Lesson 1...Tune A Guitar By Ear

In this lesson you will learn the most common way to tune a guitar by ear. If you have a hard time with tuning your guitar at first, stick with it. It just takes a little time for your ear to develop. The more you practice the easier it gets.

Start by looking at the following diagram. If you don't know how to read a guitar diagram like this one go read this lesson and come back here to learn how to tune a guitar.

This diagram shows you everything you need to know to tune a .guitar. It tells you the name of the note for each string and where you need to put your fingers in order to match the pitches from string to string.

Step 1. Get familiar with your tuning keys. Start with the one the 6th string is connected to. Play the string and turn the key. Notice if the pitch goes up or down. With tuning keys that are located on top of the head stock, turning them clockwise raises the pitch and counterclockwise lowers the pitch. The ones on the bottom of the head stock work in the opposite direction. Now that you have a feel for how the tuning keys work let's go on to step 2.

Step 2. Get a reference pitch to tune the guitar. This will be the note that you use to tune all the other strings. Most guitarists use the low E or A strings. There are several places to get a reference pitch. You can use a pitch pipe or a tuning fork and this is also where an electronic tuner can come in handy. You can also find a song that you can get a pitch from. Back in my day I used Stranglehold by Ted Nugent. It's in the key of A and a perfect reference.

If you don't have a reference pitch just use the low E string and tune the guitar to itself. This will be fine for practicing. Just make sure the pitch is not too high if you do this or you can break a string. Even if you do break a string it's no big deal. A new string is only a dollar or two.

Step 3. Now that you have your reference pitch your ready to tune a guitar. Start with the low E. Looking at the diagram you can see that you hold down the 6th string at the 5th fret. This note is A. It's the same note that the 5th string will be when it's in tune.

Play the note at the 6th string, 5th fret. Now play the 5th string with no fingers. Listen closely to see if the pitch of the 5th string is higher or lower than the one you are holding at the 5th fret, 6th string.

Now this is very important. If the 5th string is lower, turn the tuning key for the 5th string to raise the pitch until it matches the pitch of the note you are holding at the 6th string, 5th fret. If the 5th string is higher, lower the pitch of the 5th string until it is below the note you are fretting on the 6th string, then tune up to the correct pitch. When you tune a guitar, you always want to tune up to the note. This way, you are tightening the string around the post of the tuning peg. This helps the guitar stay in tune better. If you lower a string into pitch, then it can slip causing the guitar to go out of tune again.

Step 4. The rest of the way is just a repeat of what you have already done. After the 5th string is in tune, hold down the 5th string at the 5th fret to tune the 4th string.

Hold the 4th string, 5th fret to tune the 3rd string.

This is the only exception. Hold the 3rd string at the 4th fret to tune the 2nd string.

Hold the 2nd string, 5th fret to tune the 1st string.

That's all there is to know to tune a guitar. The actual steps to tune a guitar are very easy. Use the daigram above as a reference. Just practice to develop your ear. If you have any questions you can contact me at tuneaguitar@learn-guitar-online.com. Be sure and subscribe to the Learn Guitar Online E-zine. It's absolutely free and delivered to you once a month filled with tips to help you become the guitarist you want to be.

Click here for lesson 2 on how to tune a guitar.