{"id":1728841,"date":"2017-04-10T14:21:32","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T14:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=1728841"},"modified":"2022-03-08T15:14:10","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T15:14:10","slug":"guitar-setup-how-to-tune-your-guitar","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/guitar-setup-how-to-tune-your-guitar\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Tune a Guitar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 id=\"How-to-tune-an-electric-guitar\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">How to tune an electric guitar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll show you how to tune an electric guitar to the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/insync\/standard-tuning\/\" target=\"_blank\">standard electric guitar tuning<\/a>. This method will also apply to acoustic guitars. It\u2019s very easy to learn how to tune an electric guitar, so follow the sections below to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><a href=\"#Tune-an-electric-guitar-with-a-tuner\"><strong>Tune an electric guitar with a tuner<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#Tune-an-electric-guitar-by-ear\">Tune an electric guitar by ear<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f3f2f1;color:#000000\"><strong>TIP: <\/strong>These tuning methods also apply to acoustic guitars and bass guitars, as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Tune-an-electric-guitar-with-a-tuner\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Tune an electric guitar with a tuner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If this is the first time you\u2019re learning how to tune your electric guitar, using a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/store\/search.php?s=guitar+tuner\" target=\"_blank\">guitar tuner<\/a> will help you quickly tune your electric guitar and get on to making music. Most tuners are automatic and immediately detect which note you are playing. Although there are many styles of guitar tuners to choose from, clip on tuners are great tools to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most common electric guitar tuning is called <strong>standard guitar tuning<\/strong>. The standard tuning going from the lowest string to highest string is E-A-D-G-B-E. Refer to the chart below to ensure you\u2019re tuning each string to the correct pitch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Play the low<strong> E<\/strong> string <em>(thickest string on your electric guitar, known as the 6th string)<\/em> and adjust the tuning machine until the tuner reads a perfect <strong>E<\/strong>.&nbsp;<ul><li>The note is \u201cin tune\u201d when the \u201cneedle\u201d hovers in the middle of the tuner window.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Next, play the <strong>A<\/strong> string <em>(5th string) <\/em>until the tuner reads <strong>A<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Repeat this method for the rest of your strings to its respective pitch.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Tune-an-electric-guitar-by-ear\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Tune an electric guitar by ear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If this is your first electric guitar and you don\u2019t happen to have a guitar tuner on hand, you can still tune it by ear. While it may seem intimidating, tuning an electric guitar by ear is pretty simple. The only thing you\u2019ll need is a reference pitch, which can be found by using a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/store\/search.php?s=tuning+fork\" target=\"_blank\">tuning fork<\/a>, using a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/shop\/keyboards-synthesizers\/\" target=\"_blank\">keyboard<\/a>, or finding a reference pitch sound online. The most common reference note is called <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/insync\/a440\/\" target=\"_blank\">A440<\/a>. On your electric guitar, it\u2019s the second thickest string (5th string). You may find it easier using <strong>E <\/strong>as the reference note, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f3f2f1;color:#000000\"><strong>Guitar tuning tip<\/strong>: Start slightly flat and tune up to the note to minimize the chances of&nbsp; your tuner gears slipping while playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Play the reference pitch and use the tuning machine to match the pitch.<\/li><li>Hold your finger on <strong>5th <\/strong>fret the low <strong>E <\/strong>string, play that, then play the <strong>A <\/strong>string. Use the tuning machine on the low <strong>E <\/strong>string and adjust it so it\u2019s in tune with the <strong>A <\/strong>string.<\/li><li>Repeat this method for the rest of your strings to its respective pitch.<ul><li><strong>Hold your finger on the <\/strong><strong><em>4th <\/em><\/strong><strong>fret on the G string to tune with the B string.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s it! Now that the electric guitar has been tuned, be sure to re-tune as strings will stretch and settle during the tuning process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"870\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2017\/04\/Guitar-Tuning.png\" alt=\"Guitar Tuning\" class=\"wp-image-1746194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2017\/04\/Guitar-Tuning.png 870w, https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2017\/04\/Guitar-Tuning-300x121.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2017\/04\/Guitar-Tuning-768x309.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1746193,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[117191,56884,81248,117553,81250,58294,115967,56882],"storecat":[142860,143072,142872,142865],"itemids":[],"manufacturers":[202712],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this article, we&#039;ll show you how quick and easy it is to tune a guitar. 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