Before you jump into any free beginner guitar lesson you’ve found online, there’s one very important skill you need to learn and that’s how to tune your guitar. Tuning the guitar is the most important skill for the beginning guitarist to learn. After all, if your guitar isn’t in tune, how can you play all your favorite songs or strum along with guitar lessons? But this is often a real stumbling block for some beginners, but tuning your guitar doesn’t have to be a difficult task.

The easiest way for a beginner to tune the guitar is by using an electronic tuner that can be purchased at any good music or guitar store. These tuners are small and inexpensive and will literally save you a lot of time and frustration. However, it is often the case that an electronic tuner is not available, so you will have to tune your guitar by ear. Neglecting to learn this valuable skill will hinder her advancement in guitar playing.

Before you start tuning your guitar, there are a few important points to remember:

1. Before you start playing your guitar or using any free beginner lessons you’ve found on the net, you need to get in the habit of tuning your guitar. this must be done everyone time to want to play
2. the concept of ‘tuning’ is to make sure your guitar sounds more or less like any other guitar by tuning each of the six strings to each other. The standard tuning on most guitars is (from low to high) EADGBe A good way to remember this order is: “Elephants and donkeys have big ears.”
3. You should always ‘tune’ each string UNTIL to your specific note, not to the note. This means that you need to turn the ‘headstock’ to increase the tension on the string until you reach your desired pitch, but be careful not to over-tighten the string as it could break!

So now that you have the basics, let’s dig in and tune the guitar.

Step 1: The first thing you need when tuning your guitar is a reference note so you know where to start. Reference notes can come from a piano, a tuned guitar, a tuning fork, the almighty electronic tuner, or via an online search (a simple Google search for ‘online tuner’ will bring you hundreds of sites to use). You want to start on low E (which is the top and thickest string). You must tune this string so that it sounds exactly like the note you use as a reference. Remember to tune up, not down. If you tune too much, loosen the tension and start over.

Step 2: You are now going to tune the next string down (the 5th string) to match the note A. We do this by matching a note on the 6th string (the one you previously tuned to E) by playing a note on the new string to be tuned. (the fifth) and making sure they sound the same. Place the index finger of your left hand (right hand if your guitar is a left-handed model) just behind the top fifth fret (in tune string). With the other hand, pluck the 6th string, and then pluck the 5th string (do they sound the same?). If the two notes do not match, you must adjust the tension on the fifth string using the tuning machines until they sound exactly the same. Your fifth string is now in tune.

Step 3: Now to tune the 4th string (D). The technique described in step 2 is exactly what we’re going to do to tune the fourth string, but this time you’ll place your finger on the fifth (A) string at the fifth fret and then pluck the string and then pluck the fourth string. (do they sound the same?). Turn the 4th string headstock until the notes match. Your fourth string (D) is now in tune.

Stage 4: OK, now on the next string – the 3rd or G. Same as before but this time place your finger on the 4th string (D) at its 5th fret and pluck the string, then pluck the 3rd string. Readjust the tension on the third string until they sound the same. Your third string (G) is now in tune.

Step 5: Now it’s time to tune the 2nd string (B) and to do this you need to place your finger on the 3rd string (G) this time on the 4th fret and play the string. Play the second string and adjust until they sound the same. Your second string is now in tune.

Step 6: Lastly, we are going to tune the first string, this is the thinnest high ‘e’ string on your guitar. To do this, you need to place your finger on the second string (B) at the fifth fret and pluck the string. Play the first string and adjust the tension until both strings sound the same. Congratulations, you have now successfully tuned your guitar!

Now is the time to put all your hard work into learning to play the guitar through the wonderful and amazing free guitar lessons for beginners that are floating around cyberspace and on great guitar websites.