How to Tune a Guitar- Fast, Easy and Effectively
The ability to tune a guitar is one of the most fundamental parts of learning the guitar, however, it is not something to worry about as it is very simple and can be learned quickly.
Tuning electric guitars manually is almost a thing of the past thanks to electric tuners which work on the basis of the sound wave frequency of the guitar strings.
These tuners are extremely accurate and most professional electric guitarists use them.
That being said, it is always good to know how to tune a guitar manually and this will also help in learning the notes of the guitar and how it all fits together.
You would normally tune the guitar manually by plucking the bottom, thickest string and work your way up tuning the other strings to the bottom string.
This would be performed by pressing down on the fifth fret and pluck to get the sound you will tune the next strings to.
Next pluck the next thickest string (A string) and twist the tuning pegs until it is perfectly in tune with the thickest string when the fifth fret is pressed.
All the strings would be tuned to this note except the B string (2nd thinnest string) which would be tuned by pressing down on the forth fret of the G string (3rd thinnest) to tune.
At first this may seem a little daunting, but after a few goes you will master the technique.
This method is known as tuning the guitar to itself and can also be used for tuning acoustic and classical guitars.
If you are just wanting to tune your guitar for practicing alone, then this technique is absolutely fine.
However, if you wish to play with a band and other instruments, then you would all need to be in tune with each other and this would require one player to give a note which everyone else would tune their guitars to.
In this case the player with the tuned guitar would give the note by plucking each string in turn and you would simply tune each string until it was in perfect tune with the note given.
Knowing how to tune a guitar is key in the learning process and it is so simple to master.
Like many aspects of learning to play the guitar, before you know it, it will become second nature.
Tuning electric guitars manually is almost a thing of the past thanks to electric tuners which work on the basis of the sound wave frequency of the guitar strings.
These tuners are extremely accurate and most professional electric guitarists use them.
That being said, it is always good to know how to tune a guitar manually and this will also help in learning the notes of the guitar and how it all fits together.
You would normally tune the guitar manually by plucking the bottom, thickest string and work your way up tuning the other strings to the bottom string.
This would be performed by pressing down on the fifth fret and pluck to get the sound you will tune the next strings to.
Next pluck the next thickest string (A string) and twist the tuning pegs until it is perfectly in tune with the thickest string when the fifth fret is pressed.
All the strings would be tuned to this note except the B string (2nd thinnest string) which would be tuned by pressing down on the forth fret of the G string (3rd thinnest) to tune.
At first this may seem a little daunting, but after a few goes you will master the technique.
This method is known as tuning the guitar to itself and can also be used for tuning acoustic and classical guitars.
If you are just wanting to tune your guitar for practicing alone, then this technique is absolutely fine.
However, if you wish to play with a band and other instruments, then you would all need to be in tune with each other and this would require one player to give a note which everyone else would tune their guitars to.
In this case the player with the tuned guitar would give the note by plucking each string in turn and you would simply tune each string until it was in perfect tune with the note given.
Knowing how to tune a guitar is key in the learning process and it is so simple to master.
Like many aspects of learning to play the guitar, before you know it, it will become second nature.