How To Tune A Guitar
Often, tuning a guitar can be more challenging than initially thought. However, once you know how each string should be tuned, tuning a guitar isn’t all that tricky anymore! 🙂
Strings
The guitar typically has 6 strings. However, there are also musical genres like Metal, Djent, Doom, Progressive, etc., that require 7-string or even 8-string guitars. Some bands even have two 8-string guitars and do not have a bassist (Animals As Leaders for example).
String Names
If anyone is having trouble with the chord diagram below, please first read the blog post on how to read chord diagrams and tabs — How to Read Chord Diagrams and Tabs?.
The strings are named (from bottom to top):
- E (the thickest, lowest-pitched string)
- A
- D
- G
- B
- e
The issue of “what is up and what is down” is something I hear every day. We usually agree that “down” refers to “the lowest note.” So, on the diagram above, the “lowest note” is at the very bottom, and on the guitar, the thickest string is the one closest to your face.
Mnemonics
Well-known sayings include, for example:
- “Eat All Day Get Big Easy”
- “Eat All Dead Gophers Before Easter”
- “Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears”
- “Even Average Dogs Get Bones Eventually”
- “Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually”
- “Every Amateur Does Get Better Eventually”
- “Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie”
Tuner
In the App Store or Play Store, there are dozens of tuners available. My personal favourite is called Guitar Tuna. It’s important to keep the following points in mind:
- Don’t pluck the strings briefly and then stop.
- Let the notes ring out (sustain) and tune the string while it’s still sounding.
- Tune from the top to the correct pitch, meaning the note should tend to descend from a higher pitch to the correct one, not the other way around.
- Avoid plucking too hard, as it can cause the pitch to fluctuate and drop suddenly.
- Take your time to find and adjust the pitch slowly. Don’t make a full turn right away, as if turning and nothing happens, it’s usually a sign that you’re adjusting the wrong tuning peg!
Alternative Methods
Here are a few methods for tuning a guitar without the use of tools like a tuner, for more information, you can refer to the Wikipedia page on tuning a guitar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_tuning