Tuning Your Guitar to Itself

Tuning your guitar to itself with this method is one of the most important pieces of knowledge that you can gain when you learn how to play guitar. When tuning your guitar to itself you tune each string to another string on the guitar that is assumed to already be in the tune that you want it in. This means that you can tune a guitar without having to use a tuner. The only problem with this can be that your guitar might not end up in exact concert pitch. Since you start with the top string they may end up tuned relative to whatever the top string happens to beat the time of tuning. If the top string is out of tune then the rest of the guitar may sound alright when you are playing by yourself because it is all tuned relatively to the top string. However, if playing with a band or a recording it may not sound right because the top string was never exactly tuned to an E.

The first step when using this method is to get your fifth string in tune with your sixth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the sixth string. The note being held down is the pitch that string five should be tuned to.Keep your finger in this position and play the sixth string. While letting that string ring play the fifth string. If it sounds exactly like the note on the sixth string, it is in tune. Otherwise you need to tune it. If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the sixth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the sixth string. If it is lower you need to tighten the string and bring the pitch back up to the fifth fret note on the sixth string. It may take you a while to match pitches exactly but the more practice you get at this the faster you will be able to do it.

The rest of the tuning is done exactly the same way. You match the tuning of the next string with fret five of the string above it. The only exception is when tuning the B string or second string you will match it to the fourth fret of the string above it which is the third string instead of the fifth fret. This is shown in the figure below. All of the rest of the strings use the fifth fret to tune to.

Alright! Once you have gone through all of the strings on the guitar in this way then you have successfully tuned your guitar to itself. If the guitar sounds a little out of tune still then you should go back and try to tune it again. It takes a little while to get this method of tuning down. However, it is an important tool to learn and use so stick to it and you will get it down eventually.