How to Tune a Guitar, Steps to Standard Tuning

I will start out by saying, NOTHING is worse than an out-of tune guitar. Now, I personally want to teach you how to correctly tune your electric or acoustic guitar before you annoy everyone you play for!!

There are countless ways to tune your guitar, and even more tuning configurations. But I will save the detail, and for now, we’ll start by getting your guitar sounding as it should.

Standard tuning is EADGBe. (fattest to thinnest string). First things first, we need a base note. and then we can follow this step by step tuning guide

STEP 1. Find the base note.

Find an E note to replicate the 6th string on your guitar. Press play button below to play this tone.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

STEP 2. Play your 6th string while the above E note is playing. Fiddle with the tuning peg until both notes are the same.

This will take plenty of practice and may take several minutes to tune correctly. While both notes are playing at the same time you may hear the sound waves of each note resonating or vibrating with each other, If you listen carefully the resonating will become quicker and shorter until each note is the same.

A tip to remember when tuning, if you need to tune a string DOWN it is a good idea to turn the peg half a turn LOWER than you think it should be, and tuning it UP from there. This method keeps the string in tune for longer as it ensures the correct tension.

STEP 3. Your 6th string is now in tune with an E note. The 5th string needs to be an A. You can search for an A note and repeat as per the above, but the simplest way is this:

Play your E string on fret 5, this is an A note. Play the 5th string open (no fingers on it) and match the tone by turning the tuning peg of the 5th string.

Hearing the notes correctly in an exact pitch requires lots of practice and ear-training, you may find it frustrating at first but practice at listening to each note separately and you will soon get it.

A tip that helped me judge was play the two notes separately imagining it was a doorbell (am I crazy?). If the two notes sound similar to “ding-dong” where “ding” is high and “dong” is low, the second note needs to be tuned up. If it sounds like “dong-ding” (backwards) you need to tune the second note down.

I really hope that made sense.

STEP 4. Repeat step 3 to tune the D-string (4th) and the G-string (3rd). The B-string (2nd) is a little different, simply tune it from fret 4 of the 3rd string. Tune the 1st string from 5th fret, 2nd string.

As you will see below, once open E is tuned, fret 5 6th string should be the same note as open A, fret 5 5th string same as open D etc.

STEP 5. Double check that the original E 6th string still matches the E tone from step one. If not, repeat steps until it does.

The original string can go out of tune as the other ones are tuned, this is because the tension on the neck changes each time a string is loosened or tightened. This notoriously happens to guitars that are way out of tune.

So as you have just found out, a guitar can take from 20-30 seconds if you know what your doing, or anywhere up to 20 minutes to tune. It all depends on the guitar, the strings, experience, or the guitars hardware. But don’t worry if it takes you ages, I have seen pros spend 15-20 minutes to tune their guitar, it all boils down to the above factors.

New guitarists will find that they have a fair bit of trouble tuning their new guitar. Learning to listen to pitches very closely, and fine tune them, is a skill that will take a long time to master. Play the first note, and while it is still ringing, hum that note until you’ve managed to match the pitch with your voice. Play the second note, and again, hum that note. Repeat playing and humming that first note, and follow that by playing and humming the second note. Try humming the first note without stopping, moving to the second note. Did your voice go down, or up? If it went down, the second note is lower. If it went up, the second note is higher. Make the adjustment to the second note, until they both sound the same.

Once tuned, your strings should sound like this when played from the 6th string down to the first string:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

How Often Should I Tune My Guitar?

Every time you pick it up. They can go out of tune quickly, so try to ensure that your guitar is tuned before you play it, and even if you go a day without playing it, make sure you keep it in tune.

Is There A Way To Keep My Guitar In Tune For Longer?

As a general rule, higher-range guitars will keep there tuning for longer than lower-range ones. However there are a few ways to keep it in tune for longer.

1. When re-stringing make sure you stretch the strings in. This delicate process of pre-stretching your new strings will work wonders if done correctly. This will prevent strings from stretching once tuned. Un-stretched new strings are pretty much impossible to keep in tune.

2. Take your guitar on the road? Keep it in a hard case, as well as the obvious protection advantage, your guitar will stay in tune a lot better. A hard case provides plenty of room for the headstock with no interference, whereas a soft bag will interfere with the tuning pegs.

3. Tune regularly! Regular tuning of your guitar will regulate the tension on the neck and put less stress on the strings.

4. Finally, CHANGE YOUR OLD STRINGS!! Over time, strings get old and lose their ability to retain intonation and tune. Not to mention the soft, dull sound they produce.

How Long Will It Take Me To Tune My Guitar?

It could take you 5 minutes, it could take you 15. The more experienced you become to tuning your guitar, the quicker you will be able to get it done. Most guitarists can tune their guitar within 30 seconds – Assuming they follow the above 4 points.