Back when some of us started playing guitar, our guitar tuner was our ears (and it still is!) and carefully chosen harmonics.
That, plus an E pitched tuning fork.
Today, however, there are various electronic "ears" available - or rather, choices of guitar tuner! Tune your guitar whenever you pick it up to play.
The guitar goes out of tune quicker than you think, since it is made from wood which flexes and moves.
For the same reason, when tuning go over the strings more than once, since the change in tension of the strings will affect the others.
And remember to tune "up" rather than "down", otherwise the tuning will tend to go flat.
To develop your musician's ear, you should as often as possible tune the low E string correctly then tune the higher strings from that.
Standard guitar tuning, or "concert pitch", is E-A-D-G-B-E.
When changing to new strings, give them a deep bend to stretch and normalize them, then fine tune them.
There are several guitar tuning methods.
Tuning your guitar to another instrument.
You may use another instrument such as a piano.
Pianos, because of their size, will stay in tune far longer than a guitar, and a keyboard, because it is electronic, can be depended upon to be accurate.
When playing in a band situation, all the instruments should be in tune to each other anyway.
The low E string should be tuned to the E below middle C on the piano.
Intervals tuning method.
A common tuning method is the use of intervals.
With this technique, the lower pitch string is fretted and the next higher string is tuned to that note.
1.
Once the low E, 6th string is in tune, either by ear, tuner or tuning fork, it is held down at the 5th fret and the open A, 5th string is tuned so that the two notes harmonize with each other.
2.
Then the A string held down at the 5th fret and the open D, 4th string tuned to it.
3.
Then the D string is held down at the 5th fret and the open G, 3rd string is tuned.
4.
Then the G string is held down at the 4th fret (note the variation of position here) and the open B, 2nd string is tuned.
5.
Finally the B string is held down, back at the 5th fret, and the open E, 6th string is tuned.
Tuning can be checked by playing a chord - if it sounds wrong then it probably is.
Trust your ears here.
Harmonics tuning method.
A tuning method used by more experienced players is to use harmonics.
To play a harmonic you touch the string lightly at the fret, rather than holding it down behind the fret.
1.
First tune the E string by using a method discussed in this article.
2.
To tune the A string, match the harmonic at the 5th fret of the 6th string to the harmonic at the 7th fret of the 5th string.
3.
The D string is tuned to the A string and the G string to the D string by using the same procedure, matching the 7th fret harmonic of the higher string to the 5th fret harmonic of the lower string.
4.
The B string is tuned by matching the open B string to the harmonic at the 7th fret of the 6th string.
5.
The high E string is tuned to the B string using the 5th and 7th fret harmonics.
Online tuners.
Then there is the online guitar tuner.
If your computer has a microphone you can use this method.
It is easy but you wouldn't want to lug your computer to every place you want to play your guitar! Guitar tuners.
By far the most convenient method is the electronic guitar tuner.
This monitors the vibration of each string and provides a visual reading, which is especially useful in noisy environments like at a concert.
A needle or LEDs display how close the note is to the correct frequency.
The electric guitar, or acoustic with a pickup, may be plugged into the tuner.
Alternatively, for acoustic guitars, the sound of the notes is picked up by the small built in microphone.
These guitar tuners are small and convenient, and can be carried everywhere with the guitar, making them almost indispensable.
Alternative tuning and chromatic tuners.
Other than standard guitar tuning there is also a huge number of alternative and open tunings.
Some musicians, for example Joni Mitchell, have invented almost countless tunings.
Blues music also favors "open tuning" where the strummed open strings play a chord, especially useful when playing slide guitar.
Robert Johnson, Skip James and Son House are examples of bluesmen who constantly used open tuning.
Alternative and open tunings can be heard in the music of Duane Allman, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones.
For alternative and open tunings you will need a chromatic tuner.
A chromatic tuner is an electronic tuner that isn't limited to the six strings of standard guitar tuning.
It can therefore also be used to tune violins, banjos or any musical instrument.
That, plus an E pitched tuning fork.
Today, however, there are various electronic "ears" available - or rather, choices of guitar tuner! Tune your guitar whenever you pick it up to play.
The guitar goes out of tune quicker than you think, since it is made from wood which flexes and moves.
For the same reason, when tuning go over the strings more than once, since the change in tension of the strings will affect the others.
And remember to tune "up" rather than "down", otherwise the tuning will tend to go flat.
To develop your musician's ear, you should as often as possible tune the low E string correctly then tune the higher strings from that.
Standard guitar tuning, or "concert pitch", is E-A-D-G-B-E.
When changing to new strings, give them a deep bend to stretch and normalize them, then fine tune them.
There are several guitar tuning methods.
Tuning your guitar to another instrument.
You may use another instrument such as a piano.
Pianos, because of their size, will stay in tune far longer than a guitar, and a keyboard, because it is electronic, can be depended upon to be accurate.
When playing in a band situation, all the instruments should be in tune to each other anyway.
The low E string should be tuned to the E below middle C on the piano.
Intervals tuning method.
A common tuning method is the use of intervals.
With this technique, the lower pitch string is fretted and the next higher string is tuned to that note.
1.
Once the low E, 6th string is in tune, either by ear, tuner or tuning fork, it is held down at the 5th fret and the open A, 5th string is tuned so that the two notes harmonize with each other.
2.
Then the A string held down at the 5th fret and the open D, 4th string tuned to it.
3.
Then the D string is held down at the 5th fret and the open G, 3rd string is tuned.
4.
Then the G string is held down at the 4th fret (note the variation of position here) and the open B, 2nd string is tuned.
5.
Finally the B string is held down, back at the 5th fret, and the open E, 6th string is tuned.
Tuning can be checked by playing a chord - if it sounds wrong then it probably is.
Trust your ears here.
Harmonics tuning method.
A tuning method used by more experienced players is to use harmonics.
To play a harmonic you touch the string lightly at the fret, rather than holding it down behind the fret.
1.
First tune the E string by using a method discussed in this article.
2.
To tune the A string, match the harmonic at the 5th fret of the 6th string to the harmonic at the 7th fret of the 5th string.
3.
The D string is tuned to the A string and the G string to the D string by using the same procedure, matching the 7th fret harmonic of the higher string to the 5th fret harmonic of the lower string.
4.
The B string is tuned by matching the open B string to the harmonic at the 7th fret of the 6th string.
5.
The high E string is tuned to the B string using the 5th and 7th fret harmonics.
Online tuners.
Then there is the online guitar tuner.
If your computer has a microphone you can use this method.
It is easy but you wouldn't want to lug your computer to every place you want to play your guitar! Guitar tuners.
By far the most convenient method is the electronic guitar tuner.
This monitors the vibration of each string and provides a visual reading, which is especially useful in noisy environments like at a concert.
A needle or LEDs display how close the note is to the correct frequency.
The electric guitar, or acoustic with a pickup, may be plugged into the tuner.
Alternatively, for acoustic guitars, the sound of the notes is picked up by the small built in microphone.
These guitar tuners are small and convenient, and can be carried everywhere with the guitar, making them almost indispensable.
Alternative tuning and chromatic tuners.
Other than standard guitar tuning there is also a huge number of alternative and open tunings.
Some musicians, for example Joni Mitchell, have invented almost countless tunings.
Blues music also favors "open tuning" where the strummed open strings play a chord, especially useful when playing slide guitar.
Robert Johnson, Skip James and Son House are examples of bluesmen who constantly used open tuning.
Alternative and open tunings can be heard in the music of Duane Allman, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones.
For alternative and open tunings you will need a chromatic tuner.
A chromatic tuner is an electronic tuner that isn't limited to the six strings of standard guitar tuning.
It can therefore also be used to tune violins, banjos or any musical instrument.
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