Online Harp Tuner

How to tune your harp, step by step

1. Choose the preset that matches your harp: number of strings and tuning key (C or E♭).
2. Lever harp: disengage all the levers. Pedal harp: set all the pedals in the top position (flats).
3. Turn on guided mode and place your phone against the neck or on a stand close to the soundboard.
4. Find the lowest string using the colours: C strings are red, F strings are blue or black depending on the maker.
5. Pluck the string and turn the tuning pin with the tuning key in small quarter turns until it is in tune: the guide then moves on to the next string.
6. Work your way up string by string to the top, then do a quick second pass: the added tension often pulls the first strings slightly flat.

Notes and frequencies

Note sequences for each type of harp

A harp is tuned to a diatonic scale: the app automatically generates the note sequence for each preset, string by string, with its target frequency.

Available presets: 22-string lever harp in C, from C3 (130.81 Hz) to C6 (1,046.50 Hz); 34 strings in C, from C2 (65.41 Hz) to A6 (1,760.00 Hz); 34 strings in E♭, from C2 to A♭6 (1,661.22 Hz); 38 strings in E♭, from F1 (43.65 Hz) to A♭6; 47-string pedal harp, from C♭1 (30.87 Hz) to G♭7 (2,959.96 Hz), pedals up.

These ranges match common models, but they vary between makers: lowest string on C, G or A, a different key, or an in-between number of strings. Check the note of your lowest string and, if the preset does not match, create a custom tuning you can share with a link.

Lever harp: tuned in C or E♭?

A harp tuned in C plays in C major with the levers down; each lever you raise sharpens its string by a semitone. That gives you the keys of G, D, A and E major, but no flat keys.

Tuned in E♭ (with E, A and B flat), the harp plays in E♭ major with the levers down, then in B♭, F, C, G, D, A and E major as you raise more levers. That is why many lever harpists prefer this tuning, especially when playing with other instruments.

Always tune with the levers down. Then flip a lever from time to time and play the string in chromatic mode: it should sound exactly one semitone higher. If it does not, the lever regulation needs adjusting, not the tuning.

47-string pedal harp

On a concert harp, the seven pedals in the top position give the C♭ major scale. Tune in this position, then check the middle (natural) and bottom (sharp) positions in chromatic mode.

The lowest wound strings go down to 30.87 Hz. The app’s analysis stays reliable down to that frequency, but phone microphones pick up poorly below 80 to 100 Hz. For the lowest octave, bring the phone closer to the soundboard or tune by ear at the octave, using the reference tone or the drone.

Practical tuning tips

Pluck the string in the middle with the pad of your finger and let it ring: the tuner ignores the attack and reads the sound that follows. Mute neighbouring strings that ring along if the reading wavers.

A new or freshly restrung harp keeps stretching for several weeks: tune it every day at first. Changes in temperature and humidity also have a big effect.

Set the tolerance to ±2 cents for careful tuning, or ±5 cents for a quick first pass. Through a phone microphone, real-world accuracy is about ±2 to 3 cents. For early music or an ensemble, adjust the reference A (415, 440, 442 Hz and so on).