I just got an acoustic, steel-string guitar. I got it as a present from a friend. Haven’t played one since my teens but I intend to relearn it. I am essentially starting from scratch, since unlike riding a bicycle, it isn’t all coming back to me immediately.
First problem however is that it is waaaaayyyy out of tune. I remember from taking lessons as a kid a trick for tuning it - strumming a string while holding a note at a certain fret, that string (when in tune) should sound identical to the string above it, when it’s strummed unfretted. But I can’t remember if you should hold it at the third or fifth fret. Which is it?
And since I’m starting bascially from ground zero once again, and don’t have too much spare cash to spend on hiring a professional tutor to take lessons from, does anybody know of a good ‘starter’s manual’ (books, tapes, video) to refresh me on the basics?
While I strongly advocate learning to tune by ear so you are self-sufficient, you can get a cheap digital tuner to help you out. I see them for $19.95…
And I am entirely self-taught, so no big tips on where to go - well, other than get on Youtube and search on “guitar” and maybe “beginner lessons” or other guitar + lesson combinations. I have see dozens of clips showing different techniques…
Heck I bet folks have posted vids on how to tune guitars, for that matter…
Yep, Youtube is a GREAT resource for learning as many posters put up there own lessons and song renditions. You may have to filter through some crap, but it will surely help.
If you tune by comparing the strings to each other, you need at least one of the strings to be the correct (or close to correct) note when you begin. Back in the day I had a 440 (IIRC) tuning fork, and I’d tune the A string to that note, then all the other strings to match the one I just tuned. Or I’d pick a song that I know started on A or E, and tune that string to the record (which wasn’t terribly accurate, but in the ballpark usually), and go from there.
Or go buy a tuner, they really are almost dirt cheap these days.
Lastly, think about getting a new set of strings for the guitar fairly soon. The ones the factory or the store put on probably aren’t all that fresh sounding or feeling. As a beginner again, you may want to also consider using smaller gauge strings, which will be easier on your hands (I think you can do this with an acoustic; its very common practice on electric).
If you’re using new strings, expect that they’re going to stretch for a couple days and don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t want to stay in tune. Also be aware that changes in temperature and humidity will alter the tuning.
Pressing the strings as you describe…you can inadvertantly “bend” pitches, which can throw it off a bit.
Another way to tune: touch your finger lightly to string directly over the fifth fret—the actual piece of metal. With the next string down, hold it over the seventh fret—again, the metal. As you play the strings, you’ll get a tone, much like at the beginning of “Roundabout.” Listen for dissonance between the two and tune accordingly, always adjusting the higher string.
It’s a little more accurate than your method, but from G to B is a third, not a fourth like the others so it doesn’t work on that. But your low E should be in tune with your high E.
Here is a very good page to help you. You can choose a variety of tuning methods there. If you click the “tuning notes” button, a new window will open and you can then hear each open string note individually and tune them that way. Or you can first tune the low E string and then go on to page 2 for instructions on tuning the rest from that one.
That site is a very comprehensive resource for guitar playing/learning in general. As a guitar teacher I use it frequently for lesson ideas.
I do this whenever I don’t have a good tuner around. It seems 90% of punk songs start in E so I just think of that chord and tuned from there. I’m usually functionally close.
The dial tone on New Zealand phones was a steady G. I used to use that to tune my guitar, then I moved to Australia and the dial tone here is no use for tuning (more of a brrrrrrb than a steady tone.) I’ve always like to tune one of the middle strings, D or G and then tune the others to it then check through a few chords etc. I feel that will make the whole guitar more likely to be in tune with another instrument.
Specifically ask for a set of ‘acoustic tens’. 10s are as light as you want to go on an acoustic and electric strings are different. ::Googles:: Blimey, looks like you can get acoustic 09s but I expect they’d sound pretty weedy.
And get a spare set.
And play every day even if it’s just a few minutes.
I’ve always used the opening note of the Beatles’ “Day Tripper”. It’s got a nice, single-note E at the beginning, and it a recognizable enough riff to easily compare to mentally. I can usually get very close doing this away from an electronic tuner.
Just to clarify what lobotomyboy63 is saying here: you want to make sure that you’re not pressing the string to the fret, merely touching it. This produces a harmonic, which is a bit purer of a sound and is therefore easier to tell any variances in pitch. It can take some practice to actually produce the sound, but it is a better way to tune.
(Note: the only thing that I can do well on a guitar is tune by harmonics. This is my first and probably last contribution to a guitar thread.)
I always find that if I tune the guitar using an electronic tuner or using the relative method, I end up with it being unsatisfactorily out of tune in most keys, due to the compromise of equal temperament. What I prefer to do is listen to a few tunes in the sort of keys that I’m likely to play, and tune the guitar to those. I know you can’t avoid the tuning compromise, but since I tend to play tunes in good old G, C, D etc., I’m not too worried if my guitar is a bit off in B flat.
I find it’s not so much keys that can be out of tune but specific chord shapes. If I’m tuned so that an open D is nicely in tune then when I play a C I will likely find that the open G is out of tune with the fretted E on the D string. Or that the lower and upper Cs are out of tune. It’s more to do with the slight stretch you get when fretting a string rather than equal temperament.
ensuring your guitar is set up properly. A poorly set-up guitar - where the neck is not properly set for the string pull on it, the action isn’t the right height and the intonation (i.e., string length) isn’t correct - can make chords up and down the neck sound off
poor/beginner’s technique - sorry, but it’s true. When you grab the strings for a chords, you can pull them out of a true straight (hey, I have fat fingers! I got to get them crowded in there somehow! ). The more experienced you get, the more likely you will finger chords more accurately.
Once you’ve settled on a method, practice to train your ear. Go to your local store and ask to tune all the guitars. Do it a couple of times a week until it’s easy. If the store doesn’t welcome you, find another one to spend your money at.
It’s very important to learn to tune by ear, but you’ll always need a reference note regardless, and the time spent always trying to tune by ear in the beginning is time that you’re not playing. And that’s what’s important.
Initially, don’t worry about ear tuning - use the tuner, but over time, you’ll develop a better sense of relative pitch. At that point, start fine tuning by ear. It’ll get better as you go along - eventually, you’ll be able to tune faster by ear than with a tuner.
I’ve raced students, them with a tuner and me by ear, and I can beat them 2/3 of the time. (of course I also play a lot of mando and banjo, both of which require tuning much more frequently)
And I still use a tuner on stage, every time.
Picker
Guitar Teacher 20+ years
PS play every day, no matter what, even if it’s just 15 minutes.
). The more experienced you get, the more likely you will finger chords more accurately.