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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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