How can i tune my acoustic guitar

Any kind of bump will knock your guitar out of tune. Of course, if it falls over it will go out of tune, but even little bumps like a door opening against it will knock it out.

Also, remember that general play causes your guitar to go out of tune from the constant pressing of your fingers on and off the strings.

It happens. Dirty, corroded and over-stretched strings become brittle and harder to tune. They also sound terrible! Join over , other guitar learners and subscribe to our guitar-tips-by-email service. It's free. We'll send you a series of lessons that will move you to the next level of your guitar journey. Learn how everything fits together quickly, easily and effectively. We share ninja tips for instant fun! How To Strum A Guitar. How To Play Lead Guitar. Visit our YouTube channel for fun guitar videos.

Join us on Facebook for daily guitar tips. Listen to our Learn Guitar Podcast for rapid guitar progress. Check out our free chord lessons. We use music to spread joy and reduce suffering. If you want more fun, relaxation and creativity in your life, you'll enjoy our guitar courses. Where should we send it? The tone that emanates, because you are holding the string down at the 5th fret, will be an A. Got it? See how to hold a guitar correctly, or buy a ChordBuddy today!

To contact us about how to tune a guitar and more, click here or call Guitar Tuning Basics Tuning a guitar involves adjusting 6 strings on the instrument. The big advantage of clip-on tuners is that you can easily tune an acoustic guitar in a noisy environment. If you have a multi-effects pedal, it will likely have an inbuilt tuner you can use at any time.

Most multi-effects pedals will activate a tuner when you hold down a specific footswitch. The tuners in multi-effects pedals will only work with electric guitars or acoustic guitars that you can plug in. You can use guitar tuner apps to tune either electric or acoustic guitar, but you need to be in a fairly quiet environment for the best results.

Learn more about the different tuners and the best options for each one in this guide. Start by picking the thickest string closest to you when you hold your guitar. The thickest string on a six-string guitar is tuned to E in Standard Tuning. If you see a different note name on your tuner eg: D, F, or Eb instead of E , it means your string is way out-of-tune. Take note of whether you need to raise or lower the string to bring it to E. Start by picking the string. You should hear the pitch rise or fall.

The direction you need to turn the tuning head depends on the type of guitar and the type of headstock. In the above photo, you can see that I need to turn the tuning head anti-clockwise or away from me to raise the pitch on the string. But your guitar may be different which is why the best practice is to listen to the string to figure out which way to turn it. Re-pick the string when the tuner starts to have trouble detecting the note or you hear the note start to fade away. Keep picking the string every second or two to keep the string loud enough for the tuner.

As you get closer to bringing the string in-tune, slow your adjustments down. Use smaller adjustments to bring the string closer and closer to perfect tune. Bigger adjustments usually ends up with overshooting and having to adjust the tuning back in the other direction over and over. This can sometimes help avoid the string slipping when you go to play your guitar and bringing it out-of-tune. Once the low E string is in tune, move on to the A string and repeat the previous step on that string.

This happens due to the change in tension across the neck, the change in tension in the strings, and the type of bridge your guitar uses.

Other guitars may take multiple passes — especially if your guitar was really out-of-tune at the start. If you have a guitar with a Floyd Rose bridge, it will likely take you several passes until it starts to hold decent tune. Learn more about tuning a Floyd Rose in this guide. Whether you use a tuner pedal, or the inbuilt tuner in a multi-effects pedal or a guitar amp, the method for tuning your guitar is the same. The 6th string, 5th fret note should be identical to the 5th string played openly -- they are both As.

This system insures that the intervals between notes are identical, so that even if the guitar is not perfectly tuned, it is tuned relative to itself. To tune the 5th string, for example, you would play the 6th string, 5th fret note and match the tone of the 5th string exactly to this. You must hold the 4th fret of the G string 3rd string to tune the B string. Strum a chord or play a few notes to check the intervals. An acoustic guitar is made of wood, and the resonance of the strings, even when tuned properly, might not sound exactly right.

Play a G chord, or another first-position chord to check to make sure the guitar sounds correct and is in tune. Make slight adjustments as necessary. The B string, in particular, will usually need to be tuned slightly flat to create a truly perfectly-tuned guitar.

Experiment some and listen closely to make sure the guitar is in tune. Play and retune your guitar for minutes after putting on new strings. Strings need time to stretch out when first placed, meaning they fall out of tune very quickly. To help get them in shape, tune the guitar, then play for a few minutes. Retune and repeat, playing until the strings stay more or less in tune for a few minutes straight. Method 2. Invest in a quality chromatic guitar tuner.

The easiest and most accurate way to tune your guitar properly is to use an electronic guitar tuner that reads your tone, usually provides a visual gauge of how on or off of pitch you are, and tells you which direction you need to tune. It does everything but turn the pegs for you. To get started, get a cheap one in your price range, or research free online options.

Tune up, don't tune down, whenever possible. It's important on all acoustic stringed instruments, especially acoustic guitars, to tune from flat to sharp, rather than tuning from sharp to flat. You're more likely to slip out of tune if the tension on the string is going down as it will when you tune sharp-to-flat , so it's better to create the correct directional tension on the string by tuning up, instead of tuning down.

Even if the string is sharp which it usually won't be , tune it down lower than it should be first and then tune it up to the correct pitch. Use fresh strings. Old worn-out strings won't stay in tune as easily. If you're having to constantly re-tune, or your strings are getting a little raggedy, consider changing the strings of your guitar to fresher strings that'll stay in tune while you play. The guitar will sound better and will be a lot more fun to practice on if you've got fresh strings on it.

Let the wood settle. Get the strings in the neighborhood and then fine-tune more accurately, especially if you're putting on new strings. The strings put a lot of tension hundreds of pounds of pressure on the frame of the guitar, and acoustic guitars are very susceptible to a bit of shifting and settling, especially older bodies and different varieties of wood.

Don't get frustrated if you tune the guitar perfectly and it slips out a few minutes later. This is normal. Tug on the strings some as you tune to get the extra slack out and let it sit a few minutes, then check it again. Use your eyes and your ears. While it's important to tune accurately and give the electric tuner its due credit, it's also important to learn to really hear the strings and learn to distinguish when something's a little off.

Experienced guitar players don't have to have perfect pitch or consult their tuner to know when something's a little off. Listen to the notes as you tune and you'll be able to tune more accurately. Method 3. Tune the guitar to a piano.