The Basics of Standard Tuning of Standard a 6 String Guitar

by Craig Hamilton on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 5:07pm

Read all the steps before beginning to tune your guitar.
Make sure that your strings are relatively fresh. Old strings are often either cruddy or highly oxidized. Even if your guitar is in tune your guitar won’t sound as good. Using old strings may stress the neck of your guitar too much, and damage it. Old or cruddy strings sound out of tune more easily.
New strings and broken strings often have sharp parts that are dangerous.
Do not use pitch pipes or tuning forks. The use of a tuning fork requires an ear that is already developed for determining pitch. Pitch pipes are often out of tune. While it is good to have perfect pitch or even to be good at determining pitch, this is something to work towards and it is usually not something one possesses as a beginner.
Obtain an electronic tuner. While electronic tuners are not necessarily perfect and often require batteries of which the charge may affect the quality pitch of a note, which is always supposed to be and to remain exactly the same, electric tuners are usually the best. I recommend using one that plugs into the wall, as this current is usually more stable. For example, one of the guitar amplifiers in my possession has a built in tuner setting.
Some electric tuners require preparing the tuner to receive the note, while others will recognize the note. You still need to know the proper note for each string. Additionally, some songs may require alternate tunings, such as “Dropped D,” but that is more advanced. If you are a beginner, then first focus on tuning your guitar to the standard tuning of a guitar.
A six string guitar tuned to standard tuning has the notes – from the fattest string to the thinnest string - E, A, D, G, B, E, but just knowing that is not enough, you have to know the proper octave of the note, unless your tuner is capable of determining that for you. Until your ear is developed, you may not be able to notice that there is a difference between the low E and the high E. The E of the fattest string is two standard octaves lower than the E of the thinnest string. You should be able to determine which note is the proper note to tune to by determining the tension of each respective string. However, tension may vary depending on what gauge strings you use, and other factors, such as how worn the string is. A string may go out of tune due to something such as humidity. I recommend starting with the lightest gauge strings possible, so as not to injure yourself when playing your guitar. For determining the proper note to tune to, I recommend comparing both the note of each respective string of standard tuned guitar and the tension of that string. In fact, the father of this style music, Pythagoras, used just those things, thickness of the string, string tension, and string length to determine the notes that most Westerners use.
If you have an acoustic guitar, you may or may not have to plug your guitar into to the tuner. If you have an electric guitar, it is almost certain that you will need to plug your guitar in using a guitar cable. As I am writing this, a certain kind of telephone cable is the most commonly used guitar cable. However, in the future various different types of cable might be used. The length of the cable and the quality of the cable may be reflected in your guitar’s sound.
After, you have done all things. Pluck the fat string. This will hopefully become the low E string. In a standard set up, it is the string attached to the guitar that is closest to your head. This may or may not register on your tuner. The fat string is most important to tune first because usually it places the most stress on your guitar neck. The stresses of each string on your neck may affect their pitch. By comparison with another guitar using the methods already described, adjust the fat string’s tension by rotating the peg or metal tension adjuster, such that it is similar to a standard 6 string guitar that is already in tune. If the string tension is too great, then it might break and hurt you. Be careful of your eyes! You should use goggles, especially if you are a beginner. Keep adjusting the tension of the string with the peg or tension adjuster on your guitar until it registers on your tuner. Some guitars have two tension adjusters at either end of the guitar, such as in the case of a Floyd Rose tremolo system. Adjust the one that affects the string pitch the most, and leaving a micro adjuster in the center position for minor adjustments. Some electronic tuners may not be able to detect adjustments made by a micro adjuster. If you are having problems check your power supply in such a way that you do not get an electric shock or receive electrocution, which may kill you. Since, electric shock and electrocution are not proper elements of tuning a guitar; I will not describe how to check a power source in this blog. However, it is probably safer to use a battery than house current for tuning your guitar although the later will most likely give you a better result. If you are a beginner, then this better result is probably not yet necessary for you. Batteries can be checked with a standard Voltmeter, usually capable of being purchased at a local hardware store. An electronic tuner will have certain requirements for its power source that must be met in order for it to work accurately. Make sure that these are met.
Once the letter of desired letters of the alphabet between of your guitar and your tuner match, and the string is calibrated to the zero of that note. For example, you want your E on your tuner to dictate what an E is on your guitar at the proper octave, such that you don’t ruin or damage the neck of your guitar or your string doesn’t break, possibly causing injury. Do the necessary steps, tuning, using partly the tuner, partly your guitar, and partly the correct aspects of another standard tuned guitar to tune the other five strings, such that they are A, D, G, and B and E in the proper octave, such that the neck of the guitar doesn’t get damaged.
Repeat the process of adjusting the fattest string first, moving on to the next thinnest, until your tuner tells you that you are in tune. Guitars with tremolo systems are often more difficult to tune in this manner than guitars without them.