Beginners' Primer

Tuning Your Guitar (When You Don't Have An Electronic Tuner)

1. Find a reference pitch for the low E string. You can use a keyboard, another (correctly tuned) guitar or a recording of the low E. Tune the lowest (thickest) string to this note.
Note: It is only necessary for the strings to be tuned to the proper notes if you intend to play with other musicians or along to a record or backing track.

2. Fret the low E string (which you've just tuned) at the 5th fret. This should give you an 'A' note. This is your reference pitch for the A string.

3. Play this fretted A note (E-string, fret 5) and then the open A string. Repeat until you can identify whether the A string is higher or lower in pitch.

4. Whilst fretting the A note, play both strings again and then turn the A string tuning key with your picking hand until the pitch of the A string matches the pitch of the fretted A reference note on the E string. Keep repeating this step until you are satisfied with the new tuning.

5. By engaging distortion on your amplifier (if you have it) you can assist this tuning process by turning the tuning keys until you are able to dial out the 'beating' (phase cancellation) sound that occurs when the strings are out of tune with each other. When the 'beating' disappears the strings should be vibrating at the same pitch.

6. Fret the A string at the 5th fret to find the reference 'D' note for the open D string.

7. Repeat the above procedure until you have tuned the D and G strings.

8. Fret the G string at the 4th fret to find the reference 'B' note for the open B string. Tune the B string.

9. Tune the high E (thinnest) string using the B string fret 5 'E' note as the reference pitch, as above.

10. If your guitar has a fixed bridge your guitar should now be ready to play. However, if your guitar has a floating bridge (eg. Stratocaster) you may need to repeat all of the above several times until there is equilibrium between the pull of the strings and the guitar's tremelo springs.

* DOUBLE CHECK USING OCTAVES *

1. Play the D string at the 2nd fret. (This should be an E note.) Check that this note sounds exactly one octave higher than the low E open string.

2. If the fretted E note on the D string sounds higher or lower than a perfect octave E, either you need to retune the D-string or there may be a problem with the guitar setup (such as a poorly cut nut) which will need professional attention.

3. If necessary, adjust the D string tuning.

4. Now play an A note at the second fret of the G string. If this is not a perfect octave above the A string, retune the G string.

5. Repeat the process, comparing the open D note to the octave D at fret 3 of the B string.

6. Repeat, comparing the open G note to the octave G at fret 3 of the high E string.