Acoustic guitar tuning in 5 easy steps
You should be sure to do your acoustic guitar tuning each time you sit down to play, whether you are practising or performing. Its pretty unpleasant to try to make beautiful music on an untuned guitar. Lots of guitar students think their inexperience is ruining the sound, not understanding the importance of doing their tuning regularly. You will be much more successful in your music making if you set aside that small amount of time it takes to tune your instrument properly.
It's best to use an electronic tuner for acoustic guitar tuning. Sit down with the electronic tuner on a nearby table or stool. Turn it on and strum the first string. The tuner will sense which string is being tuned using its built in microphone. The indicator will show you how close you are to the correct pitch. It will also show you whether you are sharp or flat. Turn the tuning key and tweak the string until your tuner shows that you're in tune.
Always remember to tune up. This means going from loose to tight until the string is in tune. If you go too tightly and then loosen the string slightly to put it in tune, this is referred to as tuning down. It is always best to loosen the string and then retighten it to put it into tune. Tuning up keeps the string in tune in a much better fashion and the results are more precise.
If you dont purchase an electronic tuner, you still need to have a reference for pitch when playing acoustic guitar. You can use another guitar, a piano, tuning fork or an MP3 that you are certain is already in tune. Acoustic guitar tuning with an electronic tuner will consistently provide reliable tuning. But if you choose to tune the traditional way then use an electronic tuner to test your results. This is a great way to learn to develop your ear.
To begin tuning your guitar, use the refence pitch to tune the sixth string (the thickest string) to low E. Once this string sounds right, the other strings can be tuned to their correct pitch based on that note. There is a reason why this technique works, but the explanation is long. Acoustic guitar tuning is a bit like driving. You don't have to understand the internal combustion engine to drive a car, and you don't have to understand music theory to tune your guitar.
Then proceed with your acoustic guitar tuning as follows:
1. After verifying the guitar is in tune, play it on the fifth fret. Use that as a basis to tune the open fifth string. 2. Using the fifth string as a guideline, play the fifth fret on that to tune your fourth string. 3. Use the fifth fret on the fourth string to tune the third. 4. Pay close attention here, because there's a bit of a change. The third string should be played using the fourth fret to tune the open second string. 5. Changing it up again- return to playing the fifth fret, only using the second string this time, to tune the first string.
Before you try acoustic guitar tuning for the first time, have an experienced player show you the ropes. The best place to learn is probably the music shop where you bought your acoustic guitar. After a few tries, you'll get the hang of it. You have to put time and effort into mastering the skill of acoustic guitar tuning. Its a whole lot easier for someone just starting out to use an electronic tuner instead. Since they only cost about $20, they are well worth their price. Whats more, if you choose one that was manufactured especially for use with guitars, it can actually let you know which string youre playing too.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Shane Fenham shows you how to learn acoustic guitar tuning as well as everything there is to know on how to play acoustic guitar. For more news, products and resources on this melodic and magical instrument, be sure to follow this link: acoustic guitar shops.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entirety, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE links (without "nofollow" tags).
by: ShaneFenham
Total views: 62
Word Count: 632
Rating: Not yet rated