The Temper Tool

Ear training for piano tuners

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What it does

Audible beat rates on the coincident partials used in tuning pianos
Immediate, accurate detail on frequencies and beat rates
Simulated inharmonicity
Works with an optional MIDI keyboard^*

^*A browser that supports WebMIDI (a recent version of Edge or Chrome) is required to use a MIDI keyboard.

Quick Start

The keyboard shows C2 through C5, with Middle C (C4) highlighted.
If you don't have a MIDI keyboard, click/touch a note to play/silence it.
Click/touch the note's tuning pin to simulate putting your tuning lever on it. With a MIDI keyboard, play the note twice quickly to do the same thing. You will receive audible feedback when the hammer goes on and comes off a pin.
Adjust the pitch using the arrow keys: left/right arrows produce a small nudge (approx .1 cent), up/down arrows give a larger nudge (approx 1 cent). The pin will indicate that you are attempting to nudge it in a given direction. The size of the nudge is irregular, however, beyond large and small. And sometimes (5-10% of the time) it will only appear to move. You must listen.
If you do not have arrow keys (on an iPad, for example), you can use the slider. This is not "nudging", however, and is less realistic. Once you demonstrate that you have arrow keys, the slider disappears - you must use your ears.
If you can't hear the beating for a given interval, move your head a little bit to get into a different part of the sound wave.
"Hide/Show data" to see information about the notes or interval being sounded or tuned.
"Tuning fork" produces a pure sine wave tone at your specified A4 value (440hz by default).

A note before you start

This is just ear training — to help you learn the beat rates of intervals and their relationships. You still have to understand what to listen for, and then transfer it to a real piano with its sticky pins, wild strings, and everything else that comes with getting a note to actually stay put. That part is between you and an experienced technician. But I hope this little tool helps with your ear training. Happy tuning.