PianoMeter – Piano Tuner

Willey Piano

In-app purchases

About this app

PianoMeter is a piano tuning app that will transform your Android device into a professional quality electronic tuning aid.

NOTE
The "free" version of this app is primarily for evaluation, and it only allows you to tune notes on the piano between C3 and C5. To tune the entire piano you will need to buy an upgrade through an in-app purchase.

What makes PianoMeter unique
Unlike regular chromatic tuning apps that simply tune to a pre-calculated equal temperament, this app actively measures the tonal characteristics of each note and automatically calculates the ideal “stretch” or offset from equal temperament. In other words, it creates a custom tuning for your piano with the best compromise between intervals like fifths, fourths, octaves, and twelfths, the way aural piano tuners do when fine-tuning.

Functionality and pricing
There are three levels of functionality: a free (evaluation) version, a paid "plus" version with basic tuning functionality, and a "professional" version with features geared towards professional piano tuners. The extra functionality is unlocked through one-time in-app purchases.

The Free version includes the following functionality:
• Tuning functionality for the mid-range of the piano only
• Automatic note detection
• Ability to measure each note on the piano to see how its current tuning compares to the ideal tuning curve (see if a piano is roughly in tune)
• Swipe in the graphing area to show a live frequency spectrum or the inharmonicity of measured notes.

Upgrading to "Plus" adds the following functionality:
• Tuning functionality for the entire piano
• Tune to frequency standards other than A=440
• Tune to historical or custom temperaments
• Calibrate device to an external frequency source

Upgrading to Professional unlocks all features of the "Plus" version, plus the following:
• Save and load tuning files, so a piano doesn't need to be re-measured each time it is tuned
• Pitch raise mode that calculates overpull for an initial first pass "rough" tuning (for pianos that are extremely flat)
• Custom tuning styles: create a custom tuning curve by adjusting interval weighting and stretch
• Access to all future features and enhancements

Upgrade costs:
Free to Plus (approximately US$30)
Free to Pro (approximately US$350)
Plus to Pro (approximately US$320)

Note about permissions
This app requires permission to access the microphone on your device and permission to read and write files.

Ratings and reviews

I bought the app about a month ago and have really enjoyed using it for my tuning work. Once I learned the basic controls, it's been very easy to use. However today for some reason the pitch raise feature just wouldn't work. I've used it a few times before with excellent results, but today after I selected pitch raise, entered the sample notes, and pressed the "start pitch raise" button, the app defaulted to just standard pitch tuning. I tried it three times, but with the same result each time.

good app for bringing a piano back up to A4=440Hz. Sort of works, but often not: key/note detection. bad: manual note selection. the keys buttons are too small and I have to tap tens of times to select, this is painful. please add a right arrow and left arrow button near the keyboard to manually go up or down one note. when tuning my piano, I just want to start at A0 and work my way up. the auto detection doesn't work well. it picks the wrong key, or takes to long to move to the correct key.

This app is a game changer. I tuned my own piano successfully, and the tools plus the app cost less than hiring a piano tech just once. You do need to have a baseline of existing music knowledge, and spend considerable time learning the basics of piano functionality, but it's not as difficult as it might seem.

What’s new

• Cloud sync (Pro): keep tuning files in sync across your Android devices via Google Drive
• Tuning history (Pro): automatic per-piano tuning records, with nearby-piano suggestions when opening files
• Audio input channel selection with external-mic indicator
• Peak View now included with Plus
• Better battery life while tuning, plus many fixes