Acoustic Guitar Tuning - How Often Should It Be Done
Allison Thompson
If you really want your acoustic guitar to sound good all the time then you should be tuning it every time you play it. There really is not any funny about playing a great piece of music out of tune. Although in the beginning, you may become somewhat frustrated when it comes to tuning your guitar you will soon realize the importance of ensuring that yours has been correctly tuned. So it really is worth your time and effort when it comes to acoustic guitar tuning before you beginning playing it.
But it is also important to note that it will take a lot of practice on your part to learn how to tune an acoustic guitar just by listening. But many people prefer the easier way of tuning theirs by using an electronic tuner instead. You can get a good one for around $20 and this is a wise investment to make if you are going to spending a lot of time playing yours. The big advantage to be had from using an electronic tuner is that not only tells you when the note is right but also which string it is you are actually playing.
To use one of these tuners you sit down and place it close to your guitar, either on a stool or table close by. Then once the machine is set up and you have your guitar on your lap you turn the machine on and pluck the sixth string on your guitar in order to give you your reference pitch (low E). The tuner picks up the pitch of each note through the microphone on it and there is an indicator on the front, which shows you when the string is at the right pitch. These machines are also able to show if the pitch of the note is too sharp or too flat and in order to tune the string to the right pitch you then just start to turn the tuning key at the head of the neck of the guitar. After each turn of the key you should pluck the key and see what reading the tuner is giving.
You should also remember to tune up. This means you go from loose to tight until the string is once again in tune. If you tighten the string too much do not attempt to loosen it slightly in order to make sure that you get the right note. Rather than tuning down (just loosen the string slightly) you should loosen it quite a bit and then start again to retighten it in order to get it in tune. Tuning up is the more accurate way of getting the string in tune and for it to keep the tune.
However, if you would like to learn how to tune an acoustic guitar with the aide of an electronic tuner then you will need another source, which you can use as reference to getting the right pitch for the first string. Ideally, it is best to use another guitar, piano or tuning fork to do this. But a good quality MP3 can be used as long as you know that it is in tune.
If, however, you are going to be tuning your guitar by ear (listening) then it is best to start off by tuning the sixth string that produces a Low E note and this you use as your reference pitch. After you have made sure that your sixth string is properly tuned you can now move on to tuning the rest of them on the guitar by carry out the following steps.
1. Pluck the sixth string that is now in tune and where you finger has been placed on the fifth fret. The note that this produces is the note that you want to hear as you begin to tune the open fifth string. So slowly begin to tighten the tuning key on the top until the sound of the open fifth sounds the same as that of the sixth when your finger is on it above the fifth fret. 2. Now to tune the open fourth string you need to place you finger on the fifth string above the fifth fret and again pluck this to hear the sound it makes. Again as you did in step one you tighten the tuning key until the note of the open fourth sounds the same as the fifth string with your finger on the fifth fret. 3. Next you will do the same steps with the open third string to get it in tune with the fourth string and then do the same with the open second string against the third string. But this time you move you move your finger down from the fifth fret down to the fourth fret when playing the third string to tune the second one. 4. Finally when it comes to tuning the open first string on your guitar you need to place your finger on the second string above the third fret and this will give you the right pitch in order to tune the open first string. Once all these stages have been completed you will hopefully correctly tuned your guitar.
However by using an electronic tuner when it comes to acoustic guitar tuning will ensure that you get accurate results every time you do it. But if you prefer to do it in the old fashioned way by ear, then you can then use the electronic tuner as a way of checking to see if you have got the right results.
Above we have shown you the steps you will need to take in order to tune your acoustic guitar and the kind of equipment that you can use when it comes to tuning. To learn more about acoustic guitars and playing them please click here
http://acousticguitarinformation.com/ Acoustic Guitar Information.
