| There are many ways to tune an electric | | | | Finally, lower E, the largest string and also |
| guitar. The easiest way is with a guitar | | | | the first: - Place your middle finger on the |
| tuner, if the intonation is set properly. | | | | 5th fret of lower E - This gives an open A |
| Tuning a guitar trains your ear to the | | | | sound - Match the sound produced by the A |
| different sounds of each note. | | | | string to the 5th fret note - Adjust lower E |
| | | | accordingly |
| Find a tuner that works with an electric | | | | |
| guitar. Learn to tune your guitar with one | | | | Be aware that when you tighten a string to |
| note off a fixed source, or by ear. This will | | | | tune it it's put under lots of tension. |
| help train the ear for the pitch of each note | | | | Normally, this is not a problem. However, if |
| and help with finger placement and the | | | | your guitar has rough parts that can snag a |
| pressure to be applied to the string. | | | | string. If you tune it incorrectly and over |
| | | | tighten the string, it will break. Since the |
| One way to tune is set out below: - Start off | | | | string is under so much tension, it can cause |
| with open A (this is the second largest or | | | | a lot of damage. Don't over tighten strings. |
| 5th string). - Use a fixed source such as the | | | | If in doubt, tune down. |
| piano, harmonica, tuning fork, even another | | | | |
| guitar - Now make the A string match the | | | | You need to do one string at a time. Strings |
| pitch or tone of the A source note by picking | | | | have tension and a pulling effect on the |
| the A string and letting it ring - Loosen the | | | | guitar's neck. The force that each string |
| string below the tone and then tune while | | | | exerts on the neck causes it to bend |
| increasing the tension - Loosening and then | | | | slightly. |
| tightening works best and keeps the guitar in | | | | |
| tune longer | | | | Once you have tuned your guitar, you will |
| | | | probably find that some strings have gone out |
| Once the A string is tuned move to the D | | | | of tune. You will need to repeat the above |
| string. - The D string is directly below the | | | | procedure until all the strings are in tune. |
| A string, it is the 4th string - Sound D by | | | | |
| placing your middle finger on the 5th fret on | | | | Good intonation means your guitar will stay |
| A - This will give the D sound - Hold the | | | | in tune as you play different notes along the |
| finger down and leave it to ring while | | | | neck. The string may be perfectly in tune |
| adjusting D | | | | but, on the 10th fret, it might be ½ |
| | | | semitone out. This is bad intonation. |
| Now move to the G string; this is directly | | | | |
| under the D string and is the 3rd string. - | | | | Bad intonation can be caused by a mismatch |
| Sound G by placing your middle finger on the | | | | between the length of the string and the |
| 5th fret on the D string - Let the sound ring | | | | spacing of the frets. It can also be caused |
| out by holding your finger down - Adjust G by | | | | by a non-uniform string (that is, the |
| matching it to the sound | | | | thickness changes along the length). If you |
| | | | can't fix the intonation, try changing your |
| Then comes the B string or the 2nd string. | | | | strings. |
| This is directly under the G string. - Place | | | | |
| your middle finger on the 4th fret on the G | | | | Intonation is easily adjusted on the electric |
| string - Hold your finger down to let it ring | | | | guitar since the bridge consists of several |
| out - Adjust the B string to match the sound | | | | adjustable parts. A flat note means the |
| | | | string is too long, whereas a sharp note |
| Next, the upper E string, the thinnest string | | | | means the string is too short. Adjust the |
| and the one below the B string. - Place your | | | | string slightly by moving the appropriate |
| middle finger on the 5th fret of the B | | | | bridge piece. You may have to repeat this |
| string; this gives the upper E note - Let it | | | | several times on each string. It is |
| ring out by holding your finger down - Adjust | | | | time-consuming the first time you do it, but |
| the E string to match the sound | | | | well worth your while. |
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