Tip#2 - The Fine Art of Tuning! Back.................Next
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Tuning your guitar is probably the most basic, but most important thing you should do before playing your guitar. Its probably easiest to just buy a guitar tuner, which you can buy for as little as 15 or 20 bucks, and they're really the quick and easy way to tune your guitar. However, if you don't have a guitar tuner and you want to tune your guitar, here is the method that I find this to be the easiest to understand. This will tune the guitar to "standard tuning".

Starting at the 6th string, (the thickest one), you want to tune it to an E, using a reference pitch. You can use a pitch pipe, tuning fork,
another guitar, or some other instrument. This assures that you're not only in tune with yourself, but also in tune with everyone else!
Listen to the reference note, and tune your low string up to the same note. Always tune up, because tuning down will leave some slack
in your tuning key, and it will go out of tune once you start playing! So make sure the sound of your string is lower, then slowly tune up
until it sounds just like your reference note. Try to listen for a pulsating or beating. The faster the beating, the more it's out of tune.
Tune it until there's no beating.(i.e., they sound the same).

Next: Hold down the 5th fret of the Low E string and pluck it and the A (5th) string. Tune it to the same note.
Next: Hold the 5th fret of the A string and pluck it and the D,(4th) string. Tune it the same way.
Next: Do the same, holding the 5th fret of the D string to tune the G (3rd) string.
Next: Do the same, holding the 4th fret of the G string to tune the B (2nd) string.
Next: Do the same, holding the 5th fret of the B string to tune the E (1st) string.
Congradulations! You should now be in tune.

Another way of tuning is to use harmonics. This is basically the same as the above method, only you use the harmonics to tune between
the strings. Here are the notes that some of your easiest harmonics produce:

Harmonic at: ........12th fret..... ...............7th fret ....................5th fret
E (6th) string ....E (octave higher) ..............B..................... E (2 octaves higher)
A (5th) string. ...A (octave higher)..............E .....................A (2 octaves higher)
D (4th) string.....D (octave higher)............. A .....................D (2 octaves higher)
G (3rd) string... G (octave higher) ..............D ....................G (2 octaves higher)
B (2nd) string ...B (octave higher) ..............F# ...................B (2 octaves higher)
E (1st) string ....E (octave higher) ...............B .....................E (2 octaves higher)

Using one version of this method, start by tuning the low E string to an E note, as described above. Then:
Play the harmonic at the 5th fret of the low E string, and tune the harmonic at the 7th fret of the A string to it.
Play the harmonic at the 5th fret of the A string, and tune the harmonic at the 7th fret of the D string to it.
Play the harmonic at the 5th fret of the D string, and tune the harmonic at the 7th fret of the G string to it.
The B string can be tricky, and there's a couple of ways to do it:
Play the harmonic at the 4th fret of the G string, and tune the harmonic at the 5th fret of the B string to it, OR
Play the harmonic at the 7th fret of the Low E string and tune the open B string to it. OR
You can tune the high E string to the harmonic at the 5th fret of the low E string, and then tune the B string
by hitting the harmonic at the 7th fret of the high E string, and tuning the 5th fret harmonic of the B string to it.

Footnote: If your guitar has bad intonation, this method of tuning will confirm it! After tuning, you'll find that the guitar sounds terrible! Also, many experts denounce this method as inferior, because the note that the 7th fret harmonic gives you is part of the Pythagorean scale, not the equal temperament scale that pianos use, and say that only by tuning each string's harmonic indivually with a tuner can you expect to achieve a good tuning.

Here's another way of tuning with harmonics, that sounds good. Tune the high E string first with a reference, then proceed:

E|--0-----0---------------------------------3--------------
B|------------------------3--------------------------------
G|----------------------------------7------12<>------2-----
D|----------------2------12<>-----12<>---------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------12<>---
E|-------5<>-----12<>--------------------------------------


These are a couple of the different methods for tuning a guitar. All work, but some are either easier to learn, or easier for you to hear. Plus, the results of each method are slightly different. At first, use the method that is the easiest. But as you get better, the results of the different tuning methods will be more important to you.
The guitar is an imperfect instrument, and no matter how you tune it, there will be some notes that don't sound right. Trying to keep it short, keyboards use "equal temperament", which is the "official" tuning method of western music. This is designed so that they sound
in tune no matter what key you're playing in. However, with this style, the only interval that is true is the octave. All other intervals are a little off. Most guitar players prefer to tune by intervals, such as the above method, tuning all strings but the B(2nd) to perfect fourths, and the B string to a major third. The advantage of this is that chords with open strings, such as Gmaj, Em, D, and others sound very pleasing.
Plus it's probably the easiest way to tune.
The disadvantage is that some chords will sound better than others. One example is the third string, which can sound sharp on an E major or A major chord. Some players will tune the third string slightly flat because of this, depending on what chords they use the most. With time, you can temper your tuning to suit the style of playing you do.
One last thing. Even if you use an electronic tuner, and tune each string individually, you may have to adjust some strings to get the most
pleasing sound to your ears. Because the pitch of a string changes after being plucked, it's pretty much impossible to tune it to perfection! Just get it so it sounds good to you! Learn to trust your ears.

Once you're in tune, here are a few things to remember so that you stay in tune once you start playing.

1. Stretch out new strings:When putting on new strings, remember to stretch them out fully. Tug on them up and down the full
length of the string, until they stop going flat during the process.

2. Proper guitar nut: the nut should be cut right for the string gauge that you use. If you're using strings that are too large for the nut,
the strings can get pinched in the nut, and then when you bend the string, whether from stretching or just normal playing, the pinched
string will give, causing the string to go flat.
3. Tuner keys: The tuners very seldom slip, even the cheapies, but it is possible. As the cheap ones get older, play develops in the gears, and makes it hard to fine tune.

4. Tuning style: Might not sound important, but when you tune, always tune up to the note you're looking for. If the string is sharp,
loosen the string, then tighten it to the proper note. This will eliminate the slack in the tuner that occurs when you lessen the tension
by tuning down.


.....................................................Now that you're in tune, let's check the intonation!.....................................................

 

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