How to Tune Your Clarinet
- Warm up first: play long, slow notes for a few minutes, starting low and working up to the middle register. A cold clarinet plays flat.
- Leave the switch on Written Pitch to see notes as they appear in your music.
- Tap Start Tuning and play your tuning note: written C5 (third space), which sounds concert B♭, when the band tunes to B♭, or written B4 (middle line), which sounds concert A, when tuning to A.
- If it says Tune down (you are sharp), pull the barrel out from the upper joint a little. If it says Tune up (you are flat), push it in.
On many clarinets written C5 reads a little sharp compared with the rest of the instrument, and pulling the barrel far out to fix it makes the throat notes (written G4 to B♭4) flat. If you have to pull out more than a millimeter or two, also check open G (written G4) and set the barrel so both are close.
Written and Concert Pitch
A B♭ clarinet sounds a whole step (two semitones) lower than written: a written C sounds B♭. In Written Pitch mode the tuner adds the two semitones back, so the note name matches your music. The cents reading is the same in both modes. Saxophones transpose too, so the alto and tenor sax tuner has the same switch.
| You Play (Written) | It Sounds (Concert) | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| C5 (third space) | B♭4 | 466.16 Hz |
| B4 (middle line) | A4 | 440.00 Hz |
| G4 (open G) | F4 | 349.23 Hz |
The reed, your embouchure, and the room temperature all change the pitch. A soft or worn reed tends to play flat, and a tight embouchure sharp. Tune on a warm instrument with a good reed.