Tuning forks have traditionally been used to tune musical instruments, although the arrival of electronic tuners which replacing the tuning fork in many applications. Tuning forks can be driven electrically, by placing electromagnets close to the prongs that are attached to an electronic oscillator circuit, so that their sound does not die out.
In musical instruments
A number of keyboard musical instruments using constructions similar to tuning forks have been made, the most popular of them being the Rhodes piano, which has hammers hitting constructions working on the same principle as tuning forks.
a tuning fork may be used by a conductor or performer to set an accurate pitch for a musical performance of an a cappella group. Often, one pitch is struck and the conductor or the various vocal parts figure out their pitch based on the struck pitch. If the piece has several movements, pitches may be given before the start of each new section.
There are other musical uses as well. A set of tuning forks, or a tuning fork for middle C and a good ear, can be used to tune a piano, although electronic tuners have become popular. Timpanists use a pitch pipe or a set of tuning forks to tune the timpani. For musical purposes, tuning forks are readily available at pitch A-440, as well as middle C, and sets are available for the notes of the C major scale as well as the chromatic scale.
For medical purposes, such as testing for hearing loss, there are specialized tuning forks with the pitches needed for various, specific testing protocols. The scientific tuning fork is a specialized tool for research in acoustics and sound wave analysis and for calibrating various devices. These different types of tuning forks are not interchangeable. For example, scientific tuning forks are usually mounted, whereas musical tuning forks are handheld. A tuning fork should be carefully chosen based on the goal of using them in a musical, medical, or scientific setting.