How And Why You Should Tune Your Guitar

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 26th, 2010

Wouldn't it be nice if you were able to buy something, use it at your own leisure, and then just be able to put it away without having to worry about it. Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but things just don't work that way. Lets say you buy a vehicle. You're going to have to maintain it to some degree whether it be oil changes, tune ups,or whatever. If you purchase a dog, it will need to be fed and housebroken, and when you own a guitar, there are things that need to be done so that you don't look like a fool when your jamming your favorite riffs. You will soon realize that you must tune your guitar on a regular basis. As much as we would like to skip this step, my professional opinion would be not to.

There is a standard, as there always seems to be, involved in a guitar tuning and it is conveniently labeled the standard guitar tuning method. The standard involves tuning the strings from the thickest to the thinnest. The order should be E, A, D, G, B, E. This method is the easiest methods because it is the easiest for tuning the most amounts of scales and chords. The way to start this method is with the E string. The E string is the thickest, and the least likely to fall short of tuning. The A string is the next string that you should tune. The way to adjust the A string is to place your finger on the fret, pick the fifth and sixth strings while adjusting the fifth string tuning peg until the two notes sound the same. The D string comes next in line. The way to find the proper D string note is to find the A string that is located just behind the fifth fret. You then turn the fourth string to that note. Tune your G string to the note that rings when you put the first finger on your left hand just behind the fifth fret. The B string should sound like when your first finger of your left hand is placed behind the forth fret. You should recognize that the tuning of the B string is the only one in the method that uses the fourth fret and not the fifth. Last is the E string which is where you place the first finger of, you guessed it, your left hand behind the fifth fret on the B string.

There are other ways you can tune your guitar, but they can get more complicated. You can use an online guitar tuner. You can customize these tuners or you can use the standard method in order to hear how the note is supposed to sound. There are many sites that you can visit in order to find an online tuner, but when you find a site that you like, you should bookmark it in your favorites so that you can easily find it the next time.

If you don't have a keen ear attuned to different pitches, you might want to invest in an electric tuner. With this device you can look at a tuning monitor to see how off-tune each string on your guitar is. Then, by following the needle on the display, you can tune each string on your guitar according to the reading being given. Even if you do have a trained ear, electric tuners can come in handy if you're trying to tune your equipment just before a gig. Noises and other distractions can keep your ear from creating just the right sound on your guitar strings.

Other methods for tuning a guitar aren't as easy as the ones already described. Piano tones can be used to tune the strings on your guitar. However, if your ear is not trained to tuning this way, it probably won't help much, plus you need access to a piano. You can also tune your guitar by using octaves or harmonies, but these methods are typically for musicians who have been tuning their strings for many, many years. If you're just a beginner, it is best to go with the easier methods that do not require as much skill and