Tuning Fork, A or E and how to use ?

Graham Greenbag

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Electronic tuners are cheap and readily available but I suspect that there is value in having and being able to use a tuning fork to tune your Uke.

I’m wondering what the experience of people here is with using tuning forks. What methods do you use and what pitch fork? Mostly forks pitched in A seem to be used but some in the E below it are also available and I can envisage advantages to using E over A.

(Edit. A 440Hz and (low) E 329Hz.)

Please share your experiences and advice.
 
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I do the same as Bill1 with an A fork except I put the end between my teeth. With the bone conduction you can hear it much better for longer and it frees up your hands.
The D'Addario Planet Waves from Guitar Center does the job.
One stays in the car with my Outdoor Tenor year round. Never have to worry about a battery in the winter.
I believe that it also helped develop my ear. You are tuning from a reference note not a changing sound to a number.

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People who learned to play ukulele before the era of cheap electronic tuners did something like this:
 
I do not claim to be an expert.

I tap the tines of the fork on a hard surface and carefully rest the round end on the front of the uke and it makes the noise at the right pitch so you can hear it. It feels like you need three hands, but can be done when you get used to doing it.

I keep A tuning forks in some of the uke cases because you can use them to tune your uke if you have a flat battery or lose your tuner. They are cheap and easy to carry and use.

I would use the A fork to tune the A string of a ukulele. Then tune the A note on the E C and G strings to the A string pitch.

I would use the E fork to tune the High E string of a guitar. Then tune the guitar starting with the high E string.

Thank you Bill for your thoughts. As you typically delete your old posts I just want to capture your comments for future reference.

Thank you too to Stagehand man0a and ubulele, all good stuff. All additional posts and comments will be gratefully received, it’s hard to get too much information.

One reason for the tuning fork skill back-up plan is battery failure - ear training is another. In the winter months temperatures drop, after leaving my music bag in my cold car I’ve found that the tuner’s battery struggles (and sometimes fails) to power the tuner. Having a plan ‘B’ is always a good idea.
 
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I think a tuning fork was the single best investment I made in the ukulele.

I wouldn't have been able to learn to play along with others without learning to tune my uke to itself.
 
It never occurred to me to put the tuner in my mouth. I place it on the bridge near the A string. Then I try to tune the other strings to it. I do just an ok job this way.
Back in the 70s when I played fiddle, this was the only way we had to tune, unless someone owned a good piano.
 
You can also put the fork on the fret where there is an “A” note and the tines will chime when tuned.
 
Actually, rereading your question, you asked how to use a tuning fork.

A is easiest for ukulele. Hit the fork against a hard surface, and hold the base on your bridge. That's the reference.

If you prefer a video, try this from Play Ukulele by Ear (a great resource, by the way!):

 
Jim D’Ville, in his video does show working up the fretboard for each string to check pitch and I can see that that would help protect against over tensioning a string. He also seems to use the unison method of plucking strings together. I’m not sure about checking the C string from the A string, it works for him on his high quality instrument but I find it hard to believe that that method will be a ‘goer’ on a laminate Soprano. Whatever, there is much to learn from each and every source of information.

One tip that I picked up from somewhere is to use a round tine tuner. When struck against any part of you round ones (apparently) hurt less than square ones do (I guess that on a square one you’ll sometimes inadvertently knock a corner, rather than a flat, against yourself). The square tine forks might be higher ‘quality’ but practicality has a value too.

Wilfied Welti has a useful section on tuning fork use in his site. See: https://www.ukulele-arts.com/learn/tuning-with-a-tuning-fork/?lang=en . I notice that Wilfried tunes his C string to the E string and think that that will be a better route for me. For what it’s worth the fork in Wilfried’s picture is, I believe, a ball ended Wittner - K&M sell similar models. Mike Lynch also has a video up of tuning a Uke to its self, rather than risk busting an A string he assumes that it’s OK as is and tunes the rest of the Uke to it - seems to work quite well for solo use.

My thanks again to all who have supported this thread, please keep the ideas coming in.
 
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I used a A440 tuning forks for years with guitars, and kinda lost them when I went to ukes. I've always used relative tuning - that is, get one string in tune (piano, keyboard, e-tuner, woodwind, fork - what ever) then match string sounds . This works great if your intonation is dead on - the longer the scale, the easier. I also noticed that some strings need to be tweaked, especially if the saddle isn't compensated. I still like starting with an e-tuner, to get in range.

My only issue with tuning forks is this: I have 4 tuning forks, all labeled A440. They are not.

Using a frequency generator, I calibrated an e-tuner and verified one of the forks was 438 Hz. The rest varied from 432 Hz to 444 Hz, a tiny difference I never thought I would notice, as I do not have even close to Perfect Pitch.

But I did notice, and if the instruments were tuned to different forks, they would not play nicely together. However, regardless of which fork was used, once an instrument was tuned to it, and the rest tuned to that instrument, there were no issues.

Relative Tuning. That's why an orchestra tunes to the Concertmaster's Violin.

-Kurt​
 
I used a A440 tuning forks for years with guitars, and kinda lost them when I went to ukes. I've always used relative tuning - that is, get one string in tune (piano, keyboard, e-tuner, woodwind, fork - what ever) then match string sounds . This works great if your intonation is dead on - the longer the scale, the easier. I also noticed that some strings need to be tweaked, especially if the saddle isn't compensated. I still like starting with an e-tuner, to get in range.

My only issue with tuning forks is this: I have 4 tuning forks, all labeled A440. They are not.

Using a frequency generator, I calibrated an e-tuner and verified one of the forks was 438 Hz. The rest varied from 432 Hz to 444 Hz, a tiny difference I never thought I would notice, as I do not have even close to Perfect Pitch.

But I did notice, and if the instruments were tuned to different forks, they would not play nicely together. However, regardless of which fork was used, once an instrument was tuned to it, and the rest tuned to that instrument, there were no issues.

Relative Tuning. That's why an orchestra tunes to the Concertmaster's Violin.

-Kurt​

I've heard that tuning forks have a shelf life so to speak. Being metal and having no moving parts, I don't get why that would be the case, but maybe that's what happened with your tuners?
 
I've heard that tuning forks have a shelf life so to speak. Being metal and having no moving parts, I don't get why that would be the case, but maybe that's what happened with your tuners?

With regards to mechanical parts they in general have long shelf lives that are only effected by the likes of oxidation, design changes and fashion. Given reasonable storage and packing a metal part should be good on a shelf for literally decades.

With regard to the variations in Kurt’s Tuning Forks the reason is almost certainly small manufacturing errors and lack of stringent quality control after the manufacturing process, we do not know the make of Kurt’s forks and I would be hesitant about what judgements to make based on his particular experience. Whatever I am thankful for Kurt’s comments and it’s good to know not to put too much trust in individual forks and to individually check them out for accuracy. To be fair ‘good’ traditional European made (Wittner and John Walker) mechanical tuning forks typically aren’t that expensive and we are spoilt by the (ridiculously) low cost of mass made Chinese electronic tuners. I’ve just ordered a K&M 168/1 (‘German’) A440 tuning fork from a U.K. supplier, it wasn’t expensive but if I’d searched around and been prepared to wait some time then I could have bought a couple of electronic tuners from China for the same price.

Edit. The square tine standard Walker is arguably as good as tuning forks come. It retails for about £8 ($10?) plus carriage - which is a bargain for all of what you get. See: https://www.raggtuningforks.co.uk/p...MIrJbgtIvH6gIVCbrtCh0kLw2cEAAYASAAEgJLv_D_BwE .
The ball end and round tines of the K&M appear to suit my particular needs better, but if you want the ‘best’ then a John Walker fork should be on your short list.

If there is no name stamped on a tuning fork then it’s unlikely to be a quality product. Of course if it has a named stamped on it and came from outside of Europe, Japan and North America then what’s supplied is (IMHO) less likely to be genuine.
 
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I've heard that tuning forks have a shelf life so to speak. Being metal and having no moving parts, I don't get why that would be the case, but maybe that's what happened with your tuners?

I've heard that if it gets dents or gouges, that will affect it - would be more of an issue with aluminum than steel ones. Perhaps oxidation would affect it too, but I suspect some cheaper ones just aren't built to exacting standards.
 
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I've heard that tuning forks have a shelf life so to speak. Being metal and having no moving parts, I don't get why that would be the case, but maybe that's what happened with your tuners?

Actually, they were new, relatively inexpensive - costing $5-10 each - and I purchased 3 of them from a local shop.

I have a friend who was a Piano Tuner, years back. She had one tuner she called Tuner Prime that she kept wrapped in thick velvet and carried it in a small, lined oak box.

She also had a set of tuneable tuning forks she calibrated from the main tuning fork, on a weekly basis.

She was blessed/cursed with Perfect Pitch. (And despite that, she played Viola...)
 
My only issue with tuning forks is this: I have 4 tuning forks, all labeled A440. They are not.

I think that's the route to madness! Truthfully, at home I rarely bother to find a reference pitch if I'm playing by myself. I just tune everything so it matches the A string.

I've noticed from recording myself that my singing voice gets lower as I get more tired. So it's probably just as well.
 
Whilst waiting for the Tuning fork to arrive I’ve been interval tuning the other strings to the A string and then checking the results with a tuner, it’s a learning curve but I’ve been pleased with how I’ve managed. The fork has now arrived and tuning the A string to it is an experience and needs a certain knack, but again I’m pleased with progress so far ... more to learn though. One thing I have noticed is that an in tune A string will excite the tuning fork and that a energised tuning fork will excite an in tune A string. I tap one of the tines firmly and place the ball end on the bridge. Guess I was lucky too in that my tuner and the fork agree about what A440 is, well the tuner goes green when the fork is struck and that’s good enough for me.

I tend to leave an electronic tuner in the bag or case of every Uke I have but am now thinking about opportunistically buying a few more forks as back ups. Tuning forks are quite a bit slower and more fiddly to use than an electronic tuner but they (forks) aren’t that expensive and (unexpected) flat batteries are never going to be an issue with them.

My thanks to everyone who has supported my thread so far, I appreciate the encouragement and guidance offered.
 
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I have the tuning fork I got almost 60 years ago and used for tuning my guitars until a few years ago when I discovered ukulele and electronic tuners.
I just checked it with my Intelli tuner and it is still A 440 .
 
I need a reference pitch but most of the time I don't bother. It's pretty much odds on that over time the pitch will drop. Seeing as I'm not playing in a duet it matters not. I tune the rest of the strings harmonically i.e. sounding any two strings together. If I don't actively practice it, pretty much every day, I lose the ability to do it. Then I really have to listen and retrain myself. I used to know a violinist who could give you any note without needing a reference.
You know the type. Play any strange 10 note chord on a piano to him and he could name every individual note, without seeing the keyboard.
 
I have the tuning fork I got almost 60 years ago and used for tuning my guitars until a few years ago when I discovered ukulele and electronic tuners.
I just checked it with my Intelli tuner and it is still A 440 .

Yes, that’s something I hadn’t considered. Un-like electronic tuners tuning forks are somewhat durable, they are also timeless. I’m very much hoping to be using the tuning fork that I just purchased in 60 years time ... but that would make me well over a hundred. I have my eye on a second hand John Walker fork, to go into one of my cases with a normally un-used Uke, so at least I’ll be giving a perfectly usable old item a home and some further useful life.


I need a reference pitch but most of the time I don't bother. It's pretty much odds on that over time the pitch will drop. Seeing as I'm not playing in a duet it matters not. I tune the rest of the strings harmonically i.e. sounding any two strings together. If I don't actively practice it, pretty much every day, I lose the ability to do it. Then I really have to listen and retrain myself. I used to know a violinist who could give you any note without needing a reference.
You know the type. Play any strange 10 note chord on a piano to him and he could name every individual note, without seeing the keyboard.

Always good to read one of your posts. You’re a voice from a part of the U.K. that has a lot of skills and it’s a comment from a very able Craftsman too. I play (or used to before CV19) in groups so it is important to be in-tune with others (Edit. ie. all in tune from A440). You’ll have your own reasons for not doing so but playing in groups does, as far as I’m concerned, add a lot of fun to playing.

When using an electronic tuner on the open strings and checking the fretted strings the two are almost always fine, so typically no noticeable error introduced on fretting. However, one thing I have noticed with harmonic tuning is that despite a good set-up fretted notes are quite often a little or fractionally sharp compared to (when they are later) open strings - or, expressing it a different way, the later open sting is a fractionally flat. I suppose that more care is needed and perhaps some acceptance of trivial imperfection. Some of my Ukes are better than others too, so that might be another variable. Strangely all of the Ukes seem to sound better after, at sometime, having used a tuning fork on them. Interestingly too two slightly out of tune strings beat (as per Wilfied’s comments) and an in-tune (or near enough so) string will normally excite a tuning fork - some useful checks.
 
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Well if you really want to get fancy you can adjust dependent on the particular key. Near enough does me!
 
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