How to Tune Your Flute
- Warm up first: play long tones for a few minutes in the low and middle registers. A cold flute plays flat.
- Tap Start Tuning and play your tuning note with a full, steady tone: A4 (440 Hz) with piano, strings, or a standard tuner, or B♭4 in most bands.
- If it says Tune down (you are sharp), pull the headjoint out a little. If it says Tune up (you are flat), push it in. Move it a millimeter or two at a time.
- Play the note again, then check the octave above (A5 or B♭5) too.
Most flutes are made to play in tune with the headjoint pulled out a few millimeters, not pushed all the way in. Once you find your spot, make a small pencil mark so you can set it quickly next time.
| Tuning Note | When to Use It | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| A4 | Tuning to A = 440 Hz: piano, strings, most tuners | 440.00 Hz |
| B♭4 | Most concert bands | 466.16 Hz |
| A5 | Checking the octave above | 880.00 Hz |
Why the Reading Moves
A flute's pitch depends on how you blow as much as on the headjoint. Blowing harder or rolling the flute out raises the pitch. Blowing more softly or rolling it in lowers it. The room matters too: a warm room makes you sharp, a cold one flat.
Tuning puts the headjoint in the right place; after that, keep listening as you play.