Tuning your guitar
Guitar · Getting started · Level 1 · 8 min
An out-of-tune guitar makes everything sound wrong, even correct fingerings. Tune it every time you play: new strings and temperature changes make it drift.
With the site's tuner
Open the tuner, allow the microphone, then pluck an open string. The needle shows whether the note is too low (flat) or too high (sharp). Aim for, from string 6 to string 1:
| String | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | Low E (E2) | A (A2) | D (D3) | G (G3) | B (B3) | High E (E4) |
Always tune up to the note: if you are sharp, go a little below and come back up. The string settles better and stays in tune longer.
Without a tuner: the 5th-fret method
- Tune string 6 to a reference (tuning fork, piano, tuner).
- Press string 6 at fret 5: that is an A. Tune open string 5 to it.
- String 5 fret 5 = D: tune string 4. String 4 fret 5 = G: tune string 3.
- Exception: string 3 at fret 4 = B: tune string 2.
- String 2 fret 5 = E: tune string 1.
M:4/4 L:1/2 Q:1/4=60 K:C clef=treble-8 A, A, | D D | G G | B B | e e |]
Each pair above sounds the fretted note, then the neighbouring open string: they must match. When two pitches are almost equal you hear beats (“wah-wah-wah”) that slow down as you get closer.
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