Online tone generator
InputConfig is completely free on the Mac App Store.
Pick a frequency and press Play. You'll hear a steady tone, and you'll see which musical note it's closest to.
Set the tone
Quick picks:
Space plays and stops. The arrow keys move the frequency by 1 Hz. Start with the volume low.
What people use a tone for
- Tuning by ear. Play 440 Hz and match your A string or your voice to it. The guitar tuner listens for you if you would rather read a needle.
- Checking speakers. Slide down toward 20 Hz to find where a speaker gives up, or use the speaker test for left and right.
- Finding a rattle. Move slowly through the low range until something in the room buzzes.
- Hearing the wave shapes. Switch between sine, square, saw and triangle at one pitch to hear what overtones add.
Keep the volume low, especially with headphones and above 2,000 Hz, where a pure tone gets uncomfortable fast.
The note next to the number
The readout names the nearest note in standard tuning, where A4 is 440 Hz, and shows how far off the tone is in cents. A cent is a hundredth of the step between two neighboring piano keys. The MIDI note numbers table lists every note with its frequency.
How this fits with InputConfig
These pages are for practice in the browser. InputConfig adds the Mac side: a MIDI keyboard or pad can press shortcuts and turn pages, and a game controller can play MIDI notes and CC into GarageBand or Logic Pro.
Play a game controller as a MIDI instrument shows it step by step. InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store.
More music practice
Questions
How do I play a 440 Hz tone?
Type 440 in the frequency box and press Play. 440 Hz is the A above middle C, the note most tuners use as a reference.
What is the difference between sine, square, saw and triangle?
A sine wave is a pure tone with no overtones. Square and saw waves add overtones and sound buzzy. A triangle wave sits between a sine and a square.
Can I use this as a hearing test?
It shows which pitches you can hear through your own speakers at your own volume, and nothing more. It is not a medical hearing test.
Why can I not hear very low or very high tones?
Small speakers cannot play much below about 100 Hz, and hearing at the top end fades with age. Good headphones reach further than laptop speakers.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
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