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Guitar tuning Asks...
how do u tune an acustic guitar i have an elecrtirc tuner a wittner GT2 but im only just starting to play n getting quite good but am hpoeless at tuning, do u no how n everything plz?
What we suggest...
Hi Guitar tuning
Glad to hear you are getting good at playing and well done for sticking at it. The more you practice and the better you get the more rewarding and fun playing the guitar can be.
Tuning your guitar is one of the most challenging things when you are beginning to learn as it can be difficult to understand why the notes or chords sound wrong and how to fix it. However, over time and with practise it is possible to develop your ear for hearing notes so it gets easier and easier to be able to adjust your tuning so it sounds right.
Once you know how to use it, an electronic tuner can be a good way of easily and quickly tuning your guitar. Judging from the picture we have seen of the Wittner GT-2 here is how we think you would be able to use it. There is a switch on the bottom right of the front face of the tuner which has the settings E, A, D, G, B, E. These correspond to the different open strings of the guitar. The E on the left is the 6th string and is the thickest string, A - 5th string, D - 4th string, G - 3rd string, B - 2nd string and the high E is the first string, which is the thinnest string.
Basically as you tune each string you have to switch this switch to the same string you are trying to tune. After you have chosen the string you are going to tune first - it would usually be best to start with the low E/6th string - then you have to use the dial on the front of the tuner to make sure the string is correctly in tune. You do this by playing the open string into the tuner and either tightening or loosening the string using the tuning pegs. You should be able to notice that as you tighten the string the dial moves one way and if you loosen it it moves the other way.
The aim is to get the string to the right level of tightness so that the dial is directly in the middle. Once you have done this you can move onto the next string. Once you have done all the strings it can help to go over them again to check they are still in tune as sometimes they might need a bit of fine tuning.
If you have access to a computer another way of tuning your guitar is available at www.dontfret.com/guitartuner.html. This online guitar tuner is simple to use as long as you have speakers fitted to your computer. Simply follow the instructions on the screen and you will be able to "play" the strings on the guitar so they give off the correct notes for you to match to the strings on your guitar. To get your guitar in tune you have to adjust the tuning pegs until your strings sound the same as the online guitar.
Finally, if you don't have access to a computer or a tuner, you can tune the guitar manually. This is one of the best ways to practice tuning as it gives you good chance to practice developing your ear. To begin, ideally you should make sure that the low E or 6th string is in tune to E but if not it should still be ok as long as it isn't too tight or too loose.
To tune your guitar all you have to is to play the low E but hold you finger on the 5th fret. This makes the low E string sound as an A note. All you have to do then, whilst holding your finger on the 5th fret, is to tune the open 5th string (the string below) until it sounds exactly the same.
Next, repeat this on the 5th string, holding down your finger on the 5th fret and making sure that the open string below sounds the same by adjusting the tuning pegs. This process works the same on almost every string, the only thing to remember is that when you reach the 3rd string you hold your finger on the 4th fret and tune the open string below so it sounds the same. On every other string you hold down the 5th fret and tune the open string below.
If you would like a more visual description of how to do this there is a useful tuition video available online at http://www.expertvillage.com/video/69715_acoustic-guitar-tuning-one.htm
If you are having difficulty tuning your guitar it may be that the strings are old. After anything between two months or a year or more the strings can start to go out of tune more and so if your strings have not been replaced in a while we would recommend that you bear this in mind. If you need to replace your strings there are many places where you can order cheap strings online. "Strings Direct" is a popular site which can be found at www.stringsdirect.co.uk. They offer a wide range of strings and you can buy value packs of strings too. If you would like somewhere in Doncaster where you could buy strings and get advice on tuning your guitar you could try Electro Music. They are the biggest music shop in Yorkshire and stock a wide range of strings.
Their address is::
Electro Music
82 Copley Road
Doncaster
DN1 2QW
Tel:: 01302 369999
Finally, one tip when tuning is to always slacken off the string and try to tune up to the note you are trying to reach as this is more accurate and keeps the string nice and tight. Also, it helps to keep checking whether the guitar is in tune by playing chords and to try to identify which strings don't sound right. Like anything this gets easier with practice and over time it should get easier and easier.
Best of luck with your guitar playing, hope this advice is useful to you
All the best
q2a
Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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