Coldplay - Color Stripe T-Shirt

Coldplay t-shirt with pictures of band members in a color stripe on the front.

Regardless of whether you are playing a gig or practising, you should always make sure you tune your acoustic guitar before playing it. There is nothing worse than a guitar that is out of tune and for a beginner this can be very frustrating so it is very important understand the importance of acoustic guitar tuning. The few moments it takes tune the guitar can really make a difference so it is very worthwhile to do.

If you use an electronic tuner you will get the best results if you are a beginner. It has a build in mic which picks up the sound with an indicator using a flashing light or meter telling you how close you are to the right pitch or whether a sound is too flat or too sharp. All you then do is adjust your acoustic guitar tuning accordingly by turning the string's tuning key.

You always tune your guitar from looser to tighter until it is in tune. This is also known as tuning up. Should you be too tight play the string a bit first before unwinding it or tuning down. It works much better if you loosen it by playing it a bit before tightening it again as it will give you much more accurate results and helps the string hold its tuning for longer.

Even if you are capable to do acoustic guitar tuning by ear you should always have a reference pitch at hand. If you have another second hand guitar, piano or tuning fork this could do an ok job, but an electronic tuner will give you more accurate results. Also if you are practising to learn to tune by ear, checking up on the electronic tuner to compare helps you train your ear better.

When you start to tune your guitar, start off tuning the thickest string (the sixth one) to low E. As soon as this string sounds right you can start tuning the other strings using that note as a reference point. This technique works and with good reason although it would take too long to explain why. Suffice to say that acoustic guitar tuning is just like knowing how to drive. You don't need to know all the mechanical aspects of how a car drives to be able to drive it. In the same way you don't need to know anything about music theory to be able to tune your guitar.

Here is a short summary how how to do your acoustic guitar tuning:

1. Strum (in tune) the sixth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open fifth string to that exact note.
2. Strum the fifth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open fourth string to the same note.
3. Tune the fourth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open third to the same note.
4. Follow closely; this is different than the above. Play the third string on the fourth fret and tune the open second string to this note.
5. Play the second string on the fifth fret and tune your open first string to this note.

If you have just started out with acoustic guitar tuning, you might be better off to ask an expert from say the store where you bought your guitar to show how to tune the right way. Then practice, practice and then practice some more, as this is the only way to learn acoustic guitar tuning especially if you want to master how to do it by ear.

For novices it is best to start off using an electronic tuner when starting off doing acoustic guitar tuning. At around $20 they are moderately cheap to buy and well worth it as they are made specifically for this purpose and can identify what strings are being played making life much easier for beginners.

Ivan Calderwell writes on how to learn acoustic guitar tuning as well as everything there is to know on how to learn to play acoustic guitar. For more news, products and resources on this beautiful and melodic instrument, be sure to follow this link: acoustic guitar shops.

latin music com