Subject: Dude, Why Don't You Tune That Thing?!
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, Every once in a while I get a question, "how do I tune a guitar?" I've covered tuning a number of ways on the website, but let's talk about some quick ways to get it done.There are few things worse in music than an out-of-tune instrument. Let a string or two go "out-of-tune" on your guitar, and you're making some sour music (if you want to call it that!). It doesn't take much for an "off" note to really throw the song into the trash. First some background on tuning in general... How is it that musical notes are the same in every culture? The notes might be called something different, but the pitch is always the same. If you've never given it any thought, consider that across the world there are (or have been) millions of musicians and hundreds, if not thousands of different musical styles and genres. How is it that we all tune a C note to the same pitch across the world? This all comes down to sound waves and frequencies. Huh? Sound moves in waves. Without getting too sciency, the sound of each musical note is generated by a specific sound wave frequency (the number of repeating vibrations in a second), which is measured in hertz (Hz). For example, a standard note used for tuning is A major, which vibrates at a frequency of 440 hertz, or 440 waves per second. That means if you tune your A string (the fifth string, or second fattest on a six string guitar) to the A pitch, when you pluck the string it vibrates at 440 Hz and creates the A sound. OK, enough Physics for now. So how do you tune a guitar? The easiest way to get your guitar tuned is to have someone else do it for you! :-) Get yourself a guitar tech! Seriously, though, that's neither practical nor cheap! The next easiest way is to get yourself an electronic tuner. You can get these very inexpensively these days (not like when I was learning, when a good tuner would cost you well over $100). You can find tuners for less than $10. Electronic tuners are really easy to use. You can get a clip-on tuner that attaches to your guitar's headstock. It detects the vibration coming from the string and gives you a reading on the frequency of that vibration, which equals the pitch of the note. You can be fully tuned up in a matter of minutes. When I was first learning guitar, I had a pitch pipe. There were six pipes combined, each having a different tone to correspond with the pitch of each string. I guess it was like a harmonica, but only six notes - E A D G B e. I think this was a good way to learn tuning because it helped to train my ears to the proper pitch for each string. It was definitely an old school approach - I don't know if pitch pipes are even used today, since decent electronic tuners are so affordable. I also had a tuning fork - tuned to A (440 Hz). Yup, another old school method. If you've never seen one, they're kind of cool. It looks like a letter 'u' with the tail in the center of the curve. You knock one of the tines against your knee to start it vibrating, then touch the tail to a solid surface like your guitar body. You'll hear the pitch clearly, from which you can then tune the string (A, or string 5 in this case). From there, it's a manual process using either the fifth fret or harmonic method to tune up. If you don't have any of these tools, the next method is to go online. Many websites have web applications built-in that you can use to tune your guitar. You can head over to my site and use the online guitar tuner there. Another great option if you have an iPhone or Droid device is a tuning app. My favorite so far is Tuner & Beat Master on my iPhone. The app uses the phone microphone to pick up the sound wave from the string. Another cool app is the Gibson Learn & Master Guitar (the same folks that gave us Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar DVD course. Not only do they have a nice tuner, they also give you a metronome, jam tracks and lessons, all on your iDevice or Droid. These are by-all-means not the only app options out there. In fact, there are way too many to list in an email. Just do a search on your device for an app that looks cool. The paid apps tend to be a bit more feature rich, but you can get really good tools for free. So there you have some options for tuning your guitar. Go get yourself tuned and sounding good! If you're interested, check out my alternate tunings resources. Peace~ Dave Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. 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