Newcomers to the guitar want to get started so quickly that they often neglect to learn the art of tuning. It can be wise to learn to tune your guitar by ear for a lot of reasons. One is the fact that tuners are not always accessible. Tuning by ear alone is not difficult at all and helps with tuning speed too. When small changes in pitch are required on the fly, ear tuning is the answer. It is easy to learn and might even be referred to as a necessary skill.
Most players become quite accomplished at hearing certain notes by ear or detecting an out of pitch string after they have been playing for a while. This is not to say tuning each string without a reference is easy. Still, basing all the other strings off the low E string is fairly simple, and even beginners can get pretty close to finding the right pitch for low E, even without a tuner.
With the sixth string providing the proper pitch, all the other strings can be tuned relative to the sound of the string directly above it. For example, the fifth string should be an A. Picking the sixth string on the fifth fret also results in an A. This means string 5 can be tuned to the sound of string six when played five frets up.
Moving down, the fourth string is D. Conveniently, the D note can also be found by playing the fifth string on the fifth fret. Just match the fourth string to that note and the first three strings are done. Moving down again, the third string is G. This is also the note when the fourth string is played on the fifth fret.
Now, the second string is a B. To get the B note on the third string it should be played on the fourth fret. This is the only exception to the pattern. The G string plays a B note on the fourth fret, and this is the tone the second string should be matched to.
Finally, playing the second string on the fifth fret produces high E. The first string should be tuned to this note. Confirm that the sixth and first strings sound the same. They should both be tuned to E with the first string a single octave higher than the sixth.
In time this process will become second nature, and tuning will be quite simple. It certainly pays to learn to tune your guitar by ear for lots of reasons, however the most important is quick tuning on the go. If everything is based off the sixth string played open, the guitar will sound correct even though the guitar itself may not be perfectly in tune.
Most players become quite accomplished at hearing certain notes by ear or detecting an out of pitch string after they have been playing for a while. This is not to say tuning each string without a reference is easy. Still, basing all the other strings off the low E string is fairly simple, and even beginners can get pretty close to finding the right pitch for low E, even without a tuner.
With the sixth string providing the proper pitch, all the other strings can be tuned relative to the sound of the string directly above it. For example, the fifth string should be an A. Picking the sixth string on the fifth fret also results in an A. This means string 5 can be tuned to the sound of string six when played five frets up.
Moving down, the fourth string is D. Conveniently, the D note can also be found by playing the fifth string on the fifth fret. Just match the fourth string to that note and the first three strings are done. Moving down again, the third string is G. This is also the note when the fourth string is played on the fifth fret.
Now, the second string is a B. To get the B note on the third string it should be played on the fourth fret. This is the only exception to the pattern. The G string plays a B note on the fourth fret, and this is the tone the second string should be matched to.
Finally, playing the second string on the fifth fret produces high E. The first string should be tuned to this note. Confirm that the sixth and first strings sound the same. They should both be tuned to E with the first string a single octave higher than the sixth.
In time this process will become second nature, and tuning will be quite simple. It certainly pays to learn to tune your guitar by ear for lots of reasons, however the most important is quick tuning on the go. If everything is based off the sixth string played open, the guitar will sound correct even though the guitar itself may not be perfectly in tune.
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