional tuning app for upright and grand pianos.
Precise measurement, the right tuning curve for every instrument, and everything you need for a clean tuning.
As you tune, Clavituner automatically recognises each key, measures its inharmonicity and keeps calculating the tuning curve. Your tuning is saved as you go. You strike and tune; the app takes care of the rest.
The display
One glance is enough.
The large round scale shows the deviation in cents, and the needle and centre figure show the same value. Between them turns the rotor: to the right when the string is sharp, to the left when it’s flat. The closer you get, the slower it spins.
When the note is in tune, the figure, circle and rotor turn green. You barely have to look; the corner of your eye will do. You decide how far the rotor stays active and whether it turns green.
Colour ring
Or a ring that travels to the target.
Not a fan of rotors? Choose the colour ring. In tune, it rests green against the inner circle. The further off you are, the further out it moves, shifting through yellow to red, up to ±25 cents at the scale. Close to the target, it is especially sensitive.
The measurement
Precisely measured. For every instrument.
Strings are stiff, so their partials vibrate slightly higher than whole-number multiples of the fundamental. This inharmonicity varies with the instrument and the register: a small upright has very different bass values from a large grand.
Clavituner measures the inharmonicity of every key you strike directly from its sound, and gets to know the instrument better with each note. Those measurements produce the tuning curve across all 88 keys: the stretch that makes bass and treble truly fit the middle register.
The partial list shows you what’s being heard right now: up to eight partials, each with its distance from the first partial. The small symbol beside it turns green once the key has been measured.
Your piano, your style.
Three styles, finely adjustable
Narrow for spinets and very small grands, Medium for most tunings, Wide for concert grands. You can shift the stretch from −3 to +3 as well, and see the curve change immediately.
Design your own styles
Choose which intervals apply in each range, with beat rate and weight. Clavituner turns them into a smooth curve and shows it to you as you design.
Calm when it’s quiet
The display responds to the sound of the string, not to every noise in the room. With no note detected it stays empty, and the rotor fades out gently.
Pitch raise
Even if the piano hasn’t been tuned for years.
In coarse mode the range grows to as much as ±200 cents, so even a badly flat instrument is recognised reliably. Tap the scale to switch between ±25, ±50, ±100 and ±200 cents.
During a pitch raise, strings you’ve already tuned drop again as tension builds in the instrument. So Clavituner remembers each key’s starting value and shows you the right overpull: the triangle on the scale marks where the string needs to go.
Set the overpull anywhere from 0 to 50 percent; it adapts to the register automatically. For a single pass, it can also be used in fine mode.
Equal twelfths
Classic tuning or pure twelfths at the touch of a switch.
Instead of the octave, this divides the twelfth evenly: an octave plus a fifth. The result is a naturally stretched tuning designed for the whole compass, with no style settings needed.
One switch is all it takes. Turn it off and your previous style and temperament apply again straight away.
Temperaments
From equal to Bach.
14 historical and modern temperaments are built in, each with its exact deviation per note in cents. To create your own, just enter the deviation for each of the twelve notes.
- Equal
- Pythagorean
- Meantone 1/4
- Meantone 1/3
- Meantone 2/7
- Meantone 1/5
- Silbermann 1/6
- Werckmeister III
- Kirnberger II
- Kirnberger III
- Vallotti
- Young II
- Kellner
- Bach after Lehman
Landscape
Everything at a glance. Sideways too.
Turn your device and the display takes the full height. Partials, scale and tuning details sit side by side, which is ideal when the device stands on the music desk.
Tunings
A record for every instrument.
Save each tuning under its make, model or location, and organise them in folders, by client for example. Measurements, pitch, style and temperament stay together. At your next visit, Clavituner already knows the instrument.
Set concert pitch freely from 392 to 466 Hz, with shortcuts for 415, 430, 435, 440, 442 and 443 Hz. Unnamed tunings are saved automatically, and the latest 15 are kept.
Appearance
Right for any room.
Light for daytime, dark for the stage, or automatic to follow your system. Note names in German (H, B, Cis) or English (B, Bb, C#).
How it works
Five steps to a finished tuning.
Create a tuning
Choose the concert pitch and piano type and give the instrument a name. The type only supplies a starting value; Clavituner measures everything else itself.
Choose style and temperament
For most instruments, the Medium style and equal temperament are the right place to start. The tuning curve shows you the effect of your choice immediately.
Raise the pitch if needed
If the instrument is far off, go through all the keys once in coarse mode. Clavituner notes the starting values and gives you the right overpull.
Fine tune
Switch to fine mode and strike key after key. Each note is detected and measured, and the rotor guides you to the target. Keep the microphone close to the instrument.
Save and come back
Clavituner saves as you go. Name the tuning and it’s kept permanently, ready for your next visit with all its measurements.
The specs.
- Compass
- 88 keys, A0 to C8
- Partial display
- Up to 8 partials per key
- “In tune” indication
- Fine mode: within ±1.0 cent. Coarse mode: within ±1.5 cents
- Concert pitch
- 392 to 466 Hz, freely adjustable
- Styles
- Narrow, Medium, Wide, equal twelfths, your own styles
- Temperaments
- 14 built in, as many of your own as you like
- Pitch raise
- Range up to ±200 cents, overpull 0 to 50%
- Note names
- German or English
- App language
- German
Frequently asked questions.
Do I need any extra equipment?
No. Clavituner works with your device’s built-in microphone. For the tuning itself, you’ll need your usual tuning tools.
Why don’t the tuning curve values sit at 0?
The curve shows how far each key departs from its mathematically equal-tempered pitch. Because strings are inharmonic, high notes must sit slightly higher and low notes slightly lower for the octaves to sound clean. The needle still shows 0 when a key reaches the target on that curve.
What’s the difference between fine and coarse?
Fine is for the actual tuning, with a ±25 cent range and the partial list. Coarse is for raising or lowering a badly out-of-tune instrument, with a wider range and overpull.
Do I have to measure all 88 keys?
No. Each measured key improves the curve, and missing values are derived from neighbouring keys and the piano type you chose. Measuring simply happens as you tune.
Does my data go online?
No. Clavituner needs no account and no cloud. Measuring happens on your device, and your tunings are stored there.
Clavituner.
The professional tuning app for upright and grand pianos.
For Android and iOS.