In the previous article, you understood why your guitar is tuned to standard tuning E A D G B E. Now let’s get practical: tuning accurately, quickly, and most importantly, making it stay in tune. There are several methods, they don’t all have the same precision, and only one is truly reliable.
How to Tune a Guitar, Step by Step
The simplest method is to use a tuner:
- Play the low E string (string 6) open and turn its tuning peg until the tuner displays E.
- Do the same with the A string (string 5).
- Then the D string (string 4).
- Then the G string (string 3).
- Then the B string (string 2).
- Finally, the high E string (string 1).
Tune each string by approaching the pitch from below (tuning up) so the tuning holds better. Without a tuner, you can tune by ear using the 5th fret method, comparing each string to the previous one.
1. Tuning with a Tuner, the Easiest Method
A chromatic tuner (clip-on, app, or pedal) recognizes the note you play and tells you if it’s too low, in tune, or too sharp. “Chromatic” means it knows all 12 notes, not just your 6 open strings. It’s the most reliable method for a specific reason: each string is compared directly to the reference, the frequency of a note and concert pitch A 440, without one out-of-tune string contaminating another.
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The procedure, string by string:
- Play the low E string (string 6) open and turn its tuning peg until the tuner displays E, approaching the pitch from below.
- Play the A string (string 5) open and tune until you get A.
- Play the D string (string 4) open and tune until you get D.
- Play the G string (string 3) open and tune until you get G.
- Play the B string (string 2) open and tune until you get B.
- Play the high E string (string 1) open and tune until you get E. Then play each string again to verify everything holds.
Train your eye and ear on this simulator: the string starts out of tune, bring it to the correct pitch with the arrows, just like with a real tuning peg.
In Tune on the Tuner, Yet the Chord Sounds Harsh?
One last point, counterintuitive: a guitar tuned perfectly to a tuner can make certain open chords sound slightly tense. It’s not you, it’s equal temperament (covered in the theory series): the tempered major third is a bit sharp compared to the natural major third, and that’s exactly the interval between G and B. Some guitarists then lower B by a hair to sweeten their open chords (called sweetening, an advanced ear choice, not a standard method). The tuner isn’t “wrong”: it gives the tempered reference. In tune on the tuner and consonant to the ear aren’t exactly the same thing, and that’s good to know.
2. Tuning Without a Tuner: The 5th Fret Method
No tuner on hand? The 5th fret method tunes each string from the previous one. You know why from article 1: each string is a perfect fourth above the previous one (5 frets), except G to B (a major third, 4 frets). Here’s the technique:
The Limitation: Error Propagation
This method has an Achilles heel, already glimpsed in article 1: it tunes in a chain. If your starting string is slightly off, each following string inherits the deviation and amplifies it, especially since fretted notes add the imprecision of finger pressure. This is error propagation. It also assumes a reference string that’s already in tune (often the A, calibrated to an external reference). Honest conclusion: the 5th fret works great in a pinch and trains your ear, but for precision, a fixed reference per string (the tuner) wins every time: one string being off doesn’t contaminate the others.
3. Fine-Tuning by Ear with Harmonics
A harmonic is a crystalline note obtained by lightly touching the string just above a fret (without pressing it down), making it vibrate in fractions: above the 12th fret, it sounds an octave above the open string; above the 5th, two octaves; above the 7th, a fifth above the octave. The classic method compares the 5th fret harmonic of one string to the 7th fret harmonic of the next higher string: both should produce the same note, and the slightest deviation is very audible as beating.
But harmonics set a trap. They produce natural intervals (whole-number multiples of the string’s frequency), while your frets are positioned in equal temperament. The 7th fret harmonic gives a just fifth, about 702 cents, where the tempered fifth of the fret system is 700. Two cents per string doesn’t sound like much… but it accumulates from string to string. And the G-B pair, with its major third, breaks the 5th/7th pattern anyway (the exception from article 1, again). Verdict: harmonics are a magnificent listening tool, not a precision standard. Use them to hear, verify with the tuner.
4. Tuning Entirely by Ear
Tuning by ear doesn’t require perfect pitch. The secret is beating: when two sounds of very close frequencies sound together, you hear a regular wavering whose speed equals the frequency difference (two notes 1 Hz apart produce one beat per second). The closer the two notes get, the slower the beating; when it disappears, that’s unison. You’re not judging a pitch in the absolute: you’re silencing a beating. Listen:
In practice, you still need a starting reference: a tuning fork, an app, a piano, or another guitar that’s already in tune. Two strategies: tune your A string (110 Hz, two octaves below concert pitch) to the reference then propagate using the 5th fret; or better, compare each string to the reference when possible to avoid propagation. Ear methods work anywhere and strengthen your listening: that’s their real value.
5. Why Your Guitar Goes Out of Tune (and How to Fix It)
Always Approach the Pitch from Below
The technique that changes everything, and the reason is mechanical, not acoustic: approaching the pitch from below, by tightening the string, takes up slack in the tuners and seats the string at the nut under increasing tension. It holds. Approaching from above, by loosening from a pitch that’s too high, leaves slack that releases later: the tuning slips after a few minutes. So if your string is too sharp, go well below the note, then come back up smoothly to it.
New Strings, Temperature, Tuners
A new string is like a new rubber band: it keeps stretching under tension and drops in pitch during its first hours. Gently stretch it by hand, retune, repeat three or four times: it will stabilize much faster (gently: no violent pulling, you risk breakage or a kink at the nut). Then, the usual suspects checklist: tuners with play or a poorly wound string, a binding nut, a string gauge change, temperature and humidity making wood and metal move. If the problem persists despite a settled string and good tuning technique, it’s a hardware issue: time for the luthier.
Last useful distinction: this whole article addresses tuning, the pitch of your open strings. If your guitar is in tune open but sharp or flat high on the neck, that’s an intonation problem, a setup adjustment (the position of the saddles at the bridge). Two different topics.
On Your Guitar: The 5-Step Tuning Routine
1. Get the tuner out (clip or app), string by string, from low E to high E.
2. Always reach the pitch by tuning up: too sharp? Go below the note, then come back up.
3. New strings: stretch gently, retune, repeat.
4. Check by playing an open chord: chords reveal what isolated strings hide.
5. Once a week, try the full 5th fret method, then check with the tuner: it’s the best free ear training that exists.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tuning
How do I tune a guitar as a beginner?
The simplest method for a beginner is to use a tuner, either physical or an app. Play each open string one after another, and turn the corresponding tuning peg until the tuner shows the correct note: E, A, D, G, B, E from the lowest to highest string. Aim for the note by approaching from below, meaning tuning up gradually, which helps the tuning stay stable. Once comfortable, you can learn to tune by ear to do without a tuner.
What notes should a guitar be tuned to?
In standard tuning, the six strings are set to E, A, D, G, B, E from lowest to highest. The universal reference is A at 440 Hz, called concert pitch, to which tuners align. All other strings derive from this reference. This is the same A that other instruments use to tune together.
How do I tune a guitar without a tuner?
Without a tuner, use the 5th fret method, which tunes each string relative to the previous one. Press the 5th fret of the low E string, which gives an A, and tune the open A string to match it. Repeat at the 5th fret to tune D, then G. Watch for the exception: to tune the B string, press the 4th fret of the G string (not the 5th), because the interval between these two strings is a major third. Then return to the 5th fret of the B string to tune the high E.
How do I tune a guitar by ear using harmonics?
The harmonics method fine-tunes by ear. Play the harmonic at the 5th fret of one string and the harmonic at the 7th fret of the immediately lower string: both should give the same note. When the two pitches are close but not identical, you hear beating, a regular pulsing of the sound. Adjust the tuning peg until this beating disappears and the sound becomes stable. This method is very precise, but the irregularity of the G and B strings requires adapting the technique for this pair.
Why does my guitar go out of tune all the time?
Several causes explain why a guitar goes out of tune. New strings stretch during their first hours of playing and lose pitch until they’re stabilized. Temperature and humidity variations make wood and metal move, which changes tension. Poor winding of strings around the tuners, a poorly lubricated nut, or worn tuners also maintain the problem. Finally, tuning down toward the note rather than tuning up leaves slack in the mechanism, which makes the tuning slip after a few minutes.
Summary
- The chromatic tuner is the reference: each string judged independently against concert pitch A 440, no error propagation.
- The 5th fret works in a pinch and trains the ear: step by step, with the 4th fret of G for B, but error propagates in a chain.
- Harmonics are a listening tool, not a standard: they produce natural intervals (just fifth at 702 cents), not the temperament of the frets (700).
- By ear, everything works through beating: you’re not judging a pitch, you’re silencing a wavering.
- To make it hold: approach the pitch by tuning up, stretch new strings, check with a chord. Tuning (open strings) and intonation (setup) are two different topics.
Your guitar is in tune and stays that way. Next step: understanding what happens under your fingers, fret by fret, along the entire length of the neck.
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Open the TunerNext in the Series
In tune, stable, ready. Now the heart of the matter: how the fretboard works, or why each fret does exactly what it does.
Article 3: Guitar Fretboard Layout → ← Article 1: Standard Guitar Tuning · Return to the Fretboard Guide · The Music Theory Series