Video:How to Tune a Guitar By Ear

Transcript:How to Tune a Guitar By Ear

Hi, my name is Christopher Pennington, and today I'm going to show you how to tune a guitar by ear. Now, before we get started, let's quickly review the names of each string.

Tune Guitar Strings

The first string is an E. The 2nd string is a B. The 3rd string is a G. The 4th is a D. The 5th is an A. And the 6th string is an E. Now let's start on the lowest string and work our way up. Put your finger on the 5th fret of the low E string. That gives us an A note which should match the note of the 5th string. If it doesn't, then you can adjust the pitch of the 5th string to match by turning the tuning peg.

Tighten or Loosen Tuning Pegs

If the open A string sounds too low, or too flat, then slowly, bit by bit turn the A string's tuning peg until it matches the fretted note we're playing on the E string. Now let's tune the D string. Fret the A string on the 5th fret to give us a D note, and see if it matches the open D string. Again, adjust the D string's tuning peg until it matches the D we're playing on the A string. In this case, it sounds sharp, or too high. So what I'll do is lower the pitch of the D string until the notes match. Good, now let's tune the G string. Fret the D string on the 5th fret, and adjust.

Now, to tune the B string, we fret the G string in the 4th fret. This is the only exception to the rule. All the other strings are tuned from the 5th fret of the preceding string. And then finally, fret the 5th fret of the B string, which gives us an E note, and we'll tune the 1st string to that.

And now, the guitar is in tune.You've just tuned your guitar by ear.Thanks for watching. For more musical tips like this, please joinus on the web at about.com.