Tuning A Guitar: Learn How To Tune YOUR Guitar by Avoiding These 3 Mistakes!
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Tuning a guitar the RIGHT way is an important skill EVERY guitar player needs! Learn to use your electronic guitar tuner and your EAR so you never have to play out of tune again! Playing in perfect tune is the ONLY way to sound your BEST, whether you are performing, practicing at home, or in a rehearsal.
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3 Big Time Mistakes to Avoid when Tuning a Guitar
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Tuning Mistake #1:
Reminder:
"Relative tuning" is when you tune your guitar by comparing the guitar strings to one another.
Trying to relative tune when your sixth string is sharp or flat will SURELY produce an out of tune guitar! You can "tune to yourself" this way, but there is no way to know how close you are unless you have some in tune source to match it to.
Just to be on the safe side, use your electronic guitar tuner to double check your accuracy!
Tuning Mistake #2:
Tuning with old, crusty strings that haven't been changed since you bought your guitar in the Summer of '07 is an endeavor BOUND for failure! This is a losing battle that can only be remedied by getting new guitar strings and learning a little about How To Select the Right Electric Guitar String Gauge for YOUR Guitar: Action Adjustments, Guitar Set Up.
Tuning Mistake #3:
When tuning a guitar, having high action can only get in your way! There is no point learning how to TUNE your guitar until you review How To Set The Action On A Guitar: 3 Simple Steps To Achieving The PERFECT Action Height.
Double check that your guitar action is optimized, THEN focus staying in tune!
When to Tune
You should ALWAYS tune your guitar before a show, before recording, during a show after excessive whammy bar action, before a guitar lesson, before a practice session, and when you need to delay a little because you can't think of anything to play when a curious relative asks you about that new hobby of yours! It doesn't matter how good of a guitar player you are, if you are out of tune you won't sound like the pro you are meant to be!
Tune often. Tuning a guitar becomes SIMPLE, with practice!
How to Tune
There are many different methods for tuning your guitar. Some are better than others depending on your situation. Basically, you either have to tune while in performance mode or while in practice mode. The finer details of each method are presented below:
Performance Mode Tuning
Never tune by ear in performance mode! This is one sure fire way to appear amateur while your droning notes slowly achieve harmonious resonance! Instead, you need a pedal tuner or a rack-mount guitar tuner for stage use. Tuning your guitar too OFTEN on stage can be distracting, so do what you do best and make it look cool!
Practice Mode Tuning
During practice mode, you are free to practice "relative tuning" and using your electronic guitar tuner. You can tune to your favorite record, a piano, or your teacher's guitar - unless of course he has elected to fall victim to Mistake #1, in which case you should take your OWN guitar tuner and teach HIM a lesson or two about tuning! (unless it's ME, then just do me a favor and smile and pretend you didn't notice anything was wrong.)
Other Methods of Tuning a Guitar
Let Someone else tune for You!
Once you become a coveted Rockstar, you won't have to worry about tuning your OWN guitar before stage time! If you are NOT a Rockstar but you DO have a wonderful guitar teacher, you may ask that they kindly tune it for you. Hooray for small favors!
"Man Tuning"
Strawberry Cupcake the Groupie says:
"Man Tuning is for BOYS who think they are COOL because they tune their guitars down 1/2 step and drop Db from there! NATHAN thinks he is SUPER awesome because he plays every song in Man Tuning, but I don't care WHAT tuning you play in, as long as it SOUNDS good!"
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Up to Electric Guitar Setup for more tips on setting up your guitar for easier playing.
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