How to Tune a Guitar Without a Tuner

Hold your guitar in the normal playing position., Find the low E string., Find the low E tuning key., Find a reference sound source for low E. In the absence of a tuner you could use one of the following devices as a reference to tune your low E...

7 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Hold your guitar in the normal playing position.

    Also known as the sixth string, this is the thickest string, located right at the top. , Follow the low E string to its tuning key. , A Piano.

    Find the low E key on your piano.

    This is usually the third white key from the left.

    If you have an electric keyboard instead of a traditional piano, that will work just as well.

    A Computer.

    Using your web browser, you can listen to a recording of a low E guitar string through speakers or headphones connected to your computer.

    For example, the Fender guitar company has an online tuner built into an image of a guitar head on its official website.

    Here you can play low E by clicking the tuning key furthest left, either once by selecting the "No Loop" option, or repeatedly by selecting the "Loop" option.

    Alternatively, you can also listen to recordings of a low E string on a number of websites, such as Soundcloud and YouTube, although these are often user uploads and therefore may not be completely reliable, plus you'd have to reload them for repeated listening.

    A Smartphone or Tablet.

    A range of apps, such as Cleartune and Gibson Learn & Master Guitar (IOS and Android), or Guitar Toolkit and Cadenza (IOS only), offer rich tools for tuning, including the ability to get your smartphone or tablet to play and tune a low E., Sitting in front of your sound source with your guitar, use one hand to play the low E key on it and the other to strum the low E string on the guitar, so that they sound out at the same time. , Continue to play the low E on the sound source and guitar together, gently adjusting the guitar's low E tuning key so as to get the guitar to sound the same as the sound source.

    Turning the tuning key clockwise lowers the pitch, while turning it counterclockwise increases it.

    Aim to get rid of any "dissonance" while tuning.

    This is the wobbly out-of-tune vibration that you hear when musical notes are similar but don't quite match., Once you're satisfied that your low E string is in tune, move on to tuning the remaining five strings using the fifth-fret tuning method.
  2. Step 2: Find the low E string.

  3. Step 3: Find the low E tuning key.

  4. Step 4: Find a reference sound source for low E. In the absence of a tuner you could use one of the following devices as a reference to tune your low E string.

  5. Step 5: Play low E on the sound source and your guitar together.

  6. Step 6: Get the sound source and guitar to match.

  7. Step 7: Tune the remaining strings.

Detailed Guide

Also known as the sixth string, this is the thickest string, located right at the top. , Follow the low E string to its tuning key. , A Piano.

Find the low E key on your piano.

This is usually the third white key from the left.

If you have an electric keyboard instead of a traditional piano, that will work just as well.

A Computer.

Using your web browser, you can listen to a recording of a low E guitar string through speakers or headphones connected to your computer.

For example, the Fender guitar company has an online tuner built into an image of a guitar head on its official website.

Here you can play low E by clicking the tuning key furthest left, either once by selecting the "No Loop" option, or repeatedly by selecting the "Loop" option.

Alternatively, you can also listen to recordings of a low E string on a number of websites, such as Soundcloud and YouTube, although these are often user uploads and therefore may not be completely reliable, plus you'd have to reload them for repeated listening.

A Smartphone or Tablet.

A range of apps, such as Cleartune and Gibson Learn & Master Guitar (IOS and Android), or Guitar Toolkit and Cadenza (IOS only), offer rich tools for tuning, including the ability to get your smartphone or tablet to play and tune a low E., Sitting in front of your sound source with your guitar, use one hand to play the low E key on it and the other to strum the low E string on the guitar, so that they sound out at the same time. , Continue to play the low E on the sound source and guitar together, gently adjusting the guitar's low E tuning key so as to get the guitar to sound the same as the sound source.

Turning the tuning key clockwise lowers the pitch, while turning it counterclockwise increases it.

Aim to get rid of any "dissonance" while tuning.

This is the wobbly out-of-tune vibration that you hear when musical notes are similar but don't quite match., Once you're satisfied that your low E string is in tune, move on to tuning the remaining five strings using the fifth-fret tuning method.

About the Author

J

Judith Jackson

Committed to making organization accessible and understandable for everyone.

50 articles
View all articles

Rate This Guide

--
Loading...
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0

How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: