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Guitar Tuner > Tuning
by Ear
How
to Tune Guitar by Ear
Using
relative pitch to tune your guitar
"How to tune guitar by ear" might seem like a stupid thing to call
this, since a lot of tuning is done by ear! But in this lesson we'll be
looking at how to tune without any aids whatsoever.
This means no 5th fret aids, no
harmonic aids, no electric tuners... nothing!! Sorry
to sound so strict here.
This lesson's all about tuning your guitar using relative pitch, by
picking two strings and knowing whether they're in tune with each
other. Difficult? Nope, but
your ears do need "training".
So what's the benefit of being able to
tune guitar by ear?
Well, for one you'll find that
if you learn to hear intervals between strings and
notes, this skill will carry over into other areas of learning guitar.
The more you really focus on the relationship
between two or more notes/strings, the less you have to rely on tab and
visual aids.
In fact, this is as good a
place to start as any when it comes to learning to play guitar by ear
in general.
Secondly, this tuning method,
in my opinion, beats the standard 5th
fret method, because instead of tuning an open string to a fretted
string (which causes natural inaccuracies), you're tuning an open
string to another open string. I use this method all the time now
because it becomes the fastest way to tune up once
you master it.
So, let us begin...
First
thing's first - know your open strings
Ever played all 6 strings at once without fretting them? Sounds like a
bad chord doesn't it? Well, you first need to get to know this chord
before you can tune guitar by ear.
Before you do anything though,
just for this
lesson, you need to tune your guitar first because we're going to refer
to an already tuned guitar so your ears can get to know what it should
sound like... tune up now on this page! (opens in a different window for
you)
Ok, tuned up?
Play the strings one by one
from the Low E to the high E string.
Click
to hear >
Really get to know how each
string sounds one after the other. What a
lot of guitarists don't realise is that if you break it down and play,
for example, the low E and A strings one after the other, that's a
specific note interval you've played there.
It's these intervals you need
to soak up and hear in your head. Listen
to the E and A strings again below and in your mind try and engrain
that interval sound between the two strings in your head...
The secret is to
create a memorable rhythm - this highlights the interval in a memorable
way.
Click
to hear >
Repeat it by singing the notes
if you like.
Now do the same with the A and
D strings - it's the same interval sound as the E
and A strings...
Click
to hear >
Again, do the same with the D
and G string - same interval sound as A and D/E and A pairings
before...
Click
to hear >
Now, when you get to the G and
B strings the
interval sounds different. This time the two actually sound part of a
major chord (G major to be specific). Listen to and absorb the bright
sounding major 3rd interval between the G and B strings...
Click
to hear >
And that leaves the final
interval between the B
and high E string. It's the same interval sound as the E and A, A and
D, D and G string intervals (just a lot higher obviously)....
Click
to hear >
Learn how these
intervals sound before we move on to the next stage...
Using
the intervals to tune up
The reason why I got you to
learn the sound of each of
those 2-string intervals is because you're going to use these sounds as
tuning aids. So, in effect, you're using your ears as guides here - do
the intervals sound harmonious? If not, they're out of tune.
Examples:
Start with the low E and A
strings - does everything sound OK?...
Click
to hear >
Yep, seems fine. What about A
and D?
Click
to hear >
Again, sounds in tune. How
about D and G?
Click
to hear >
Ah! Out o' tune. It's tuned too
low, so we need to tune up. We know it's
the G string that's out of tune because we already established the D
string was in tune with A (and A was in tune with E)
Click
to hear >
So now the G string is sorted
we can continue... with the G and B strings - remember the interval is
different with these two:
Click
to hear >
Ugh! Ok, that needs tuning down,
first lower than the G string, and then back up into tune. We tune up
because the tension holds better keeping the string in tune longer than
if you just tuned down and lost all the tension.
Note: The B
string is a strange one - because of the nature of the guitar, you need
to tune the B string slightly higher than what
would be its natural pitch. Listen below for what happens if you don't
tune it slightly higher and then go to play an E major chord...
Click
to hear >
Sounds kind of out of tune
with the rest of the chord doesn't it?
Although the B string sounds
perfectly in tune in
relation to the G string, the guitar just won't accept it on some
chords. Every guitar I've picked up has this "problem". So all you need
to do is tune that B string up slightly to compensate (you'll have to
listen very closely to hear me tuning up slightly)...
Click
to hear >
A good tip is to get the B
string perfectly in tune in relation to the G string below it and then
tune it up slightly.
This B string business takes a
bit of getting used to, but eventually you'll just tune it slightly
higher as second nature.
Finally, let's check the high
E string tunes well against the B string using the interval we looked
at earlier...
Click
to hear >
Sounds fine to me!
Now, you may find you have to fine
tune slightly to make sure any chords you play harmonise
perfectly...
Fine
tuning
If you're still finding tuning by ear difficult, you can use the method
below to fine tune.
The best way to fine tune by
far is to play the strings in groups of
two, just like we did above, but this time listen closely for a
"vibrating" effect between the string pairings (note:
this doesn't work for the G-B string pairing as the tuning intervals
are different). That vibrating effect tells you the interval is
imperfect and you should tune up or down until the interval is tuned
and the vibration stops.
You can use tuning harmonics
to help with this. After
you've used this method several times, your fine tuning and time
spent on tuning as a whole will shoot right down. Your ears will be
trained over time and you'll pick up the tiniest
inaccuracies in your guitar's tuning.
Remember, some chords will
sound OK if you're slightly out of
tune, but others will just sound damn horrible. Make "tuning your
guitar accurately" your obsessive habit now!
Looking for a comprehensive, step by step guitar learning system? I highly recommened Guitar Tricks.
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