If you play guitar, you know how important it is to have a good sense of pitch so you can keep your instrument in tune. Few things are worse than strumming a chord and finding there are two strings so flat they sound like they've been hit by a steamroller.
Learning to keep your guitar in tune can help you develop that sense of pitch, as you come to recognize what exactly a well-tuned guitar sounds like. Let's face it, anyone can turn their tuning peg until the tuner light turns green instead of red, but when you can tell your strings are properly pitched without mechanical aid you're starting to get somewhere.
Here are three different ways to tune a guitar without an electronic tuner.
1. Matching pitches with another instrument (simplest)
The best method of tuning for a beginner is simply to get the pitches from someone playing another instrument.
If you're playing with woodwind or brass players, make sure to request your notes in concert pitch. For example, someone playing a B-flat trumpet will need to play her D to produce a concert C. That means to match all six strings of a guitar in standard tuning you'll need her to play F#, B, E, A, C#, and another F#.
As the other player gives you the notes, simply tune each string until the pitches match.
2. Fretting the notes for the next string (intermediate)
This is the most common method for tuning. Simply play the note on a lower string that matches the pitch of the next higher one. For example, to tune the A string, you would fret an A on the low E string (the 5th fret). Then you turn the tuning peg for the A string until the pitch matches exactly.
Of course, you have to remember that how hard you press the strings will affect the pitch. So if you push down on the E string until your knuckles turn white, you will likely make your A string sharp. Always be relaxed and touch the strings as lightly as you can while still getting a clear tone. You'll need to make sure your low E string is in tune before you begin.
Every string will be tuned to the pitch of the next lower string when played on the 5th fret except the B string. To tune the B string, play the G string while holding it down at the 4th fret. Once you're finished tuning all the strings, play a couple of chords to make sure the whole instrument is in tune.
3. Tuning with harmonics (advanced)
This method requires that you understand how to play natural harmonics. If you lightly touch a string on the 12th, 7th, or 5th fret, then pluck it, you'll hear a natural harmonic if you don't dampen the string too much. On the 12th fret you'll hear a tone an octave above the open string. The 7th will be an octave plus a fifth, and the 7th two octaves.
The low E string played with a natural harmonic two octaves above the open string pitch (or fundamental) will produce the same pitch as the A string played with a natural harmonic an octave and a fifth above the fundamental - an E, equal to the pitch of the open high E string.
You can continue up the strings, tuning the A, D, and G strings this way. As usual, B is the odd string out. To tune the B string, play the low E string with a harmonic on the 7th fret and pluck the B string open. Adjust the B string to match the pitch of the harmonic. Then you can tune the high E to the B in harmonics.
Learning to tune your guitar is a great way to become familiar with and learning to match pitches, which will help greatly when it comes to playing with other musicians or making your own adjustments on the fly. Each of the three methods has its own advantages, and each will help you hone your skills in a different way.
Jason Barr is a writer, musician, and web designer/developer from South Bend, Indiana.
For more about guitars and the best acoustic guitar strings, check out Guitar Strings and Reviews.
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