Tuning your guitar by ear

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Just wondering what tips people that can do this can give?

I know there is a way of just getting the top E string as close to what you think it should be and then taking it from there. But I always had difficulty with this method. I use an electric tuner at home, but have been caught in a few situations without a tuner and a wonky sounding guitar so to know this technique would be fairly helpful!

ClutchIt

Once you get the low E-string sounding good, then tune the A string to sound like the 5th fret of low E, the D string to sound like the 5th fret of A and so on.

When tuning the B string however you must tune it to the 4th fret of the G-string.

Was this not the first thing you learnt on guitar or did I get the question wrong?

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

Well I taught myself and just bought an electric tuner so I guess I just never bothered learning the manual way.

I have actually tried the method you described a few times but I can never seem to get the low E right and obviously that ****s everything else up!

Jeanious

Djdaforce wrote: »

Once you get the low E-string sounding good, then tune the A string to sound like the 5th fret of low E, the D string to sound like the 5th fret of A and so on.

When tuning the B string however you must tune it to the 4th fret of the G-string.

Was this not the first thing you learnt on guitar or did I get the question wrong?

While obviously this is the correct way to do it, take note that when you tune all the strings like this, the tension change in the neck will pull them all slightly flat. So make sure to do this a couple/few times to get it right.

This is the case for electrics anyway, i presume the effect will still be noticeable on acoustics, albeit probably to a lesser extent.

Same principle applies no matter how you tune by the way, so even with an electric tuner, make sure to go through all the strings at least twice.

seamus

Afair, "top" E refers to the E string at the bottom of the guitar, the thinner one.

This is dead simple, though it can be a little hard to get right when you start out - G & B in particular can be tricky bastards.

Low E is easy enough to get right if you have an ipod or something similar on you. Whip out a song where you know the first few chords and tune your E string to that. Nothing Else Matters is particularly useful for this because most of the riff is in E and it rings out for a while.

strobe

niallo24 wrote: »

I have actually tried the method you described a few times but I can never seem to get the low E right and obviously that ****s everything else up!

It's really just a matter of practicing it man. It doesn't make a huge difference if you start at the low E or the high E. So just choose which of these you think would be the easier to tell from ear when it's in tune. Then sit there and de-tune it a random amount and slowly tune it to where you think it's right. Check it with your electric tuner to see if you were too high or too low, then tune it perfect with the electric tuner, pick it a few times so the sound of it lodges in your brain. Now randomly de-tune it again and repeat. Keep doing this till every time you double check it with the tuner you have it right.

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

seamus wrote: »

Afair, "top" E refers to the E string at the bottom of the guitar, the thinner one.

This is dead simple, though it can be a little hard to get right when you start out - G & B in particular can be tricky bastards.

Low E is easy enough to get right if you have an ipod or something similar on you. Whip out a song where you know the first few chords and tune your E string to that. Nothing Else Matters is particularly useful for this because most of the riff is in E and it rings out for a while.

Yeah sorry I meant low E...

itac

You can also cheat, and download an app for your phone.....I have a battered old nokia, but it works for those "ohh-god-i've-left-my-tuner-at-home" situations!

Aside from that little cheat...when I first started playing, I learned a few short riffs on different strings, and tune the guitar to those, using the 5th fret technique.

oh, and +1 for Strobe's advice...

NoQuarter

This is how i do it:

Know Led Zeppelins Communication Breakdown -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNip8ZEesow

Thats the low E, you cant go far wrong with that tune in your head.

Then when you have you low E, hold the next string on the 7th fret and it will sound the same as the low E played open when both strings are strummed together and continue like that. Youll have to go to the 8th fret on the B string when tuning the B and the G strings together!

This is called octave tuning, in my opinion its easier to hear slight differences than the normal way but you can do one and check with the other ya know!

JonathanAnon

This is my own personal tuning song "Nothing Else Matters". The opening arpeggio consists of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgiGrXpOhYg

1

---

0

---

0

---

2----0-0

---

0-0----
3---0---0---0---0---
4

---

5

---

6--0

---

0

---

That gives you four of the strings. You can use fifth fret to find the other strings. Alternatively you could learn off the full song and judge the other two strings by ear.

This song is particularly good if you have NO method of tuning the guitar, and you are just playing on your own. You just tune the strings relative to each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Tallaght Saint

JonathanAnon wrote: »

This is my own personal tuning song. The opening arpeggio consists of

1

---

0

---

0

---

2----0-0

---

0-0----
3---0---0---0---0---
4

---

5

---

6--0

---

0

---

That gives you four of the strings. You can use fifth fret to find the other strings. Alternatively you could learn off the full song and judge the other two strings by ear.

This song is particularly good if you have NO method of tuning the guitar, and you are just playing on your own. You just tune the strings relative to each other.

Nothing Else Matters?

JonathanAnon

Yeah my post got messed up. Broadband went down.. Damned 3G. It goes into a sort of comatose state and I dont know whether it's posted or not.

Malice

When I'm tuning by ear I prefer to use harmonics as they ring out without having to hold the string down so you can play the two you're trying to match up, twist the tuning peg a bit and then play them again.

Playing harmonics also serves as a good method of keeping track of whether your strings need changing .

Here is some tab illustrating what I mean. Note that the harmonic between the G and B strings won't sound the same as the others as the notes are only 4 steps apart rather than 5.

[PHP] NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
E||

---

<>7----|
B||

---

<>7----<>5

---

|
G||

---

<>7----<>5

---

|
D||

---

<>7----<>5

---

|
A||

---

<>7----<>5

---

|
E||--<>5

---

|
[/PHP]

Gordon

I use harmonics also as it's a bit easier to get the nuances.

Start with the low E using a favourite track (led zep is good for that, as is Hendrix) and then put your finger over the fifth fret (don't press down, just rest your finger on the string) of that string and put your finger over the 7th fret of the next string down (a string) and tune the next string. When you get to the g string put your finger on the 4th fret and the b string on the 5th fret and they should match.

Works best on an electric with distortion but you can do it on an acoustic if you don't have much background noise.

NoQuarter

Didnt think to put the code in as above!

[PHP]
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
E||

---

7

---

|
B||

---

8

---

0

---

|
G||

---

7

---

0

---

|
D||

---

7

---

0

---

|
A||

---

7

---

0

---

|
E||----0

---

|
[/PHP]

Apologies for sloppiness, ps, i also use the harmonic way but i find octave tuning a bit easier!

bytey

here is some advice -

If you tune all the strings to the same reference string, you can avoid a small error on one string affecting all the others.

Tune the high E string to a reference: compare
5th fret E on the B string: adjust B
9th fret E on the G string: adjust G
14th fret E on the D string: adjust D
7th fret E on the A string (one octave below); adjust A
5th fret harmonic on the low E string: adjust low E.

the easiest and most reliable way of tuning. Since you are listening to the same note all the time, the ear "tunes in" to the overtones and an out-of-tune string sticks out from the rest like a sore thumb. It is also useful for tuning with electronic tuners of doubtful accuracy, as even the cheapest nastiest tuner will (usually) give the same readout for the same input frequency.

Another method which works very well - use as a cross check on the above ( is as follows:

(Tune high E to a reference:)
Tune 5th fret harmonic on low E to match open high E:
12th fret harmonic on low E / fretted 7th fret E on A string: adjust A
12th fret harmonic on A / fretted 7th fret A on D string; adjust D
12th fret harmonic on D / fretted 7th fret D on the G string;adjust G
12th fret harmonic on G / fretted 8th fret G on B string; adjust B
Check that 12th fret harmonic on B matches fretted 7th fret B on high E.

It is also extremely effective at getting the best available results out of a poorly adjusted instrument.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

niallo24 wrote: »

I have actually tried the method you described a few times but I can never seem to get the low E right and obviously that ****s everything else up!

well yes and no.
If you get the E string nearly right, and you tune the other strings to that tuning you will be ok (as all the strings off by the same amount), as long as you are playing by yourself i.e. not in a band with other guitarists/bass player with a correctly tuned guitar/bass, then it will stick out like a sore thumb

Sandvich

Most guitars will have some intonation issues which can drive you nuts. Both my guitars are about 8 cents off on the G string no matter how I put the saddles. You don't notice it much though, really, especially if you tune the G string a couple of cents lower.

It used to be much worse though, then I realised I was pressing too hard. Be very careful with that when tuning(and when playing, obviously, but at least you can fix that easier on the fly). I think this is why you're meant to tune off the harmonics rather than the 5th fret thing.

rcaz

Malice_ wrote: »

When I'm tuning by ear I prefer to use harmonics as they ring out without having to hold the string down so you can play the two you're trying to match up, twist the tuning peg a bit and then play them again.

Playing harmonics also serves as a good method of keeping track of whether your strings need changing .

Here is some tab illustrating what I mean. Note that the harmonic between the G and B strings won't sound the same as the others as the notes are only 4 steps apart rather than 5.

Big +1 on using harmonics! If you're tuning an electric guitar, do it with a distorted signal - the beating between the two notes is really noticeable and it's much easier to know how close you are.

Sandvich

El Pr0n wrote: »

Big +1 on using harmonics! If you're tuning an electric guitar, do it with a distorted signal - the beating between the two notes is really noticeable and it's much easier to know how close you are.

Ideally using a square wave/octave fuzz would maximise on this concept.

rcaz

Sandvich wrote: »

Ideally using a square wave/octave fuzz would maximise on this concept.

What's a square wave fuzz? Most fuzzes approximate a square wave, do they not?

Sandvich

El Pr0n wrote: »

What's a square wave fuzz? Most fuzzes approximate a square wave, do they not?

Not quite. I think with a square wave fuzz you'll always get some degree of "octaving"/scrambling/ring mod on Chords, because distorting a signal to that degree with always call some kind of aliasing.

I wouldn't call the Big Muff a "square wave fuzz" for sure.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

tuning by harmonics all the way is the worst thing you can do

Malice

DaDumTish wrote: »

tuning by harmonics all the way is the worst thing you can do

Why do you think that?

i57dwun4yb1pt8

i dont think, it

i know it and so do most pro players - who advised me in turn.

look at the post at the top- thats the best way to tune .

and this at bottom

http://www.endino.com/archive/tuningnightmares.html

MilanPan!c

Sorry but that Endino thing contains a heck of a lit of opinions that aren't neccesarily true.

Harmonics are a great way to tune for a very simple reason, people hear high frequencies (in relation to a guitar's frequency range) more clearly.

The only downside is the b string which can't be tuned as easily with harmonics.

I would say the thing Endino gets the most right (if that's possible) is that stringed instruments can never be perfectly in tune.

We all know this instinctively though, don't we?

The best plan I to tune a guitar to itself.

So I start by tuning my g string.

Then I use harmonics to tune down to e.

Then I check my g string to the g on the low e.

Then I fret tune the b.

Then I compare the b on a to the b string.

Then I tune the high e to the low e.


Always works.

Just remember intonation means that most guitars need to be retuned after putting on a capo.

If you're recording solos above the 12th fret, make sure those notes are in tune first.

Kit547

Harmonics the only true way to tune, a bit difficult at first
but when you get used to it you wont need any tuner.
check out methods on net

rcaz

MilanPan!c wrote: »

The only downside is the b string which can't be tuned as easily with harmonics.

9th fret harmonic on the G string and 5th on the B?

fred432

When I tune up with tuners I always get it a bit off. The G,B and E are always out a bit. Maybe its like sandvich said about the intonation issues. Once you have the E and A right I find I can always work from there but I am wondering why use the tuners for all six strings. Have a small korg tuner, a tuner on a roland amp and a tuner on a zoom effects pedal and none of them get the G B and E combination completely right. I usually play a D chord and get it from there but if anyone has any ideas on getting it right from the tuner it would be a help! Also are there any tuners which let you tune to songs played on a lower or higher tuning eg acdc thanks

The Living Few

This page has gotten quite muddled. Just get the low e and tune using the 5th method or Octave method as explained by the lads. Remember that it's easier to recognise the right tone when tuning from flat than sharp, well it is for me anywhoo