How to Tune a Guitar by Ear or With a Tuner

Standard tuning varies depending on the type of guitar you are playing.

• Six-string guitars: Most guitars have six strings, tuned to the following pitches: E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4. Guitarists generally tune both acoustic guitar strings and electric guitar strings to this standard tuning.
• Twelve-string guitars: Some guitars have 12 strings, with each pitch doubled. These 12-string guitars are particularly popular in folk and country music. Tune one set of strings as you would a six-string guitar. Then, for the paired strings, tune the lower four strings one octave higher than their counterparts, and keep the top two paired strings the same.
• Seven- and eight-string guitars: Some electric guitars feature seven or eight strings; these guitars are most commonly associated with a hard rock or progressive rock playing style. A seven-string or eight-string guitar usually follows standard guitar tuning with extra pitches (generally F♯ and B) added below E2.
• Four-string bass guitars: A bass guitar traditionally has four strings (tuned E-A-D-G) and a very narrow fingerboard. Like modern guitars, a bass guitar can add additional strings, with five-string and six-string models being the most common.
• Baritone guitars: A baritone guitar is like a standard guitar with a longer neck and a lower overall pitch. Standard tuning for baritone guitar is a perfect fourth below standard tuning for a regular acoustic guitar or electric guitar (B-E-A-D-F♯-B).
• Tenor guitars: Tenor guitars have four strings, and unlike other guitars, they are traditionally tuned in perfect fifths. The most common tuning for these instruments is C3-G3-D4-A4.

By tuning your guitar to an alternate tuning, you can reveal tonalities and timbres that expand the potential of the instrument. There are several popular alternate tunings:

1. 1. Drop D: Drop D tuning is almost identical to standard guitar tuning, with one exception: the sixth (lowest) string is tuned down a whole step, moving the note to D2 instead of E2 and resulting in a D-A-D-G-B-E pattern.
2. 2. Drop C: This tuning is similar to drop D but drops the sixth string down to C instead.
3. 3. Celtic tuning: In Celtic-style tuning, tune your strings to the pitches D-A-D-G-A-D.
4. 4. E♭ tuning: A close cousin of standard tuning, this tuning involves lowering all strings by a half-step for an overall heavier sound.
5. 5. Open G tuning: This tuning involves adjusting all open strings to form an open G chord when strummed: D-G-D-G-B-D.
6. 6. Open D tuning: This tuning involves adjusting all open strings to form an open D chord when strummed: D-A-D-F♯-A-D.

A guitar tuner is an easy-to-use device.

1. 1. Turn the electric tuner on, then play a note by plucking any string. Most guitarists proceed from lowest to highest, tuning their low E string (sixth string) first.
2. 2. The name of the closest note will appear on the tuner’s digital screen.
3. 3. If a string is close to a note but somewhat out of tune, the tuner’s LEDs will indicate whether the note is too low (flat) or too high (sharp). If the tuner is in strobe mode, the LEDs will blink until the note is in tune.
4. 4. While monitoring the tuner, adjust the guitar’s tuning pegs until the string reaches the right pitch.
5. 5. Tune the rest of your strings—the A string (fifth string), D string (fourth string), G string (third string), B string (second string), and high E string (first string).

Guitar players can tune without a clip-on electronic tuner, tuning app, or tuning pedal by matching pitches from other strings or other instruments. This involves tuning by ear. One way to do this is to match all the string pitches from a piano, a tuning fork, a pitch pipe, or—better still—a digital instrument, which is guaranteed to be in tune.

1. 1. Use another instrument such as a digital piano to sound the note E2. This is your reference note. Using your ear, match the pitch of your lowest and thickest string (the sixth string) to this low E note.
2. 2. After the lowest string is tuned to E2, slide up the fretboard and depress that string at the fifth fret to sound the note A2. Then, match the fifth string to this A2 reference pitch.
3. 3. Once the fifth string is tuned to A2, play it at the fifth fret to sound a D3. Tune your open fourth string to this pitch.
4. 4. Once the fourth string is set at D3, play it at the fifth fret to sound a G3. Tune your open third string to this pitch.
5. 5. With the third string tuned to G3, play it at the fourth fret to sound a B3. Tune your open second string to this pitch.
6. 6. Now that your second string is set to B3, play it at the fifth fret to produce an E4. This is the note for your top open string, the high E string. This last string is the thinnest string and the most likely to slip out of tune, so monitor it closely.
7. 7. Once you’ve finished tuning your first string, go back and check the other strings to see if any have slipped out of tune. Make minor adjustments as necessary. Once you've set your E-A-D-G-B-E tuning, you're ready to strum guitar chords and play guitar leads.

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