Acoustic Guitar Tuning - How Often Should It Be Done

By: Allison Thompson

If you want to ensure that your acoustic guitar sounds good every time that you use it, then you should actually tune it before you actually play it. What is the point of playing a great piece of music if it is completely out of tune? Even though you may find yourself becoming somewhat frustrated with your acoustic guitar tuning it will all be worthwhile in the end and you will soon realize just how important tuning your guitar is each time you play it.

But it is also important to note that it will take a lot of practice on your part to learn how to tune an acoustic guitar just by listening. But many people prefer the easier way of tuning theirs by using an electronic tuner instead. You can get a good one for around $20 and this is a wise investment to make if you are going to spending a lot of time playing yours. The big advantage to be had from using an electronic tuner is that not only tells you when the note is right but also which string it is you are actually playing.

To use one of these tuners you sit down and place it close to your guitar, either on a stool or table close by. Then once the machine is set up and you have your guitar on your lap you turn the machine on and pluck the sixth string on your guitar in order to give you your reference pitch (low E). The tuner picks up the pitch of each note through the microphone on it and there is an indicator on the front, which shows you when the string is at the right pitch. These machines are also able to show if the pitch of the note is too sharp or too flat and in order to tune the string to the right pitch you then just start to turn the tuning key at the head of the neck of the guitar. After each turn of the key you should pluck the key and see what reading the tuner is giving.

You should also remember to tune up. This means you go from loose to tight until the string is once again in tune. If you tighten the string too much do not attempt to loosen it slightly in order to make sure that you get the right note. Rather than tuning down (just loosen the string slightly) you should loosen it quite a bit and then start again to retighten it in order to get it in tune. Tuning up is the more accurate way of getting the string in tune and for it to keep the tune.

But if you do not want to use an electronic tuner to tune your guitar then to do it by listening yourself you will need to use another source to act as your reference pitch. The best things to use are either another guitar, a piano or tuning fork (but again these need to be tuned correctly as well). Or if you want you could go digital and use an MP3 instead.

If, however, you are going to be tuning your guitar by ear (listening) then it is best to start off by tuning the sixth string that produces a Low E note and this you use as your reference pitch. After you have made sure that your sixth string is properly tuned you can now move on to tuning the rest of them on the guitar by carry out the following steps.

1. You pluck the sixth string with your finger of the hand on the string placed over the fifth fret on the neck of the guitar. The note that is produced is the note that you are aiming to tune the open fifth string to. When they both sound the same you can then move on to the next string. In order to get the right note pitch you very slowly and gently turn the tuning key for the string at the head of your guitar. 2. Once the fifth string has been correctly tuned you now move on to the fourth string. Again you place your finger on the fifth string over the fifth fret and pluck. The sound that this makes is the note that you want to tune the open fourth string to. 3. After the fourth string has been correctly tuned you can now move on the next one. In order to tune the open third string you need to pluck the fourth one with your finger on it and over the fifth fret still. But after tuning the third and you go on to the second string, in order to know what the tune is for the open second you pluck the third but this time your finger has been placed over the fourth rather than fifth fret. 4. Finally in order to tune the open first string you need to place your finger on the second string above the third fret to get the right pitch. Hopefully after going through these stages you will have finally tuned your guitar properly.

But a great way of ensuring that when first starting to tune your guitar by ear is to also use an electronic tuner as well. Although when it comes to acoustic guitar tuning the old fashioned way is good, but an electronic tuner ensures that you get accurate results every time that you do it.

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Above we have shown you the steps you can take to tune your acoustic guitar along with the kind of equipment that you can use when it comes to tuning. To find out more about acoustic guitars and playing them please click here Acoustic Guitar Information.

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