It really makes no difference how good a guitar player you are, if your instrument is not tuned up correctly you will never produce a good sound. It is, therefore, important that your learn how to tune your guitar properly very early on in your musical experience.
Those in the know will suggest you buy an electronic tuner and they are inexpensive and can save you lots of effort. They are particularly helpful when you are trying to tune your guitar and have lots of other background noise going on. However, it is still useful to know how to tune your guitar by hand.
Ideally your guitar should be tuned each time you use it and experts say it is important to "tune up" when tuning your guitar. This means increasing the tension of the string to the point where it reaches the desired tone. If you tighten it up to far you can easily loosen the tension off and begin the procedure again which is an easier method than trying to locate the correct tone from a string which is already too tight.
First of all eliminate any distractions and background noise and then start with the low E or sixth string. Obtain a starting point pitch from another already tuned guitar, a tuning fork, a piano or an electronic tuner. Turn the peg of your low E string slowly until it sounds exactly the same as this remembering the "tune up" rule as you go.
Then move along to the fifth or A string and, holding down the fifth fret of the E string and pluck and the open A string. Listen out for a pulsating or beating sound and adjust the A string until this disappears. Then hold down the fifth fret of the A string while you pluck it and the D string. Continue with this method and do the same with the G, B and E strings.
You can use a pitch pipe to tune your guitar if you wish and this takes very little effort. You simply need to blow through the relevant holes in the pitch pipe and adjust the strings of your guitar until they match up with the notes. You should start with the sixth E string and do the top E string before moving on to the others.
What could be simpler than an electronic tuner? This has a display screen which tells you whether the notes are in tune or not. You strum one string at a time, the tuner assesses the tone and lets you know whether it is correct or needs adjusting higher or lower to get it just right.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.
