How to tune guitar without a tuner

All guitar players know that one of the most important maintenance tips they can learn is how to change and tune their guitar strings. Depending on usage guitar strings should be changed at regular intervals before they become worn out, hard or impossible to hold tune to or the quality is noticeably affected.

Tuning the acoustic or electric guitar without a tuner is a good method for a player to practice and once learned can be done fast and relatively easily. Start with a reference string, which is necessary as all other strings will be tune from here.

The 5th Fret Method Needs a Reference To Start From

The low E is normally the reference point to start. It is the thickest of the strings and normally stays in tune the longest. Another guitar player can give you the reference E Note to tune to or you can use a piano, keyboard (the first E below the middle C) or a pitch pipe that you can pick up relatively cheaply at a music store. In a pinch use a land line phone dial tone. It is in an A frequency. This way The A note or 5th string will be your reference point.

• When using an E as the reference point, move up to the 5th fret and hold down the E string pluck the E then the A string and adjust the tuners so the E at the 5th fret and the A string sound the same.
• Use the overtones and listen to the vibrations while they trail off together. If properly tuned they will sound exactly alike.
• When they do, try the next set of strings. Hold the A string down at the 5th fret and pluck it then pluck the D string. Let the overtones trail off and adjust the D string. The G string is done the same using the D string to tune from.
• To tune the B string use the G string but at the 4th fret instead of the 5th. For the high E string use the B string at the 5th fret one again to finish. Play a few chords. Try tuning the guitar before playing every time you pick it up. It’s good practice.

Of all the Guitar Tuning Tips-This Is Fast, Easy and Reliable For Standard Guitar Tuning

Always tune acoustic guitar up before playing. Start below the pitch and work the tuner heads up to find the proper guitar pitch. This will keep the acoustic guitar strings from falling flat. The player should use one chord that is very familiar as a reference for determining when the guitar is starting to go out of tune.

Practice detailed listening, exercising hearing to pick up subtle changes in the notes your playing. When changing strings always stretch the new ones out as you tune them to pitch. There are a few ways of doing this. One way is to pull the string away from the guitar neck at the ninth and 12th frets. Then tune back up to pitch.

They are apt to stay in tune longer with this method. There are plenty of great chromatic acoustic guitar tuners online or portable electronic tuners for Standard or Alternated tunings for sale. But for a quick way to tune an acoustic or electric guitar this manual method is an exercise that will train the player to listen closely to what he playing besides playing it- in tune.