How to Tune a 12 Twelve String Guitar for Beginners

A 12 string guitar has the same amount of notes as a six string guitar. The difference between the two guitars is that each string on the six string guitar is doubled making a 12 string guitar. The additional string for each note is an octave higher than the original string. Tuning the strings in this way gives the guitar a unique sound but also makes it a little more difficult to tune. Use the following steps to tune a 12 string guitar.

Things You'll Need

• chromatic tuner
• guitar cable

Instructions

1. If your guitar has a pickup on it then plug the guitar cable in to your pickup and then into the tuner. If your guitar does not have a pickup then go into a quiet area and place the tuner as close to the guitar as possible.

2. Now hold the guitar as if you were going to play it, right handed style, and tune the high E strings which are located the closest to your lap at the bottom of the neck. The two strings will be tuned to the same note which is an E but in different octaves. Looking at the two E strings one will be thicker than the other. The thicker string will be tuned to a lower octave than the thinner string. Pluck the thick string by itself and turn the tuning knob keeping an eye on the tuner until your tuner displays the E note. The same E note as a regular guitar.

3. Now pluck the second E string, the high E and turn its tuning knob until it reaches the E note one octave higher than the E string that you tuned in the last step.

4. Now go back to the thick E string and check its tuning again. Sometimes when tuning and especially with new guitar strings, after you tune the second string the first string will go out of tune slightly and will need to be readjusted.

5. Tune the rest of the strings using the same steps as the previous four steps. Just be sure that you know which notes each string should be.

6. Once you have tuned all of the strings from the bottom of the neck all the way up, go back to the beginning and check all of the strings again. When tightening strings it puts tension on the neck so by the time you tune all of the strings some of the strings may have gone out of tune and need to be adjusted.

Tips & Warnings

• Memorize the notes of each open string on the guitar. From the highest to the lowest open string they are: E, B, G, D, A, and E again.

• Don't pluck the strings too hard as this will cause them to buzz and you wont get a clear sounding note.