How Important is Acoustic Guitar Tuning
You should be sure to do your acoustic guitar tuning each time you sit down to play, whether you are practicing or performing. It’s pretty unpleasant to try to make beautiful music on an untuned guitar. Lots of guitar students think their inexperience is ruining the sound, not understanding the importance of doing their tuning regularly. You will be much more successful in your music making if you set aside that small amount of time it takes to tune your instrument properly.
It’s best to use an electronic tuner for acoustic guitar tuning. Sit down with the electronic tuner on a nearby table or stool. Turn it on and strum the first string. The tuner will sense which string is being tuned using its built in microphone. The indicator will show you how close you are to the correct pitch. It will also show you whether you are sharp or flat. Turn the tuning key and tweak the string until your tuner shows that you’re in tune.
Always remember to tune up. This means going from loose to tight until the string is in tune. If you go too tightly and then loosen the string slightly to put it in tune, this is referred to as tuning down. It is always best to loosen the string and then retighten it to put it into tune. Tuning up keeps the string in tune in a much better fashion and the results are more precise.
If you don’t purchase an electronic tuner, you still need to have a reference for pitch when playing acoustic guitar. You can use another guitar, a piano, tuning fork or an MP3 that you are certain is already in tune. Acoustic guitar tuning with an electronic tuner will consistently provide reliable tuning. But if you choose to tune the traditional way then use an electronic tuner to test your results. This is a great way to learn to develop your ear.
To begin tuning your guitar, use the refence pitch to tune the sixth string (the thickest string) to low E. Once this string sounds right, the other strings can be tuned to their correct pitch based on that note. There is a reason why this technique works, but the explanation is long. Acoustic guitar tuning is a bit like driving. You don’t have to understand the internal combustion engine to drive a car, and you don’t have to understand music theory to tune your guitar.
Here’s how to do your acoustic guitar tuning:
1. Strum (in tune) the sixth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open fifth string to that exact note. 2. Strum the fifth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open fourth string to the same note. 3. Tune the fourth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open third to the same note. 4. Follow closely; this is different than the above. Play the third string on the fourth fret and tune the open second string to this note. 5. Play the second string on the fifth fret and tune your open first string to this note.
If you’re just starting out with acoustic guitar tuning, you may want to ask someone at the music store when you purchased
your guitar to show you how to do acoustic guitar tuning the proper way. Then just keep practicing until you’re comfortable
with the process. It takes time and practice to learn to do acoustic guitar tuning, especially by ear. For the novice, the simplest way to perform acoustic guitar tuning is with the use of an electronic tuner. You can find one for around $20 and you will definitely get your money’s worth. An electronic tuner that is made specifically for tuning guitars has the ability to recognize which string is being played.
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