The folding and unfolding of proteins is generally assumed to be so co-operative that the overall process may be followed by a single probe, such as tryptophan fluorescence. Folding kinetics of three mutants of barnase and chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2) were studied by real-time NMR. Rate constants for changes in individual residues during the unfolding or refolding of the mutants studied by real-time NMR are all within experimental error of the overall process of folding/unfolding measured by stopped-flow measurements of tryptophan fluorescence. Folding of these mutants is thus highly co-operative. Changes in the tryptophan fluorescence give accurate measurements of the protein folding process.