How To Tune Guitar: How Do You Tune A Guitar? 4 Different Ways (Plus Drop D Tu
Paul Blair
four methods to tune your guitar. Use An Electronic Tuner This is the
easiest way to tune a guitar. Electronic tuners come in various styles
and qualities. Some use a microphone to hear the pitches, and some you
can plug directly into (if you have an electric guitar). They show the
note with either a needle indicating how close to the pitch you are,
or a simple digital readout. It can be with a digital meter, or it can
be a set of lights with different colors to indicate when you're tuned
to the proper note. The best tuners can tune any string to any note.
Be cautious about buying a cheap tuner, as it may not pick up the
sound of your guitar accurately. Use Another Instrument This method
means you're tuning by ear to another instrument that can play the
notes for you. This can be another guitar, a piano, a handheld pitch
pipe, or even your computer. To tune with this method, you have to
play the proper note for each string, then tune the string until it
matches the pitch played. Tune The Guitar To Itself To use this
method, it's assumed you're doing standard tuning, and you're trying
to tune your strings to EADGBE (from low to high). If you use this
method, it's a good idea to have at least one of the strings in proper
tune, although it's not necessary. If you don't have another
instrument or an electronic tuner, you can tune your guitar by playing
the right note for the next string. This means that if you want to
tune your A string, you play the fifth fret on the low E string.
e--------B--------G--------D--------A---0----E---5---- The fifth fret
is an A note, and it should be exactly the same pitch as your open A
string. You do this for every other string. The fifth fret of the A
string is a D, the fifth fret of the D string is a G, the fourth fret
of the G string is a B, and the fifth fret of the B string is an E. So
when you play the fifth fret of every string (except for G), it should
sound exactly the same as playing the next string open (without
fretting it). Tune The Guitar To Itself (using harmonics) You can also
tune the guitar to itself in a similar way to the above method by
using harmonics instead of fretting the guitar. The big advantage to
this is that you can actually tune the guitar while two strings are
ringing from harmonics, and still hear the pitches. If you do the
"normal" method above, you can only play both strings once, then you
have to tune, stop, play them again, and so forth. This method lets
you tune at the same time you hear the strings ringing. Harmonics are
played by fretting lightly (barely touching) the space on the string
immediately above the fret (the metal bar). It should be a bright
ringing sound. To tune with this method, you're using harmonics on the
seventh and fifth frets. The fifth harmonic (the harmonic on the fifth
fret) on the low E string is a higher E, and the seventh harmonic on
the A string is the same E. So the fifth harmonic on E and the seventh
on A should be exactly the same. You can tune the strings to match.
e--------B--------G--------D--------A--<7>--E--<5>-- Same
with most of the rest of the strings: the fifth on A matches the
seventh on D, the fifth on D matches the seventh on G, and the fifth
on B matches the seventh on the high E. The exception is again the G
and B strings. The fifth harmonic on G is G, but the fifth on B is an
F#. There are different ways to handle this - you can tune the fifth
harmonic on the low E string to the open B string (they're the same
pitch). You can also just tune the B with the "normal" method, by
playing the fourth fret normally on G to get your B note. Additional
Info Those are the four methods to tune your guitar. Here's some extra
info you might find useful:
Make sure to tune UP into your pitches. Drop the note low, then tune
up into it. The reason you want to do this is because it keeps the
tension on the string when you tune up, so the string won't go out of
tune as easily. If you tune down to the note, playing the string will
often pull the string farther out, tuning it down more. Tuning up
makes sure your tension is tight enough that this won't happen.
Drop D Tuning. To get your guitar into drop D tuning, you simply need
to tune your low E string to an open D. This is dropping it a full
step. To tune it relative to the A string, you should match the
seventh fret with the open A string, instead of the fifth fret. You
can also play the twelfth fret and match it with the open D string,
since they should be the same note. Conclusion Keeping your guitar in
pitch is a good idea to do every time you play. Make sure you keep
good fresh strings on for the best results. If your guitar goes out of
tune after playing it once, even after tuning it - it's probably time
for new strings. If it happens even with new strings - it might be
time for a new guitar. At any rate, playing guitar while it's in tune
is polite for you, your guitar, and anyone listening. Now that you
know how to do it properly, you don't ever have to play an out of tune
guitar again!
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