How To Tune A Guitar For Beginners

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How To Tune A Guitar For Beginners
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Introduction

• If you are a beginner and have decided to learn
  the guitar then basic knowledge about the parts
  of a guitar neck is very helpful. The parts of
  the guitar neck are frets, wraparound bridge,
  Gibson Nashville bridge, fretboard, tuners,
  headstock, and truss rod. It will help you tune
  your guitar. Tuning your guitar is the most
  important step because if your guitar is not
  tuned, it will not sound good and you definitely
  dont want that. So, let us first learn about the
  parts of a guitar neck followed by the steps to
  tune a guitar. So, these parts are explained
  below

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Frets

• Frets are the raised wires that run across the
  width of the fingerboard. These help the strings
  to be shortened by pressing them down behind
  them. While playing the guitar, players dont
  have to find the perfect spot of a note which
  happens with other fretless instruments like a
  violin.

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Headstock

• Just at the end of the neck you will see the
  headstock placed at the end of the guitar where
  all the strings end. At headstock, you will see
  the bits which is used for tuning the guitar and
  these are known as tuners.

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Tuners

• Tuners are also termed as machine heads and
  tuning pegs. These bits are twisted to tune your
  guitar. The key part which is flat is joined
  where the string is wound. When you tighten or
  loosen these bits, it helps in changing the
  tension in strings and as a result, it helps to
  change the pitch. These bits are also known as
  guitar tuner buttons and one must replace the old
  and dirty guitar tuning pegs with new ones.

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Truss rod

• Truss rod is a part of the guitar or other
  stringed or fretted instruments which helps in
  stabilizing the relief of the neck. It is like a
  steel bar or rod which runs inside the neck,
  located underneath the fingerboard.

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Tuning your guitar

• So, now you know and understand the parts of
  guitar neck and their working. The next thing
  which you need to learn is the name of strings
  and how to tune the guitar.
• The names of the open strings on the guitar are E
  A D G B E from top to bottom where the
  top string (E) is the thickest string and the
  bottom string (E) is the thinnest string. To
  learn the name of strings here is an easy way to
  do so.

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Eric And David Get Better Everyday

• There are different ways to tune a guitar. We
  will discuss a few of these ways to make things
  easy for beginners.

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Use a digital tuner

• Use a digital tuner Digital tuners are very
  small devices which run on a battery that have
  microphones. These can pick the guitar notes.
• Step 1 Turn the tuner on and play an open E
  string. When the string will be tuned to a
  correct note then you will see a light flashing.
• Step 2 Make sure the calibration tuner setting
  on the tuner is set to A 440 Hz which is a
  standard setting.
• Step 3 Adjust the string until it is in tune and
  do the same with other strings as well. Once the
  tuning is done, make sure to go through the
  strings once again.
• If you are using an electric guitar then plug the
  cord directly in the tuner to check the tuning
  instead of using the microphone of the tuner.

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Use an app tuner

• It is the most convenient method to tune your
  guitar. There are the number of apps available
  for guitar tuning. Today, because of a smartphone
  it is easy to get a tuner on your fingertips.
  When you do not have other tuners, it is an ideal
  way to tune your guitar. The apps work similar to
  digital tuners.
• Step 1 Play an open E string and adjust the
  string using the guitar tuner buttons that are
  dedicated to every string.
• Step 2 Until the app Shows that the pitch of a
  note is correct, keep tightening and loosening
  the tuner buttons. Do the same for other strings
  as well.

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Tuning the guitar by ear

• Tuning the guitar by ear may seem a little
  challenging especially for those who dont have a
  musical background. So, here are some tips to do
  that without a tuner. This method of guitar
  tuning is also known as 5th fret tuning method.
• Step 1 The low E string should be in tune
  already. You can use a piano or another guitar to
  get the low E string in tune.
• Step 2 Go to the 5th fret of the low E string
  which is known as an A note. The fifth string is
  an open A string and it must sound like the note
  on the fifth fret of E string.

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Fine-tune your Guitar

• Step 3 Now you have to tune the D string. For
  this, first, you have to check the fifth fret of
  the A string which is a D note. Now play the open
  D string and it must sound like the D note on the
  A string. The same method will be followed to
  tune the G string.
• Step 4 You need to tune the B string now and the
  method of tuning this string is a little
  different. Instead of using the fifth fret you
  need to make use of 4th fret and match the sound
  of open B string to the 4th fret of the G string.
• Step 5 You need to tune the high E string by
  playing it open and then match it with the sound
  of the fifth fret of the B string.
• Now, double check the tuning by going through the
  strings once again so you can fine-tune your
  guitar.