Tuning your guitar

You can't begin to learn the first thing about playing an instrument if you don't know how to tune it correctly. This is true of any instrument, whether it be string or wind actuated. There would be no point in trying to play a scale or a chord if the notes weren't in harmony with each other. Right? So let's get your strings in tune together. Then we can begin to play a few chords!

There are six strings on a guitar. From top (the thickest) to bottom (the thinnest), the notes in standard tuning are E-A-D-G-B-E. See the diagram below. There are other tunings that you can use later to create virtually unlimited voicings. But for now we're only concerned with standard tuning. If you have a tuner, either plug it into your guitar - if your guitar is electric or acoustic/electric - or if your tuner has a live mic, simply set the tuner on your knee in front of the guitar as you hold the instrument. We'll get into proper posture later. For now, just rest the guitar on your leg so that it feels comfortable. Some tuners clip on to the headstock - the part of the guitar where the strings wind around the posts, which are geared to the tuning keys. This type of tuner is as good as any for our purpose here. And by the way, if your guitar plugs in, turn the volume knob clockwise so it's at full. A tuner has to be able to hear your instrument in order to work.

The notes of the open strings on a guitar in standard tuning

Turn the tuner on & sound the top string with a pick. This is the largest string, which we will call the low E string. I know, it's the uppermost string in order on the fretboard, but it sounds the lowest note. Trust me! Depending on whether your tuner has a dial & needle or a simple LED display, you should see movement on the tuner. The correct pitch should be straight up (think 12 o'clock) on the dial or dead center on an LED display. If the needle or LED moves to the left, your note is flat. So it needs to come up in pitch. If the needle or LED moves to the right then your note is sharp & needs to come down in pitch. Turn the corresponding tuning key on the headstock so that you raise or lower the pitch until you're in tune according to your tuner. Sound the string again. And continue the adjustment until you're satisfied that the string is in tune as best it can be. If you want to hear what the note should sound like, you can click here: Classic Guitar Tuner or here: Guitar Tuner on your computer & then click the "E" which is next to "A". And that is what the note will sound like when you're tuned to standard pitch. If it sounds the same as the low E on your guitar, your low E is now in tune. Isn't that cool?

Now tune the next string below the low E - the A string - in the same fashion. Then the D string, then the G string, then the B string & finally the high E string, which is the bottommost string. Once you've tuned all 6 strings, you'll want to go back through them again to make sure they are all correct. Sometimes you'll have to readjust some of them slightly. You can check what each of your strings should sound like at the tuner links listed above. And viola! Your guitar is in tune! You are ready to begin learning how to play your guitar. And we will start with the first chord - the A chord - in the next lesson. Congratulations on completing this first - but extremely crucial - step!

For those of you who are interested, I use a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner when I'm playing live or in the studio. On my pedal board - shown below - it's the 2nd pedal from the right. The reason it's 2nd in the chain is because I use it every time I switch guitars and, fairly often, in between songs as well. It probably gets the most use of any of my pedals. And it comes right after my Boss LS-2 Line Selector, farthest to the right, which allows me to have up to 3 guitars plugged in at once. That way I can switch between electric & acoustic, or between a 6 string & a 12 string - or any combination - on the fly & without a lot of hassle. And don't worry, we'll go over pedals & pedal boards in a future post.

My pedal board for live gigs & studio recording