Tune the Strings

Trombone Tuner

Tune your trombone with your microphone: play first-position B♭ and adjust the tuning slide until the needle is centred. Reference tones let you tune by ear.

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Press Start and allow the microphone. Audio stays on your device.

Trombone tuning notes

Tuning noteTreble clef B♭ (brass band) readsConcert pitchFrequency (A4 = 440)
First-position B♭ (tuning note)C4B♭2116.54 Hz
First-position FG4F3174.61 Hz
First-position B♭, octave upC5B♭3233.08 Hz
Orchestra tuning noteB4A3220.00 Hz

Concert pitch vs written pitch

Tenor and bass trombones in bass clef read concert pitch, so the tuner shows exactly what is on your part. In British-style brass bands the trombone part is often written in treble clef in B♭; choose that setting and the tuner shows the written note a major ninth above concert pitch.

How to tune a trombone with this tuner

  1. Warm up first. A cold trombone plays flat.
  2. Press Start tuner, allow the microphone and play a steady B♭ in first position with the slide fully in.
  3. If you are flat, push the tuning slide in. If you are sharp, pull the tuning slide out. (The tuning slide is the U-shaped slide at the back, not the hand slide.)
  4. Check F and the upper B♭ in first position too, then practise slide positions with the tuner on.

Trombone tuning tips

First position is not quite all the way in

Many players tune with the hand slide held a hair out from the stops, so they have room to raise a sharp note.

Positions by ear

Use the tuner during scales to learn where each position really is. Fourth position is further out than many beginners think.

F attachment

If your trombone has an F trigger, tune the open horn first, then use the F-attachment slide so that F in first position with the trigger is in tune.

Tune by ear with reference notes

No microphone? Press a reference note above to hear it for three seconds and match it, listening for the "beats" (a wobble) to slow down and disappear. The buttons are labelled with the note you read in the selected setting, with the concert pitch underneath.

FAQ

What note do you tune a trombone to?

B♭ in first position (concert B♭2 or B♭3), and often F in first position as a second check. In orchestras, concert A in second position.

Is the trombone a transposing instrument?

Not in bass or tenor clef: it reads concert pitch. Brass-band treble-clef parts are written in B♭, a major ninth above.

Which slide do I move to tune?

The main tuning slide (at the back, behind your head). The hand slide is for playing notes, not for setting the tuning.

Other tuners