Guitar Tuning

Guitars are well known for its soothing sound. A professional guitarist knows how its sound varies when you adjust the pitch of each string. Tuning a guitar is the most important lesson that a beginner should learn before starting to play it. Playing a guitar which is not in tune may feel disturbing and boring.

A normal acoustic guitar consist of 6 strings. Tuning each string, adjusting the tone etc. are very difficult process and hence it needs a lot of concentration. Only an expert guitarist will be able to play the guitar in the exact tune which he wishes to play. The 6 strings are normally represented with the help of English alphabets. Starting from the 6th string or the thickest string ‘E’ to the thinnest string ‘e’, altogether it is represented as ‘EADGBE’.

While adjusting the 6th string or ‘E’ string, it is better to have a reference tone with you. Adjusting the bottom E string accurately is the most important step during guitar tuning process because later you are going to use this string as a reference in order to tune the remaining strings. Likewise, check every string till its tuning key and find out in which direction you need to turn them to make the pitch higher or lower. Also, make sure that the string is not tightened too much because extreme tightening may lead to its breakage.

After tuning the bottom E string properly, it can be used to tune the A string or the 5th string. Similarly, we can tune the rest of the strings in the same manner and turn the tuning keys to adjust the pitch of each strings. Check the pitch of 6th string once again after you finished tuning all the strings from 6th to 1st. In most of the cases it may be changed due the change in strings tensions. If it is changed, then you need to tune your guitar again.

Apart from manual tuning, electronic tuners are also available that makes the tuning process very easy. The main three types of tuners available in the market are:

• Strobe (Stroboscopic)

• Vibration (Piezo)

• Microphone

When you play guitar, you need to keep these important points in mind. Firstly, you need to learn how to hold the guitar and pick up while playing. Start playing guitar only after gaining complete knowledge about its parts, playing styles, accessories, tuners etc. Moreover, follow your guitar teacher’s instructions strictly and don’t forget to practice regularly.