How to Tune a Guitar in Standard Tuning

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

Guitar tuners range any where from $10 to $100. A basic chromatic tuner will run you about $20 and will tune both acoustic and electric guitars.
Step 2

Turn your tuner on. It should be ready to go out of the box. You can use this to tune the Low E. You could also do this with a piano or a pitch fork, but electronic tuners are the easiest way to do this. Turners are also good to have when you are just starting out and may not know what all the notes sound like.
Step 3

If your guitar is electric, plug your cord into the jack at the back of your tuner. If your guitar is acoustic, just set your tuner on the ground next your guitar and it should work just fine.

Step 1

Find the low E. The low E is the sixth string and lowest or deepest-sounding string. Many people often confuse the location of the low E with the high E, which is the first string at the bottom of guitar. The sixth string is the FIRST string you see when you look down at the top of the guitar.
Step 2

Set up your tuner and pluck the low E. The tuner will give tell you what note your are in. You may not be in tune, but don't worry that is what the tuner is there to help you with.
Step 3

To tune your guitar, know that the notes go in alphabetical order from A to E and then start over.
For example, if the tuner reads A you'll want to loosen your string down a step until you reach the next note, which will be E. If your tuner reads D then you'll want to tighten your string up a step to E.

Step 1

Now that you have the low E in tune, you no longer need the tuner. To have have the most accurate tuning, you will want to tune your guitar by harmonics to itself.
Step 2

Start with the A string (this the string after the Low E). Place your finger on the fifth fret of the Low E and pluck the A and low E at the same time. Adjust the A string until the two sound the same.
Step 3

If you listen carefully, you will hear a ringing when they are in tune with each other. If you need to double check this, pull out your tuner, this isn't easy the first time around. It can take a couple tries before you develop and ear for tuning.

Step 1

Go to the fifth fret of the A string.
Step 2

Play the fretted A string at the same time as the D string. Adjust the D string accordingly until the two sound the same and you hear the harmonic ringing.
Step 3

When they sound the same and you hear a harmonic ringing, you're in tune. Feel free to double check with the turner if you need to and listen for the harmonic for when you're in tune. You may notice where you hear the ring and where the tuner says you're in tune is slightly different, this why tuning the guitar to itself is more accurate.

Step 1

Go to the fifth fret of the D string.
Step 2

Play the fretted D string at the same time as the G string. Adjust the G string accordingly until they sound the same and you hear the harmonic ringing.
Step 3

If you followed Step 2 correctly, then your G string will be in tune.

Step 1

Go to the fourth fret of the G string.
Step 2

Play the fretted G string at the same time as the B string. Adjust the B string accordingly until they sound the same and you hear the harmonic ringing.
Step 3

Now your guitar should be in tune.

Step 1

Go back to the 12th fret of the Low E
Step 2

Pluck the fretted Low E and Open High E at the same time until you hear the harmonics and they sound the same.
Step 3

Your High E will be in tune. Give you guitar a strum, you're done.