Back to basics - Tuning

Before you can play anything, and have it sound right, you need to make certain your guitar is in tune. There are a few different ways you can accomplish this.

First, if you have a piano handy, you can use the piano to tune your guitar. Start with the E string (the big, fat one). Hit the E key on the piano and then turn the tuning key on the guitar, while striking the E string, until it sounds the same. Continue through the rest of the strings, matching the piano key to the correct string.

A second method is to buy an inexpensive tuner that clips on your guitar. This is an excellent tool. It's not costly (less than $20) and will give you years of service and great tuning.

The third method, and the way us older dudes learned, is the manual method. This procedure will get your guitar in tune, but unless you have a note to match to the big E string, you may not be in actual frequency tuning (A440). Here's the procedure:

First, leave the big E string tuned where it is. If it's been tuned in the past, it's probably fairly close to where it needs to be. If you want to be more exact, you can go to http://www.looknohands.com/ (mentioned in the post below) and go to the Piano Room and hit and E note and match your E string to that. When you get the big E string where you want it, continue as described below to tune the rest of the strings.

Place your finger on the big E on the 5th fret (just a little behind it, between the 4th and 5th frets). Now, strike the E string and then strike the A string open (no fingers on the A string). If the A string sound doesn't match the E string sound (and it probably won't) simply adjust the A string with the tuning key until it matches. Then perform the same procedure using the A string (with your finger on the 5th fret again) to check the D string, and get it tuned. The rest of the strings are done the same way with one exception.

The B string is an oddball, and you're going to have to move your finger down to the 4th fret on the G string and tune the B to that sound. When you get that done, you move back up to the 5th fret on the B string to tune the little E.

When you're finished with all six strings, play a chord and listen to how it sounds. You might have to make some minor adjustments (very tiny movements of the tuning keys) in order to get that perfect sound you're looking for.

Note: If you've just put new strings on your guitar, plan on retuning it a couple of times. New strings stretch a bit and will cause your tuning to be off when they do. But after a couple of minor re-tunings, you should be good to go with only minimal adjustments needed occasionally. Temperature changes will also affect your tuning because the strings will expand and contract at different rates with a change in temperature.

If you have any questions, leave a comment. And if I've made any errors in this post, feel free to correct me.