How to Tune a Laptop Steel Guitar

Laptop steel guitars, which are also called dobros, are instruments that are members of the string family. These guitars are commonly used to play genres such as gospel, blues and Hawaiian music. Standard acoustic and electric guitars are usually tuned to E, B, G, D, A and E, but laptop steel guitars are often tuned to various open tunings. "Open" means that the guitarist can strike all the strings at the same time (without pressing any notes) to make a chord.

Things You'll Need

• Laptop steel guitar
• Electronic tuner

Instructions

1. Pluck the first string. This would be the string that is farthest from your body while the guitar is positioned on your lap. It also is the thinnest and highest pitched string.

2. Watch the electronic tuner to see what pitch registers as you pluck the string. The pitch for this string is supposed to be high D.

3. Turn the tuning peg clockwise if the string's pitch is too low and counter-clockwise if it is too high.

4. Continue to pluck the string as you turn the tuning peg until the string reaches high D, as evidenced by the tuner.

5. Use the same procedure for the other five strings. The other pitches (from high to low) for open G tuning are: B, G, D, B and G.

6. Experiment with other tunings as you play. The traditional Hawaiian tuning, for instance, is E, C#, A, E, A and E.

References

• Brad's Page of Steel: Common Tunings For Lap Steel Guitar