 |
 |
|
|
Tuning a Six String Guitar
Tuning your guitar is the very first thing you need to learn. It's a skill that will eventually become second nature as you develop an "ear" for the way your guitar should sound. The commonest tuning for acoustic and electric six string guitars is called Concert Pitch. The strings are numbered one to six, with the sixth string being the "fattest" string closest to your face as you sit or stand with the guitar. In concert pitch the strings are tuned to the following notes:
6th string - E
5th string - A
4th string - D
3rd string - G
2nd string - B
1st string - ENote that the E on the first string is two octaves higher than the E on the sixth string.
There are four basic ways to tune your guitar:
1) You can tune one string to an outside source such as an another instrument, a pitch pipe or a tuning fork. If you are playing in accompaniment to a piano you will always need to tune your guitar to the piano (it being far more complex to tune the piano to your guitar!). The A note above middle C on a piano is the same frequency as the A note produced by playing the open 5th string on the guitar. Strike both notes about once every second and tighten or loosen the tuner on the guitar until the notes sound exactly the same. It's important to keep playing the notes during this process to make accurate tuning easy. A note decays and degrades quite quickly if allowed to sustain.
If your string is out of tune you'll hear a discordant "wah-wah-wah" effect in the sound. This is caused by the mis-matched frequencies of the out-of-tune notes interfering with each other. The "wah-wah-wah" sound gets slower as the string approaches correct tuning and vanishes when you are in tune.
If using pitch pipes or a tuning fork you will typically tune the E note on the sixth string. Once a single string is in tune, be it the A or the E you need to tune the guitar to itself;2) Tuning the guitar to itself is a standard procedure that most guitarists do out of habit as soon as they pick up an instrument. If you have an outside reference tone, use it to tune one string as described above. If you have no reference tone, simply tune the low E on the sixth string by ear (this will become easier with practise and experience). Here I will assume you've tuned the low E correctly using a pitch pipe.
Looking at the chart above we see the 5th string needs to produce an A. This note can be found on the 6th string by fretting it at the 5th fret (see diagram at the foot of the page).
To tune the 5th string to A, simply pluck the fretted 6th string and the open 5th string in quick succession. Tighten or slacken the tuner on the 5th string until the two notes sound the same. The slowing down of the discordant "wah-wah-wah" sound is a great help for beginners. This method can be used to tune all the strings as follows (note the pattern changes with the 2nd string):To tune the 5th string to A - fret the 6th string on the 5th fret for your reference tone;
To tune the 4th string to D - fret the 5th string on the 5th fret;
To tune the 3rd string to G - fret the 4th string on the 5th fret;
To tune the 2nd string to B - fret the 3rd string on the 4th fret;
To tune the 1st string to E - fret the 2nd string on the 5th fret.Recheck the low E against the reference tone and then recheck all other strings briefly;
3) Many experienced players will tune the guitar to a chord. Once they have the 6th string E in pitch, they'll tune the high E on the 1st using the 6th string as a reference tone. Then they'll finger a familiar chord and tune the strings until the chord sounds right. Most people will combine the "ladder" tuning method described above with fine-tuning using chords;
4) Electronic tuners have made the science of tuning a lot easier in practise. Today it seems that manufacturers are building electronic tuners into practically everything. Most convenient are the type that reside on the floor with your effects pedals and light up when used. Even better are the ones that mute the signal to the amplifier while you're engaged in tuning.
Most electronic tuners will identify the pure note that's nearest to the noise you are making and will indicate the direction you need to tune, up or down, to get to it. For acoustic players there are microphones built in to most tuners, but they require an otherwise quiet environment to work well.Today's electronic tuners are absurdly cheap so there's no excuse not to buy one.
General Tuning Tips
- Always tune up to a note, never down. If you find that your string is sharp (too high), then tune down to below the required note and then tweek it back up again. This reduces the possibility of string slippage and leads to a more stable, longer lasting tuning;
- Always stretch new strings until they become stable in their tuning. Never go on stage with un-stretched newly-fitted strings, it's a short cut to disaster;
- Always try to tune by ear first and check your results with the electronic tuner later. That way you'll develop an ear for your instrument a lot quicker;
- If you are trying to tune an acoustic guitar in a noisy environment or you need to check the tuning of an un-amplified electric guitar, the discordant "wah-wah-wah" sound of an out-of-tune string can be made more apparent by pressing your front tooth against the body of the guitar while you are tuning. The vibrations of the strings are transmitted directly to the bone of your skull making you less reliant on your hearing to get the strings into tune. I'm not sure if this works with false teeth;
- You can't tuna fish.
The diagram below has been lifted from an extremely old out-of-copyright American teaching pamphlet from the early 1950's. But this stuff doesn't change over time. Click the image for a printable version and aim to learn the notes on each fret for at least the 6th, 5th and 4th string.
The Man in the Jar (The guitar world's equivalent of Dr Nick Riviera).
All content Copyrighted.
Electric Guitars Bass Guitars Acoustic Guitars Guitar Amps Effects Pedals Keyboards
Microphones PA Systems Mixing Desks Studio Equipment Music Software Accessories
Contact FAQ Home of Electric Guitars UK
