It is essential that your guitar is in tune in order for all the strings to interact the way that they should. Tuning can be done by ear or by using an electronic tuner. Let’s check out how to tune a guitar by ear. There are many ways to tune the 6 string guitar but the standard method (E A D G B E) is designed to make playing chords and scales easier.   To help remember the notes of this tuning from the top string down use the saying:

Every Angry Dog Growls Before Eating

Tuning the Guitar by Ear

[lollum_dropcap]T[/lollum_dropcap]o tune your guitar by ear match up the following notes. Starting on the low ‘E’ string and progress down the neck adjusting the sound of any open string to match the note on the fifth fret on the string above. There is an exception when tuning the B string, you would use the fourth fret.

What to Listen For

[one_half padding=”0 10px 0 10px”] [lollum_dropcap]B[/lollum_dropcap]egin by having the pitch of the string your tuning lower than your reference note’s pitch. As you tune your string up towards the referance note listen for waves in the sound created by the two pitches. Use these waves to judge how close you are to matching the notes. The closer you get to matching them, the less dramatic the waves become.