Online pitch detector for singing

How to use it

1. Click Start and allow the microphone.
2. Sing any note. The tuner shows the note name and how many cents you are above or below it.
3. Watch the trace on the piano roll: a flat line means a steady note, waves mean vibrato or wobble, a slow slide up or down means you are drifting.
4. The green lines mark your working range (from the vocal range test, or a default tenor range if you have not measured yet).

The level bar at the top of the app should reach green when you sing at a normal volume. If the tuner stays empty, move closer to the microphone or sing a little louder.

What a pitch detector shows

Every sung note has a fundamental frequency – the number of times per second your vocal folds vibrate. A4 is 440 Hz, the A an octave lower is 220 Hz, and every semitone in between is a step of about 6%. The detector measures that frequency many times per second and finds the nearest note of the piano.

The distance to that note is shown in cents. One semitone is 100 cents. So “+20” means you are a fifth of a semitone sharp, and “−50” means you are exactly halfway to the note below. For comparison:

• Within ±10 cents – very precise. Most listeners hear this as perfectly in tune.
• ±10 to ±25 cents – normal for a live voice, especially at the start of a note or with vibrato.
• Beyond ±25 cents – starts to sound out of tune, particularly on long notes and next to a piano or a guitar.

Clearsing uses the YIN algorithm for pitch detection, with a range from about 60 Hz to 1100 Hz – from a low bass note up to a high soprano. Everything runs on your device: the audio is analysed in the browser and never uploaded.

A singing tuner vs a guitar tuner

A guitar tuner expects one stable string and waits for it to settle. A voice is different: it slides into notes, wobbles with vibrato, and changes vowels. A singing tuner has to react fast and show the whole movement, not just a single number. That is why the pitch trace matters more than the needle. It shows how you arrive at a note – from below, from above, or right on it – and how you hold it.

Exercises to try with the tuner

• Long tone. Pick a comfortable note, hold it for 8 seconds and try to keep the trace flat. The end of the note is where most singers go flat.
• Match and hold. Play a note on any instrument, then sing it. Check how many cents you land from it before you correct.
• Slow slide. Glide from a low note to a high one and back on “oo”. A smooth line without jumps means your registers connect well.
• Vibrato check. Hold a note and let it vibrate. Regular waves of about 5–7 per second are a healthy vibrato; slow, wide waves usually mean too much pressure.

Why you sing flat (and what helps)

Singing flat is the most common problem the tuner will show. The usual causes are low energy at the end of a phrase, a tired or cold voice, and a heavy, pushed sound on high notes. Quick fixes: take a breath before the note instead of in the middle of it, think of the pitch as slightly higher than it feels, and keep the volume moderate. If you are flat on every note by the same amount, check that you are hearing the reference clearly – headphones help a lot.

What next

The tuner shows where you are. Structured exercises move you forward. In the full Clearsing app a piano plays a pattern, you sing it back, and every note is scored for pitch with a clear summary: which notes were flat, sharp or unstable, and how your score changes over weeks. Start with the vocal range test so exercises fit your voice, or browse the exercise guide.