Lesson 3: Tuning

Lesson 3: Tuning

Knowing how to tune a guitar (making strings the right tension to create the right notes) is important to understanding the guitar.

There are many standard ways of tuning a guitar. For ease, most people (which I also recommend) use an electronic tuner, but that's not the only way... Here are common ways to tune a guitar:

Tuning

• Relative Tuning
• Natural Tuning
• Harmonic Tuning

Tuners

• Strobe (Stroboscopic) Tuner
• Microphone Tuner
• Vibration (Piezo) Tuner

  

Piezo (left) and Microphone (right) tuners

Video - Relative Tuning [link] 4 min

This may not be the most accurate, meaning the notes may not match another instrument, but the guitar will be "tuned to itself" and sound good played by itself

• Guitar strings already hold certain notes

• (starting from the lowest string) Compare proper frets to the next highest string

• Tune by ear - tighten or loosen strings to change string note until it sounds like it matches

Video - Natural tuning [link] 2 min

• hear notes - usually on piano

• match guitar string notes by ear (see Relative Tuning) with piano]

• match the piano's E note with guitar's E string, A note with the A string, and etc.

Video - Harmonic tuning [link] 4 min

This is pretty complicated, and most guitarists don't use (or even know how) to do it

• Very similar to relative tuning (see Relative Tuning above)

• Use harmonics instead of holding frets to compare notes

NOTE: A Chromatic Tuner is a tuner with a display that has a needle swiveling left and right... When the needle is pointing straight up the note (or string) being played is pitch perfect -- often tuners also have a green light or other indicator to show how close it is. Most tuners are chromatic.

Article - "The 3 Types of Tuners" [link]

This explains and reviews the Stroboscopic, Microphone, and Piezo tuners

Video - How to Use an Electric Guitar Tuner to Tune Your Guitar [link]

Most tuners come with instructions but work basically the same, like the one in this video