How to Tune a Guitar Without an Electric Tuner

Sometimes you’re strumming your guitar or practicing and you can just tell things aren’t in tune. You don’t have an electric tuner handy, or you really don’t want to stop playing to go find your tuner. There must be a method to check the tuning on your guitar without a tuner?? Isn’t there?

There sure is, this beginner lesson I’m going to teach you how you can check the tuning on each string of your guitar without using a tuner, just using the other strings as a guide.

In order to know this concept there are only two things you need to know.

1.)The open note of each string is the same as the 5th fret on the string above it with one exception.
2.)The exception to the rule occurs on the B string where it’s the 4th fret of the G string makes the same note

With these two rules in mind we can do a quick example.

EXAMPLE: Let’s say the A string seems a bit out of tune on your guitar. You want to check it, so play the 5th fret on the Low E string (the string above the A) and then play the open A string. Do they sound the same? If so then the A string is probably ok, if there is a variation try adjusting the A string with the tuning peg either up or down.

It takes some time to hear the slight differences in pitch when practicing this technique and sometimes you can make a mistake thinking the note was privileged when it was really lower. With some practice this will become second scenery and you’ll be tuning your guitar in no time flat.

I suggest each time you pick up your guitar to play or practice you first go through this exercise to check if the strings are in tune. You’ll be doing this in less then a minute before you know it.

To strengthen your understanding of this lesson watch the small video below. It clarifies why the 5th fret works to tune each string and walks through a complete tuning example of all 6 strings.

To gather more beginner guitar tips and techniques why not consider trying some more in depth guitar lessons for beginners. You can easily use dvd or online video lessons to study from the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the cost of confidential lessons and on your own time.

Learning Guitar Notes on the top Three Strings of the Guitar

Knowing the notes on each string is a very important first task to learn when learning to play the guitar. Notes are the foundation of chords, scales, lead guitar and more or less everything else you’ll learn on your journey.

Unfortunately, it’s not the most exciting thing, but I can share with you a pattern of how to find out any note on the guitar neck.

At first you’ll have to count frets and maybe work backwards from which ever note it is you’re playing to the open string to figure it out, but over time you’ll begin to memorize the guitar notes on each string.

Let’s dive into it…

So there are only so many notes to learn on the guitar neck. These notes are A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Of course there are sharps and flats in there but we won’t concern ourselves with those just yet.

The spacing between each note is either a Full step or a Half Step. This idea of half and full steps originates from the piano but we can easily understand it in terms of the guitar neck as well.

Each fret is what we call a half step, so every time you go up one fret on any string of your guitar you’re increasing one half step. To increase one whole step you move up two frets (two halves make one whole). So with this in mind we can look at the spacing between each note and determine where each note resides on the neck.

Thankfully the spacing between most notes is the same, one full step. There are only two exceptions to this rule and they are: One half step from B to C and from E to F. Putting it all together we can see that the following spacing exists between notes.

A to B = One full step, or two frets
B to C = One half step, or one fret
C to D = One full step, or two frets
D to E = One full step, or two frets
E to F = One half step, or one fret
F to G = One full step, or two frets

Don’t worry if this doesn’t make a ton of sense yet, there’s a video below you can watch that will explain it all. These concepts are often much easier to understand after watching someone else do them and then you can practice what you see.

So take a few minutes to watch the video and then go grab your own guitar and give it a try for yourself.

For more great beginner guitar information that you can learn at home why not consider a guitar lessons dvd. All the same great content you’d learn in private lessons but you learn from the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule.

Guitar Care Tips

Guitar Care Tips

You want to keep your guitar in the best possible condition?  As with anything else regular guitar maintenance will go a long way to ensuring that your guitar delivers you only the very best sounds that you desire.  Just as you take pride in anything else valuable that you own and you clean those possessions regularly, do exactly the same with your guitar.

Regular guitar cleaning will also help it to deliver for you a great sound, with no distortion at all, helping you to get exactly the right tones from said guitar.

At the most basic end of the guitar cleaning schedule should be the practice of simply using a soft duster to wipe down the guitar body and neck, but be careful not to use this on the strings themselves as depending on your guitar strings, this again could leave residues of the duster / cloth on your actual guitar strings, thus affecting the quality of sound that you are after.

Your hands too, it might sound a little pedantic, but wash your hands and dry them properly before using your guitar.  The reason for this is that your fingers over time may burnish the guitar strings causing them to lose their shine and if you really want to care for your guitar instrument fanatically, you’ll be paying attention to these small but nevertheless important small details, again to give you hopefully many years of guitar playing pleasure.

You can buy guitar maintenance kits cheaply and easily on eBay if they are not available locally. One manufacturer is the Dunlop guitar maintenance kit and has everything needed within the guitar kit to keep your guitar instrument in perfect condition.

Changing Guitar Strings

Over time you may pick up on the fact that your guitar strings are starting to sound just ever so slightly ‘dull’. Or of course, they may just be showing signs of general wear and tear from normal useage.  It always pays to keep a set of at least one set of spare guitar strings nearby, for you may need them at any time.

There really is nothing worse than jamming with friends, getting an awesome good guitar riff going and one of your guitar strings snaps.  If you havn’t anything to instantly replace it with, you may never find that awesome guitar sound again.

Don’t let that happen to you, always carry a spare set of guitar strings with you wherever you go.  Keep them in your guitar storage case and you won’t go far wrong.

As a rule of thumb and depending on how often you play the guitar, you may want to think about changing guitar strings about every one to to three months.  If you get into the regular habit of cleaning and looking after your guitar regularly, after every guitar jam session, you’ll need to do this less frequently.

Guitar care really does pay for itself, not only in terms of ongoing guitar maintenance costs but also especially concerning your own guitar playing pleasure.