How to Tune Guitar by Ear
Easier Than You Think...

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.

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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.

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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...

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Again, do the same with the D and G string - same interval sound as A and D/E and A pairings before...

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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...

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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)....

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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?...

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Yep, seems fine. What about A and D?

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Again, sounds in tune. How about D and G?

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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)

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So now the G string is sorted we can continue... with the G and B strings - remember the interval is different with these two:

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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...

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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)...

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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...

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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 - more about that method right here.

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!

Happy tuning and see you soon!