In a hurry?

Here are our top four methods for tuning your guitar:

Tune your guitar with a tuner

• Cheap and easy, tuners come in a few different forms that all help you stay in pitch.
• Great for acoustics, clip-on tuners sit on your headstock and provide easy visual reference to the pitch of each string
• Pedal tuners make performing a breeze – when activated they provide a precise pitch reading while also muting your guitar’s signal

Tune your guitar with other instruments

• If you lack a tuner, you can easily get into the correct pitch with other instruments at hand
• Simply play an E note on another instrument, tune your 6th string (the thickest) one to this, and go from there
• Digital keyboards work best for this as they’ll always be in pitch!

Tune your guitar using its strings

• Great method for quickly retuning a string that’s slipped out of tune
• The 5th fret of the string above will produce the correct pitch for the string below, so you can adjust tuning until they match
• Except for the 2nd and 3rd strings, where the 4th fret of the 3rd string will give the correct B pitch for the 2nd string

Tune your guitar using a smartphone

• If you don’t have anything else to hand, there’s usually a smartphone nearby to get your guitar tuned up
• Free apps like Fender Tune can give you reference pitch or auto-tune by reading out your current pitch when you pluck a string
• These are great for home practice or rehearsal, but less useful for live settings where there’s a lot of background noise

How to tune your guitar

Let’s go into a bit more detail for each method!

1. Tune your guitar with a tuner

Whether you’re using a clip-on tuner or a pedal tuner, the process is most the same, but we’ll go over both separately.

Clip-on tuners

1. Attach the tuner to the headstock of your guitar and swivel the display until it faces you at the correct angle so that it’s easily readable
2. Pluck the first string and wait for the tuner to display your current pitch
3. If it’s lower than your target pitch, turn a tuning machine clockwise to tighten the string and increase the pitch, and the reverse if it’s higher than your target
4. You’ll have to continue plucking the string at steady intervals, as the pitch will naturally decay as the string stops vibrating
5. Don’t pluck the strings too hard – this can affect the accuracy of your tuner

Pedal tuners

1. These usually sit in the effects chain of your guitar setup and are activated by a switch or foot pedal
2. If you have more than one effect pedal, tuning pedals should be placed at the front of the chain (the first pedal your guitar plugs into) to allow them the cleanest signal reading
3. Simply tap the footswitch to turn the pedal “on” – this activates the tuner and silences your guitar signal, meaning you can tune up in peace!
4. As with clip-on tuners, the pedal will show your current pitch and help guide you to your target pitch
5. Turn the tuning pegs as necessary to achieve your desired tuning
6. Remember to tap the tuner “off” (otherwise known as bypass mode) so you can hear your guitar again!

These methods are the most reliable when performing live as they don’t rely on you tuning by ear, just simply checking a screen for the correct pitch.

Clip-on tuners work by detecting the frequency of the vibrations running through your guitar, and footswitch/integrated tuners rely on the signal sent through your guitar’s instrument cable. Thus, both can be used when there’s lots of background noise that would detract from other tuning methods.

2. Tune your guitar with other instruments

This method is great for when you don’t have access to a tuner. It’s also helpful if you’re tuning to a pitched instrument, such as an organ or piano.

1. Find another instrument tuned in standard E tuning and play the E note on it – we’ll use this as our reference pitch
2. It could be another guitar or bass in your band if there’s no fixed-pitch instrument available, you’ll have to trust your friends are in tune!
3. Play the E note on the other instrument, then adjust the tuning of your sixth string (the thickest) until it matches
4. You can repeat this process for the A, D, G, B, and high E strings if you’re not confident tuning them by ear

At a band practice and notice your guitar doesn’t sound quite right? It’s common for strings to slip out of tune when your guitar’s been in a case for a while or if you’ve been hammering out your song set enthusiastically.

Often in these situations, it’s far quicker to just get tuned up using another instrument, without wasting time setting up your tuner or doing it by your own ear. As we’ve stated here, fixed-pitch instruments like digital pianos and organs work best, as they’re always going to be accurate and can be held down for a continuous drone.

Of course, you can do this for home practice too, but usually, it’s better to use a more accurate tuner or smartphone when you’ve got time to tune at your own pace.

3. Tune your guitar using its strings

This method uses the interval relationship between each string, so it’s great for quickly retuning a note that has slipped out of tune.

1. Start by tuning your 6th string (the thickest) to an E note using another instrument or a tuner. This is essential as this will be our reference point for the rest of the strings
2. Play the 5th fret of the 6th string – this will produce an “A” note, which you can then use as a reference for the 5th string
3. Continue going down the 5th frets until you reach the 3rd string, where you’ll use the 4th fret instead of the 5th one due to the natural difference in pitch between the 3rd and 2nd strings. For the 2nd and 1st strings, go back to using the 5th fret
4. This method is ideal for quickly recovering a single or couple of strings that have slipped out of tune

The 5th-fret-tuning dance is a motion that will become second nature to you as a guitar player. Not only is it a useful method for checking tuning before you start slaying monster riffs, but it’s also great for quickly correcting an errantly pitched string when playing.

It’s important to note that this method of tuning shouldn’t replace the others, because it only guarantees that your strings will be in tune with each other. If you didn’t have a reference pitch for “E” on hand, you might find that your whole guitar is slightly out if you don’t possess the gift of perfect pitch hearing!

4. Tune your guitar using a smartphone

Smartphone tuners are great for home practice, rehearsals, and recording sessions. Using your device’s microphone, these apps will listen out to the vibrations of your strings as you play and tell you whether or not you’re in tune.

1. Download one of the many free tuning apps available – Fender Tuner is a good starting point
2. These apps will give you the option of auto-tune or reference notes for you to tune by ear with
3. For reference, simply tap the note you’d like to hear, your phone will play the note and you can tune your string to match
4. For auto-tune, play a steady note and your phone will display the current pitch, just like a clip-on or pedal tuner

Smartphone tuner apps are super handy tools that can get you in pitch in a pinch. Nowadays, almost everyone has a smartphone near at hand, and if you’re lacking other instruments or tuners, these apps are great for getting in tune.

Some premium apps will give you more detail about microtones and semitones, which may be more useful to professional players, however, for most casual players free apps will do just fine.

As they rely on your device’s microphone, they aren’t great in places with a lot of background noise, but for solo practice or band rehearsals they can really help speed up the tuning process.

Tuners to get you started!

There’s a huge range of tuners out there, so we’ve got a few suggestions to make things easy for you.

For the versatile player that needs accurate guitar and bass readings, Fender’s clip-on works smoothly for both. If you need an easily adjustable clip-on tuner, D’addario’s Eclipse offers great value and is super easy to set up for viewing.

For any guitarist/violinist out there, Snark’s SN5X provides super accurate and fast readings, great when speed is a priority for live shows.

On the pedal side of things, SubZero’s Ultrawide is a superb value option for all styles of guitar. If you’re in need of faster and more precise tuners for stage and studio use, TC Electronics’s Polytune 3 offers super-fast read times and can also tune every string at once!

Korg’s Pitchblack X chromatic tuner is one of the leading pedals for accuracy and is great for long pedal chains thanks to its “ultra-buffer” mode. And finally, Boss’s TU-3 is loved by professionals thanks to its abundant features, easily readable screen and super fast readings.

Outside of standard E

We’ve talked about the most common tuning so far, but there’s a world of other variations for you to discover. Drop D is a favourite among rock songs as it can give you a thick and muddy sound, perfect for chunky chords. It’s also easy to get into, as you only need to take the 6th string down by one whole step (a whole note down).

To easily reach another tuning, you’ll need to use a chromatic tuner, either clip-on or foot pedal. These make it far easier to get each string correct, as your ear is unlikely to be trained for a tuning you’ve not practised with.

FAQs

What is the proper tuning for a guitar?

The proper tuning for a guitar is known as “Standard E” tuning. This is by far the most common tuning you’ll encounter and is used on the majority of popular music.

Which guitar tuning is best for beginners?

The best tuning for beginners is “Standard E” tuning. A lot of beginner music theory and guitar techniques rely on this tuning. In addition, many songs use this tuning which will make it easier to learn your favourite tracks.

How do I know if my guitar needs tuning?

You will know if your guitar needs tuning when one or more strings produce a dissonant or discordant sound. That is when the strings aren’t in harmony, and it’s immediately noticeable as the harsh out-of-tune notes stick out like a sore thumb.

Final thoughts

Follow these steps and you’ll always be in tune and ready to rock! And now you’re prepped for any guitar situation, why not check out our 27 easy songs guide to up your repertoire of songs?

Need some advice for guitars, we’ve got that covered too! Our guides for beginner acoustic, electric, and classical guitars can give you inspiration for any style of music.

Happy tuning and happy rocking!