22 Part I: So You Wanna Play Guitar

Figure 2-1: 1st string E

Place your
2nd string B E
fingers on
the frets as 3rd string G B
shown and 4th string D G
match the
pitch to the 5th string A D
next open 6th string A
string. Nut 4th fret 5th fret

When you tune in the normal way, you use your left hand to turn the tuning
peg. But after you remove your finger from the string that you’re fretting, it
stops ringing; therefore, you can no longer hear the string you’re trying to tune
to (the fretted string) as you adjust the open string. However, there’s a way to
tune the open string while keeping your left-hand finger on the fretted string.
Simply use your right hand! After you strike the two strings in succession (the
fretted string and the open string), take your right hand and reach over your
left hand (which remains stationary as you fret the string) and turn the tuning
peg of the appropriate string until both strings sound exactly the same.

In Deference to a Reference:
Tuning to a Fixed Source
Getting the guitar in tune with itself through the relative method is good for
your ear but isn’t very practical if you need to play with other instruments or
voices that are accustomed to standard tuning references (see the section
“Sinking your teeth into the tuning fork,” a little later in this chapter). If you
want to bring your guitar into the world of other people, you need to know
how to tune to a fixed source, such as a piano, pitch pipe, tuning fork, or elec-
tronic tuner. Using such a source ensures that everyone is playing by the
same tuning rules. Besides, your guitar and strings are built for optimal tone
production if you tune to standard pitch.

The following sections describe some typical ways to tune your guitar by
using fixed references. These methods not only enable you to get in tune, but
also to make nice with all the other instruments in the neighborhood.
 Chapter 2: Turn On, Tune In 23
Taking a turn at the piano
Because it holds its pitch so well (needing only biannual or annual tunings,
depending on the conditions), a piano is a great tool that you can use for
tuning a guitar. Assuming that you have an electronic keyboard or a well-tuned
piano around, all you need to do is match the open strings of the guitar to the
appropriate keys on the piano. Figure 2-2 shows a piano keyboard and the
corresponding open guitar strings.

Middle C

E A D G B E

Figure 2-2:
A view of
the piano
keyboard,
highlighting
the keys
that corre-
spond to the
open strings
of the guitar.