Guitar Tuning

With your first string in tune, it is possible to tune the rest of the guitar string by string.
Here’s how:
➤Put a left-hand finger just behind the fifth fret of the second string and sound the string with any right-hand finger. It should sound the same as the first string open (i.e., with no frets used). If it doesn’t, tighten or loosen it until it does.
➤With the top two strings now in tune, put a finger behind the fourth fret of the third string. When you play it should sound the same as the second string. If it doesn’t, tighten or loosen as above.
➤With the top three strings in tune, place a finger behind the fifth fret of the fourth string. Adjust it to sound like the third string.
Electronic Tuning
Tuning can also be made almost foolproof with electronic tuning machines, in which either a meter or colored lights tell you when you’re in tune. The cost of these is naturally higher than that of tuning forks or pitch pipes, but they are accurate and easy. The best kind allow you to play a note and then watch a needle that shows whether you’re sharp or flat.
String Stretch
After putting on a new string, there is a tendency to believe that the string is slipping, because the pitch will drop slightly over a period of time after being tuned up. Actually this is the string stretching, and until the settling point is reached it will be necessary to tighten the string periodically. Professional players hasten this process by taking hold of the string and twisting it to get the stretch out.
The Least You Need to Know
➤The action (or height) of the strings on your guitar is crucial to making it playable. ➤Changing strings is easy, but the process is slightly different for classical, folk, and electric guitars.
➤Buying the right type of strings for your instrument is important to maximize sound and playability.
➤Tune your guitar with a pitch pipe or tuning fork, on a piano, relatively on the instru-ment itself, or with an electronic tuner.

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