Other Miscellaneous Lessons: Unison Tuning Tuning With Harmonics Harmonics Better Harmonics
Introduction to Tuning
You may wish to review String Names And Numbers before continuing with this lesson.
There are more than a few methods of tuning the guitar. In this lesson, we will discuss three ways of tuning the guitar to an outside source:
1) Tuning to a Piano or Keyboard - To locate the pitch of the 6th string on the keyboard, first identify middle C. C is the white key immediately to the left of the two black keys (note that the black keys appear in alternating groups of two and three).
Middle C is the C which is closest to the middle of the keyboard. Now, locate the C which is two octaves below middle C . Two white keys higher than this is the E which is the pitch of the 6th string. Tune the 6th string to this note.
To find the pitch of the 5th string (A), travel up the white keys from E until you reach the first A.
To find the pitch of the 4th string (D), travel up the white keys from A until you reach the first D.
To find the pitch of the 3rd string (G), travel up the white keys from D until you reach the first G
To find the pitch of the 2nd string (B), travel up the white keys from G until you reach the first B.
To find the pitch of the 1st string (E), travel up the white keys from B until you reach the first E.
2) Tuning to an Electronic Tuner - This is perhaps the easiest and most accurate methods of tuning the guitar, especially for the beginner. Electronic tuners allow you to tune by sight via a gauge or series of lights which will let you know when a string is in tune. Here are a few examples:
3) Tuning to the Guitar Tuner below:
For more information regarding tuning the guitar, please see Unison Tuning and Tuning With Harmonics.