Table of Contents
Using A Tuning Fork
| Field | Music |
| Went Obsolete | 1990s |
| Made Obsolete By | Cheap electronic tuners |
| Knowledge Assumed | How to hold the fork without dampening it, how to hold it to your ear or head to hear the quiet tone created. |
| When useful | Batteries are dead on your electronic tuner. |
The tuning fork is shaped like a U with a tail (or a Y with a rounded top part). It is a piece of metal that can be held by the tail, struck gently to produce a very faint tone. In order to hear the tone, you have to hold it to something that will resonate. The body of a guitar will work well. Also a table or other flat surface. You can also hold it so that the base rests against your skull near your ear where it will cause an audible resonation in your skull. You use that tone to tune an instrument to A 440.
The disadvantages of the tuning fork are:
- only produces one note (generally A 440)
- very quiet
- can be difficult to hear the tone while playing the instrument you are trying to tune.
