3 Methods To Tune Your Guitar
If you have started to play the guitar or are thinking of playing guitar, one of the most important things to do is make sure that your guitar is in tune. You will not be able to play the songs you like (and have it sound any good) if your guitar is out of tune. But if you have just started you may not know how to tune your guitar, if so read on.
I will share with you some methods you can use to tune your guitar.
Method 1: Get a tuner to tune your guitar
You need to go to a guitar store and buy a tuner and depending on the type of tuner you use, a guitar cable. To do this method you:
1) Buy a clip-on tuner or a regular tuner. If you get a regular tuner get a guitar cable as well
2) Attach the clip-on tuner to your guitar headstock (where the brand of the guitar is) or plug your guitar cable into the input jack of your guitar and plug the other side into the regular tuner.
3) Play the thickest string, this is the low E string.
4) Turn the tuning peg (on the headstock) that correspond to the low E string. To check which peg to turn, look at the string you are tuning and see where the string stops and you will find the tuning peg it stops at. This is different depending on the build of the guitar. IMPORTANT: Get this wrong and you will tune the wrong string and that string will be further out of tune!
5) The tuner will say what note the thickest string is, keep turning the tuning peg until the tuner says the string is E and that the tuner line (on the screen of the tuner) is in the middle. This is how you know it is in tune.
6) Repeat steps 3-5 with the other strings. The notes that the other strings should be tuned to are as follows.
e (thinnest)
B
G
D
A
E (thickest)- this is the one you have just done
This is the method I recommend beginners to use. I also suggest you get a good guitar teacher and they will show you how to do this at first.
Method 2: Tune the guitar to itself
This method is a little more advanced. It requires that you have some ear training skills. Here is how you do it
1) Tune the thickest string first (the low E string)
2) Play the 5thfret on the E string and tune the A string so it sounds exactly the same as the 5thfret on the low E string.
3) Play 5thfret on A and tune D to sound identical to that note
4) Play 5thfret on D and tune G string to sound identical to that note
5) Play the 4thfret on the G string and tune the B string to sound identical to that note.
6) Play the 5thfret on the B string and tune the high e string to sound identical to that note.
Be careful here though, this will test your ears and if you get one string wrong the guitar will not be in tune. You can use the tuner to check if you did it right if you need to.
Method 3: Tune purely by ear
Unless you are at least at mid-late intermediate level or higher, do not attempt this method. But assuming you are advanced enough, this will help improve your ears which will improve your skills as a musician.
Well that is how you tune your guitar, and to get to playing some songs on the guitar make sure you find the right guitar teacher.
About the author: Jake Willmot likes to chill and play guitar on Monday nights. If you are looking for Devon guitar lessons then give Jake Willmot a call!
