How to Tune a Guitar: Methods That Work

Standard tuning on a six string guitar is E, A, D, G, B, E from the thickest string to the thinnest. The quickest reliable way to get there is a clip on tuner or a tuner app: clip it to the headstock, play one open string at a time, and turn that string’s tuning peg until the display shows the correct letter with the needle centered.

Tuning by ear is worth learning as well, but it is a skill that builds over months rather than minutes. A tuner gets a beginner in tune in under a minute, and that matters more than it sounds. An out of tune guitar makes correctly played chords sound wrong, which is one of the most common reasons new players quit early.

Key takeaways

• Standard tuning is E A D G B E, low to high. Memorise it before anything else.
• Always tune upward into the note. If a string is sharp, drop below pitch and come back up.
• A clip on tuner reads vibration through the headstock, so it works in a noisy room where a microphone based app struggles.
• Brand new strings drift for the first few days. That is stretching, not a fault.
• Check tuning every time you pick the guitar up. It takes thirty seconds and changes how practice sounds.

Standard tuning, string by string

Guitar strings are numbered from thinnest to thickest. The 6th string is the thick low E, then 5th is A, 4th is D, 3rd is G, 2nd is B, and 1st is the thin high E. Written in scientific pitch notation those notes are E2, A2, D3, G3, B3 and E4, which is useful if you are using a chromatic tuner that displays octaves.

One caution on peg direction. Where tuners sit three per side, the direction that raises pitch flips between the two sides of the headstock. Watch the tuner display as you turn slowly, and if the reading falls, you are going the wrong way. Turning the wrong peg is how strings get snapped.

Method one: a clip on tuner or app

This is the method to start with. Clip the tuner to the headstock, switch it on, and it will pick up string vibration through the wood rather than through the air.

1. Play the open 6th string once, firmly but not hard. Let it ring.
2. Read the letter first. If it shows anything other than E, get to E before worrying about the needle.
3. Turn the peg in small movements and repluck after every one. A quarter turn moves the pitch a surprising amount on the thin strings, and a decaying note gives a stale reading that sends you past the target.
4. Move to the 5th string and repeat through to the 1st, then go back and check the 6th again. Tightening later strings changes neck tension slightly and pulls the earlier ones off.

Phone apps do the same job through the microphone and are fine in a quiet room. Clip on units work better anywhere with background noise, which is why they show up inside most beginner bundles.

Method two: tuning by ear with the fifth fret

The fifth fret method tunes the guitar to itself. It will not fix a guitar that is flat overall, so use a tuner or a reference pitch for the low E first, then work across.

• Fret the 6th string at the 5th fret. That note is A. Match the open 5th string to it.
• Fret the 5th string at the 5th fret. That is D. Match the open 4th string.
• Fret the 4th string at the 5th fret. That is G. Match the open 3rd string.
• The G to B pair is the exception. Fret the 3rd string at the 4th fret to get B, then match the open 2nd string.
• Back to the 5th fret for the last pair. Fret the 2nd string at the 5th fret for E and match the open 1st string.

Listen for the wobble between the two notes. When the strings are close but not matched you hear a pulsing beat. As you close the gap the pulse slows down, and when it disappears the strings are in tune with each other. Training that beat is the single most useful ear skill a new player can pick up.

Why your guitar keeps going out of tune

New strings are the usual culprit. Fresh strings stretch for the first two or three playing sessions and will go flat repeatedly until they settle. Speed this up by gently pulling each string away from the fretboard an inch or so, then retuning, and repeating two or three times.

After that, look at the other usual causes. Sloppy winding at the tuning post leaves slack that slips under tension. Temperature and humidity swings move wood and shift pitch. Strings binding in the nut slot jump rather than glide as you tune. And on a guitar with a floating tremolo, bending one string pulls the others out.

If the open strings tune fine but chords up the neck sound sour, the issue is intonation rather than tuning, and that is a setup job covered in guitar action and why a setup matters. Old, corroded strings also refuse to hold pitch, so check how often you should change guitar strings before blaming the instrument.

Alternate tunings worth knowing

Once standard tuning is comfortable, three alternates cover most of what beginners run into. Drop D lowers only the 6th string from E to D, which makes one finger power chords easy and shows up constantly in rock and metal. Half step down moves every string down one semitone to Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb, and is common in blues and older rock recordings. Open G tunes to D, G, D, G, B, D so the open strings sound a G chord, which suits slide playing.

Guitars that come ready to tune

If you are still shopping, a bundle that includes a tuner removes a step on day one. These are drawn from the acoustic guitar reviews on this site.

• Yamaha GigMaker Standard ships as a starter kit with a digital tuner, gig bag, strap and picks around an F310 dreadnought. A sensible pick for someone who wants one box and no shopping list.
• RockJam Acoustic Guitar Kit includes a tuner, gig bag, spare strings and a foldable stand. The stand matters more than people expect, because a guitar on a stand gets played and a guitar in a cupboard does not.
• Yamaha APXT2 is a 3/4 size acoustic electric with a Yamaha tuner built into the preamp and a gig bag included. Good for travel and for players who would rather not clip anything to the headstock.
• Donner 41 Inch Acoustic Bundle comes with a digital tuner, capo, picks and extra strings, on a full size cutaway body. Suits an adult beginner who wants a standard sized guitar rather than a scaled down one.

For a wider view of what belongs in a first purchase, see what is in a guitar starter bundle.

FAQ

Can I tune a guitar without a tuner?

Yes. Use the fifth fret method, starting from a reference pitch such as a piano key or another instrument. The guitar will then sound in tune with itself even if it sits slightly off concert pitch, which is fine for solo practice but not for playing with others.

How often should I tune?

Every session, before you play. Steel strung guitars drift with temperature, humidity and playing tension, so an instrument that was in tune yesterday usually needs a small correction today. New strings may need retuning several times within one session.

Do nylon string guitars tune differently?

The note names are identical, but nylon behaves differently. Nylon stretches far more than steel, so a new set can take a week or more to hold pitch and will need retuning constantly at first. Classical tuners also use slotted headstocks with rollers, and the peg turns feel looser. See nylon versus steel string guitars for the wider differences.

Why does my guitar sound out of tune only on some chords?

That usually points to intonation, string height or fretting pressure rather than tuning. Pressing too hard behind a fret bends the string sharp, which is common in the first months of playing. If the problem persists with a light touch, the saddle position or the action likely needs adjusting.