Tuning your guitar

The strings on the acoustic guitar can be tuned in many different ways, but the standard way to tune them is:

^ thickest string

A guitar can be in tune "with itself" but not tuned to EADGBE (see method 4 below), but you should try to tune the guitar to the correct notes if possible.

There are several ways to tune a guitar to EADGBE:

1. Use a piano:

Find middle C and then locate E below that. Tune the E (thickest) string to that note.

Next, hold down the E string at the 5th fret. That gives you a note of A. Tune the A string to that note.

Next, hold down the A string at the 5th fret. That gives you a note of D. Tune the D string to that note.

Next, hold down the D string at the 5th fret. That gives you a note of G. Tune the G string to that note.

Next, hold down the G string at the 4th fret. That gives you a note of B . Tune the B string to that note.

Next, hold down the B string at the 5th fret. That gives you a note of E . Tune the E (thinnest) string to that note.

2. Use an electronic tuning device or pitch pipe.

These are available from music shops.

3. Try this web site:

www.howtotuneaguitar.org

It contains a tuner that you can use:

You click on the "switch" under the note that you want, and your computer will repeat the note while you tune the relevant string to it.

4. Tune the guitar to itself:

If you are playing by yourself, or just with other guitar players, you can get away with the guitars not being truly in tune to EADGBE, as long as they are all in tune with each other, and the strings are tuned correctly relative to each other. All you need to do is to us the steps in method 1 (using a piano) but just take a guess at what the low E string should be tuned to.

Guitars can go out of tune very quickly, so check yours regularly.