hi i bought a Chromatic Tuner for tuning various Flutes i have can anyone tell me
what the setting should be for tuning a Bb flute an F-Flute and Eb piccolo which will all be used mostly outdoor.
the tuner is a Yamaha YT-250 and goes from 435hz -446hz
would just like to know what the pitch - Hz setting is for each flute when tuning.
Bb Flute =
F Flute =
Eb Piccolo =
Thanks In Advance.
If you just want to tune to standard modern pitch, set the tuner’s reference pitch to A=440 Hz. Then for whatever tuning notes you use (e.g. A or D) to tune your instruments, center the notes at zero on the tuner’s meter.
This basically assumes that you want to tune to Equal Temperament (ET) intonation, which is what the YT-250 is calibrated for. According to the manual, there is no way to set to tuner automatically to Just or Tempered tunings other than ET. But if your instruments are made for Just Intonation, then tuning the root and fifth (D and A) of each instrument’s natural scale with the tuner should get you very close. Of course, you always have to use breath and embouchure control anyway to bring the individual notes into your desired tuning.
If you want to check every note of your instruments against something other than ET, you’d have to calculate the cents offset of each note of your desired tuning compared to ET, then target those values on your meter. But I don’t think that’s what you’re asking. If it is, here is a good page with the necessary info and tools to do the calculations:
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-centsratio.htm
Some tuners, like the Peterson tuners, do allow you to set the temperament and base note, and just zero each note. Or you can use the software Shakuhachi tuner ( http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~tuner/tuner_e.html ) and tune to the marked Just Intonation points. Download the “Sound Color Analyzer and Tuner” for your Mac or PC.
I’m just interested in tuning each instrument so when played with good form they are not flat or sharp.
i was wondering with the instruents being in 3 different keys Bb F and Eb if they had too be
tuned at diffeent settings with the tuner
thanks for your reply & help.
Nope. Keep the same setting. Tuning to tonic and fifth of the flute’s “home scale” (xxx xxx and xxo ooo respectively) makes theoretical sense. However, the xxo ooo is a bit fussy on many simple system flutes and requires “lipping” and therefore is not such a consistent pitch to tune. I find the xxx ooo to be a more consistently right on, natural pitch for these flutes. When I get that note in tune the rest seems to fall in place. The “whatever works best for you” rule applies to tuning these things.
Clark
No, not necessary. Just set the reference pitch, and everything else falls into place.
If you play with a flute band or other group, you might want to check with your band master that A440 is actually the proper reference pitch for them. Some groups may tune high or low, depending on preference and the peculiarities of other instruments in the group. For example, some Irish sessions like to tune a bit high, and A442 gives a better result.
Cheers!
I personally think that tuning flutes with tuners is a bit of forlorn hope. After a few minutes of playing, they’re off again, since the wood has warmed up and the pitch raised. You could produce your tuner out of your case again, but in the long run it might be better to tune to others by ear, constantly, while playing. You can even hold the flute with the upper hand when playing passages that don’t need the lower hand and use the lower hand for moving the slide. It works just fine, and others will hardly notice if they’re not watching you (and even on stage, it’s a nice effect 
). And if you’re playing alone, why tune to a=440hz anyway? Just draw the slide to the approximate a=440hz position and go for it.
Hi, and welcome to Chiff & Fipple!
What MTGuru said is true.
Modern tuning is based on A=440 Hz, including all of your Bb, F, and Eb instruments, and most tuners are made to tune Equal Temperament correctly.
However, another common tuning is known as Just Intonation, but unfortunately most tuners are not able to tune Just Intonation correctly.
So, it depends on what tuning you need. Could you mention something about the kind of music you want to play, please?
Hi and thanks for the welcome the type of music i would mostly play would be military music/marches etc
OK, military music and marches generally are tuned to Just Intonation, and that’s because their musical keys usually are fairly “close” to each other.
In that case, moreover, you’re in luck, and you really don’t need a tuner, other than your own ears!
For Just Intonation, begin with a reference pitch, such as by a tuning fork pitched at A=440, and then tune ALL of the other tones to that reference pitch.
You’ll know when you have the tuning right when all of the tones of a scale are in tonal harmony with each other, and simply sound right.
Equal temperament is another matter, where each of the tones are not necessarily in tonal harmony with each other, and that’s where a tuner comes in handy.
However, even for Equal Temperament, a tuner is not absolutely necessary, but, again, a tuner can be a very handy tool.
BTW, nearly all of ITM is played in Just Intonation, too. Let your musical ear be your guide! 
Welcome, ulsterman… I suspect all this stuff about temperament isn’t really going to be relevant to you! You probably won’t discuss it in your band, you’ll just use your ears and get dirty looks or elbows if you’re off pitch! If you’re playing in an Ulster Marching Band using old simple system instruments (or even modern copies like Miller Browns) there’s a strong likelihood that you are playing on High Pitch instruments built for c A=450Hz - as someone already said, consult your Band Master! If so, you will need instruments built to that spec: if you’re in a modern pitch (A=440) band, you need instruments built for 440 - regardless of what tuning capacity any tuning slide may afford. Once you know what your instruments are built for (ask again if you don’t know how to find out or your band mates can’t tell you) and what your band requires, actual tuning up of instruments has to be done on the fly as others have said. In a nice warm practice room you may be able to warm up each instrument and tune it to your tuner (set the tuner for the pitch standard you’re told, then tune the 3-finger note to it as previously suggested - that’ll read on the tuner as an Eb on the Bb flute, a Bb on the F flute and an Ab on the Eb flute, BTW) and then when you switch and pick one up it will quite quickly warm back up and be about right, although you’ll probably have to lip it up for the first half-minute. When on outdoor duty, all bets are off! In either context, I would presume that, like an orchestra, you would have a tuning minute before performing when someone (chime bars/glockenspiel if your band uses them?) will give a reference note and you’ll be expected to tune to it by ear, and then to make adjustments to keep yourself in tune during the course of the performance as necessary. Those are just skills you have to acquire as an ensemble player, and your tuner won’t be very much help really, other than to help you learn roughly what slide extensions you tend to need in various atmospheric circumstances.
Good point, Jem!
I forgot that such band flutes not uncommonly have a higher pitch, and in that case an A=440 tuning fork is useless.
Otherwise, it’s still a matter of tuning by ear.
yeah the Bb would be in high pitch bit i dont know what hz it would be in how do you work that out ?
if i play a G three fingers on the Bb it registers as an E on the tuner at a440.
Well then the instrument is a half-step high, effectively a concert B-natural flute. In which case you can simply treat the flute as a transposing instrument, and tune it accordingly with the meter at A440. The natural B scale is: B C# D# E F# G# A# B
The same for the other 2, if they’re similarly high. Treat the F flute as concert F#, and the Eb piccolo as concert E.
F# scale: F# G# A# B C# D# F F#
E scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E
On some tuners you could set the transposition to +1, or set the reference pitch to A466. But not that Yamaha, apparently.
I’d be very surprised if ulsterman’s flutes were literally an A=440 12TET semitone sharp…close to it, maybe, but very unlikely to be built for higher than A=455, and more probably A=450 or 452.
OK, Jem. Then the best approach would be to determine the cents offset, and tune to that offset on the meter.
For the figures you mentioned, relative to A440:
450 = +39 cents
452 = +47 cents
455 = +58 cents (half step -42 cents)
For that last one, greater than 50 cents, most tuners will kick over to the next highest chromatic note, one half step up. In which case you tune to that next highest note with a negative offset.
For other A pitches, there’s this handy online calculator:
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-centsratio.htm
Go down to the “Cent value of an interval” tool. Plug in 440 as the first number, and the high pitch as the second number, and click Calculate to get the offset.
As others have said, once you tune a couple of tuning pitches on the meter, the rest is best done by ear anyway.
i wonder if the link below would be of any use - with a mic plugged in as a tuning aid.
I’m going to record D E F G A B at 440 on my yamaha chromatic tuner and see what it registers at
and then try the link below at 440hz and play the same notes.
ok i tried this on my Bb Flute using the two tuners mentioned below.
Online Tuner set @ 440hz - link below
http://www.seventhstring.com/tuner/tuner.html
B = Ab
A= F#
G= E
F=Eb
D=B
Yamaha YT-250 Chromatic Tuner Set @ 440hz
B= G#
A= F#
G=E
F= D#
E= C#
D=B
the Yamaha Chromatic Tuner goes from 435hz - 446 hz
I’m not familiar (and haven’t time right now to go checking) with either of your tuners, ulsterman, but (sort of as MTGuru said) if they only show a note name/light up and maybe tell you with direction arrows that you need to sharpen or flatten until both/neither arrows display (depending on system) but don’t also have a calibrated read out in Hz or cents (or both) of the deviation, you won’t yet have a reliably accurate measure - they will compensate out to the nearest note-name at 440 (or whatever setting you use). The only finally sure test is to find a pitch meter that will tell you exactly what Hz each note you play produces, then compare those readings to the Hz pitches for note names at particular pitch standards. Always remember, however, that when we play a flute to a tuner we almost always, consciously or not, “lip” the note to get that pesky tuner needle on the money! That problem is part of the point of the RTTA sampling that Terry McGee is using/advocating. Try making a recording of you playing something using your normal slide setting and embouchure and asking Terry to analyse it for you.
theres a screenshot of the online tuner playing a G on the Bb flute @ a440 setting.
Ok, Ulsterman, that tuner is displaying 1349.71 Hz and “E +40 cents” (it’s 40.49 cents, to be exact).
So if that position of your head / slide is correct for that instrument and to match your bandmates, that means that your Bb flute is 140.49 cents sharp to A440. Or in other words, the reference pitch of that instrument is A=477.
Or if it’s effectively a B-natural flute, then it is 40.49 cents sharp to A440, or a reference pitch of A=450. So there you have it.
If that position and pitch doesn’t match your bandmates, then you first need to tune to them, then check it again on the meter to find and calculate your reference pitch.
Or better yet, and again … Ask your bandmaster what your reference pitch and transposition is supposed to be, and be done with it. Just guessing on your own without this information seems like the wrong way to go about things, IMO.
Bottom line: A basic tuner like the Yamaha is really designed to handle standard modern tuned instruments - band and orchestra instruments, guitars, etc. - not historically tuned instruments like high-pitch flutes. Without a strong handle on the pitch / frequency / cents / note name issues, expecting to use a tuner like that as a “set and forget” solution may be unrealistic for you.