3 ways to tune your guitar and enhance your pitch sense

If you play guitar, you understand how necessary it is to have a good sense of pitch so you can keep the instrument in tune. Few situations are worse than playing a chord and finding there's two strings so flat they seem like they have been hit with a steamroller.

Learning to keep the guitar in tune may help you develop that sense of pitch, while you come to recognize what precisely a well-tuned guitar sounds like. To be honest, anyone can twist their tuning peg until the light turns green instead of red, however when you can say your strings are properly pitched without mechanical aid you're starting to get somewhere.

Here are three alternative methods to tune a guitar with no electronic tuner.

1. Matching pitches with another instrument (simplest)

The least complicated way to tune for inexperienced guitar players is to simply get the string pitches from another instrumentalist.

Don't forget, if you're playing with an instrumentalist who's got to transpose you will have to request concert pitches. So someone who's playing an E-flat saxophone must play their A to sound your C. For the strings of your guitar, he'd need to play C#, F#, B, E, G#, and another C#.

With each new note the other instrumentalist gives you, you can just turn the peg until the open string matches the pitch.

2. Fretting the notes for the next string (intermediate)

This might be the most well-known method. Just fret the lower string for the note for the open higher string. This means if you're tuning the G string you'll want to play the D string on fret 5, and pluck both strings. Then tune the G string to match.

Keep in mind, you have to remember that how hard you press the strings affects the pitch. So if you push down on the E string until your knuckles turn white, you'll likely make your A string sharp. Try to be relaxed and touch the strings as lightly as you're able while still getting a clear tone. You'll want to be sure your low E string is in tune before you start.

Then you will tune each string at the pitch of the lower string. Each string is tuned to the fifth fret except the B string, which is tuned to the G string at the 4th fret. After you're done, play some chords to ensure the entire instrument is in tune with itself.

3. Tuning with harmonics (advanced)

If you want to tune in this way, you should know how to play a natural harmonic. To make this happen, just barely touch a string on the 12th, 7th, or 5th fret. If you do not press too hard, you'll hear a natural harmonic if you pluck the string. For the 12th fret you'll hear an octave above the open string, and an octave plus a fifth or two octaves at the 7th and 5th, respectively.

You can tune this way because the 5th fret harmonic of the lower string matches the pitch of the 7th fret harmonic of the higher string. So if you play a 7th fret harmonic on the A string, it should match the 5th fret harmonic on the low E.

This can be done with every string except the B. For the B string, play the 7th fret harmonic on the low E string, to match the open B when both of them are in tune. Just tune the B string to match the harmonic pitch. Next, tune the high E to the B string with harmonics similar to the rest.

Learning how to tune your guitar is a great way to become familiar with and discover ways to match pitches, which assists greatly when it comes to playing with other musicians or making your own adjustments on the fly. Each of the three methods possesses his own advantages, and each will allow you to develop your abilities in another way.

Jason Barr is a writer, musician, and web designer/developer from South Bend, Indiana.

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