How to Tune Acoustic Guitars

As with any instrument, an acoustic guitar will go out of tune as you play. The guitar will also go out of tune simply because of the continued stress felt by the strings. Keeping an acoustic guitar in tune is something that must be done by individuals learning guitar chords as well as people who play in a band. Fortunately, tuning an acoustic guitar is a very simple process. Once you get the hang of it, you can get your acoustic guitar in tune in less than a minute.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guitar tuner
• Pick

1. Turn on the acoustic guitar tuner on.

2. Pick the low E string (the thickest string/string with the lowest sound) and pay attention to the screen of the guitar tuner. Most tuners will have red and green lights as well. When the string is in tune, the green light will turn on.

3. Spin the tuning peg for the E string while strumming the E string until you get the string in tune. Once you do, turn off the guitar tuner.

4. Place your index finger on the bottom E string at the fifth fret and pick that string. The note that plays is an A note.

5. Play the A string while spinning the tuning peg for the A string until the sound you hear matches the sound made in step 4. Once those two sounds match, your bottom E string and A string are in tune.

6. Place your index finger on the A string at the fifth fret and pick that string. The sound you hear will be what the D string should sound like.

7. Tune the D string until the string matches the sound made in the previous step. Once those sounds match, your first three strings are tuned.

8. Repeat this same process for the G string, this time placing your index finger on the D string at the fifth fret.

9. Place your index finger on the tuned G string at the fourth fret and pick the string. This is the sound of a B note. (This is the only time you won't use the fifth fret to tune a string.)

10. Turn the peg for the B string while picking the string until the string makes the exact same sound you heard in the previous step.

11. Put your index finger on the B string and pick that string. This is the sound your high A (the thinnest string) should make.

12. Turn the peg for the A string while picking the string until it sounds the same as what you heard in the last step. When this happens, all six of your strings are properly tuned.

Tips & Warnings

• Only use the guitar tuner for the low E string. Otherwise, the strings of your guitar may not be in tune with one another.

Resources

• ehow Article: How to Use a Guitar Tuner