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By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
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How to tune your ax
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There are two paths to getting your guitar in tune—using a tuning device and using your ears—and both are essential. For a beginner, a device like an electronic tuner is a godsend: it helps you over the initial hurdle of getting in correct tune, and it also initiates the longer and no less important process of training your ears to know instinctively when a string is in tune or is not quite.
The notes of standard tuning on the guitar are, from the lowest-pitched (and fattest) string to the highest:
| String | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | | Note | E | A | D | G | B | E |
The way you tune the strings, of course, is by turning your tuning pegs; one direction raises the pitch, the other lowers it. Always tune a string up to the target pitch—the tuning will be more stable that way. That means if the string is tuned a little too high, you should drop it below the note you want and then raise it slowly back up.
Electronic tuners are battery-powered devices that listen to the sound of an individual string ringing and indicate on a meter of some sort (usually lights or a needle) whether the note is higher than, lower than, or right on the desired pitch. Keep in mind that tuners show only a very small variation above and below the target note. So if your string is way off, the tuner won’t give you a useful reading (unless you have a chromatic tuner, which can read any note—cheaper models read only the notes of standard tuning). You have to get the string in the neighborhood of the correct note, then fine-tune it using the tuner. For that reason, it’s a good idea to have a tuning fork even if you’ve got an electronic tuner—it will give you a note you can hear and sing for getting in the ballpark of the correct pitch.
The tuning fork is a simple, portable tool that will help you get one string in tune so that you can then tune all the other strings in relation to it. You just hold it by the stem down near the knob end, knock the prongs against something hard, then, while letting the prongs vibrate, rest the knob on the top or bridge of your guitar, which will produce a clear, loud tone. Most guitarists use an E tuning fork, which matches the open first string; another option is A 440 (440 hertz, that is), which is considered the standard reference pitch for all music and corresponds to the note at the fifth fret on your first string. If you have trouble hearing whether the string is higher or lower than the pitch of the tuning fork, try singing or humming the two notes. The higher note will feel higher in your throat. After you tune one string correctly, you can use it to tune the rest of the strings.
Here is the simplest way to tune up without an electronic tuner. First, you should get a reference note from a tuning fork, a piano, or another instrument. Let’s begin by tuning your first string to an E note, but you could start with any of the other strings.
As you may have noticed, your first string is not the only one tuned to E—your sixth string is too, so let’s go to that one next. These strings are tuned in octaves, which are simply occurrences of the same note at different frequencies. The sixth-string E is two octaves lower than the first-string E. It’s pretty easy to hear when octaves are in tune, so play the first and sixth strings back to back and adjust the sixth to match the first.
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Printable Version
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Filled with information beginners of all ages need to
know, the Beginning Guitarist's Handbook takes
you through the process of shopping for a guitar, setting
your goals, learning to play, and sharing your music.
Drawing on his decade of experience as the editor of Acoustic
Guitar magazine, as well as extensive interviews with
teachers and experts, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers provides
a wealth of advice for a strong start on the guitar and
years of fun, adventure, and inspiration.
Click here to learn about Beginning Guitarist's Handbook
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