Beginner Guitar Lessons-How To Tune Your Guitar
Tuning Theory & Tips
The Musical Alphabet: You’ve already learned the names of the open strings on the guitar, which were E-A-D-G-B-E. The next thing you need to learn is the natural musical alphabet, which is simple but a must-know. The natural musical alphabet is the first seven letters of the alphabet, so A-B-C-D-E-F-G.
Flats: The symbol that looks like a lowercase ‘b’ is the flat symbol, and when it’s next to a natural note, it means the note is flat. When we talk about being flat while tuning the guitar, this means the note needs to come up a bit.
Sharps: The symbol that looks like a tic-tac-toe grid is the sharp symbol. When we talk about being sharp while tuning, this means the note is a little too high and it needs to come down.
When you use an electronic tuner, there are a couple of ways it will tell you if a note is sharp or flat. One way is using lights, which will be off to the left if your note is flat and needs to come up a little. If the lights are off to the right, your note is sharp and needs to come down. Instead of lights, an electronic tuner might use a needle, which works the same way the lights do.
Tuning Tip #1: Make sure you’re turning the right tuning key. For example, if you want to tune your D string, follow the D string along the fretboard to the headstock where you can see the correct tuning key to use. Otherwise, you might accidentally turn the A string tuning key, wonder why your D string isn’t changing, and end up breaking your A string. Always double-check that you are turning the right tuning key for the string you’re tuning.
Tuning Tip #2: If you think you’re tuning the string too high or too far, you probably are. I suggest you stop, crank the string back down, and start again. One thing to practice before you get started is to go to any string and play with the tuning key, find out how much turning makes the note go up or down, and get familiar with the string.
Tuning Theory & Tips
The Musical Alphabet: You’ve already learned the names of the open strings on the guitar, which were E-A-D-G-B-E. The next thing you need to learn is the natural musical alphabet, which is simple but a must-know. The natural musical alphabet is the first seven letters of the alphabet, so A-B-C-D-E-F-G.
Flats: The symbol that looks like a lowercase ‘b’ is the flat symbol, and when it’s next to a natural note, it means the note is flat. When we talk about being flat while tuning the guitar, this means the note needs to come up a bit.
Sharps: The symbol that looks like a tic-tac-toe grid is the sharp symbol. When we talk about being sharp while tuning, this means the note is a little too high and it needs to come down.
When you use an electronic tuner, there are a couple of ways it will tell you if a note is sharp or flat. One way is using lights, which will be off to the left if your note is flat and needs to come up a little. If the lights are off to the right, your note is sharp and needs to come down. Instead of lights, an electronic tuner might use a needle, which works the same way the lights do.
Tuning Tip #1: Make sure you’re turning the right tuning key. For example, if you want to tune your D string, follow the D string along the fretboard to the headstock where you can see the correct tuning key to use. Otherwise, you might accidentally turn the A string tuning key, wonder why your D string isn’t changing, and end up breaking your A string. Always double-check that you are turning the right tuning key for the string you’re tuning.
Tuning Tip #2: If you think you’re tuning the string too high or too far, you probably are. I suggest you stop, crank the string back down, and start again. One thing to practice before you get started is to go to any string and play with the tuning key, find out how much turning makes the note go up or down, and get familiar with the string.
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