Music Information

Guitar Tuning Tips


Most new guitar players and even some experienced ones have trouble staying and playing in tune. I'll try listing here some of the common mistakes and there solutions.

When putting new strings on your guitar you must always make sure you stretch them as you tune them to pitch. I always hold them down on the neck around the 24th fret with my left hand while pulling them away from the guitar body with my right hand. You don't have to use too much muscle, a few firm tugs should do the trick.

Whenever you tune a string down in pitch, be sure to use the string stretching technique described above. Remember ALWAYS TUNE UP! It's always better when tuning down, to get close to the note, stretch the string and then tune up to the intended pitch.

You should purchase a quality tuner from a music store like zZounds.com . You don't need to spend your life's saving. An inexpensive tuner should be fine to start out. Remember, this thing will be traveling to gigs and jam sessions with you. I would recommend a good Boss tuner or Korg tuner. Both brands have low cost tuners that will do the job just fine.

If your guitar has a tremolo bridge, always remember that each string that you tune will go down in pitch as you tune the next string. One solution to this is to over tune the strings. That is to say, you may need to tune your low E string to an F in order to have it be around an E note by the time you finish tuning the other strings. Over time you'll get a feel for how much you need to over tune each string and it will become second nature.

If you play in a band, it is a good idea to always tune to the same pitch. Standard pitch is 440 but some bands like to tune down to 430 or even 420 for the heavier sound or vocal reasons or both. My point is that if you're practicing at 430 then you have a gig and your band tunes to 440, everything will suddenly sound different, your singer might not be able hit all the notes he or she did at practice, your solos might even sound wrong. This is because everything is now a half step higher in pitch. Make things easy on yourself, pick a pitch and stick with it, at practice and gigs.

Free online guitar lessons presented by guitarmetal.com

Edward D Cupler is the owner of guitar lessons website guitarmetal.com Offering free guitar lessons to beginners and advanced students. Visit Eds site for free online guitar lessons at Guitar Metal.


MORE RESOURCES:

BBC News

Texas music fest gets big dose of Colorado flavors
Denver Post
AUSTIN, Texas — Denver's mammoth presence at this year's South by Southwest music festival and conference made it clear: While Colorado has ...
South by Southwest offers sad glimpse of music industry's futureCanada.com
Spoon-fed success?BBC News
SXSW: There's a whirr of music emerging from the clubs of Austin, TexasLos Angeles Times
New York Times -News 8 Austin -AnnArbor.com
all 32 news articles »


The Guardian

SXSW 2010 Music Festival
Austin 360 (blog)
Remember when Indiana Jones was descending into the forbidden tomb and sees the floor crawling? ...
Please don't stop the music: Bands rock SXSWLos Angeles Times
SXSW Musicians Interact with Fans on the StreetHuffington Post (blog)
SXSW 2010 Music FestivalAustin 360 (blog)
Austin 360 (blog) -Austin 360 (blog) -Austin 360 (blog)
all 108 news articles »


The State

North Texas acts make impact at Austin music fest
Fort Worth Star Telegram
... outside downtown Austin attracted the police and a high-profile passer-by: actor Bill Murray. Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic. ...
RIP Alex Chilton: American music manThe State
Ever-larger music festival comes to an end on a cold day in AustinAustin 360
Alex Chilton remembered as Big Star SXSW showcase becomes joyous tributeEntertainment Weekly
St. Louis Post-Dispatch -California Chronicle -Chicago Tribune (blog)
all 18 news articles »


Dallas Morning News

Classical music review: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra offers its take with ...
Dallas Morning News
Her extravagant rubato in dreamier passages was apt to the music, but she sometimes slowed down too soon before phrase endings. Led by music director Miguel ...
Symphony Orchestra puts music in motionFort Worth Star Telegram

all 4 news articles »


American Idol's Lacey Brown: 'I Want to Make Some Good Music'
People Magazine
I'm not just an artist that just sings one type of music. I'm going to have a definite fresh outlook on music but it will have a folky tinge to it just ...

and more »


UW World Series announces 2010-11 dance and music lineup
Seattle Times
The 2010-11 International Chamber Music series includes Meany perennials, the Emerson String Quartet. Concert dates: Kavafian-Schub-Shifrin Trio (Oct. 20); ...

and more »


New York Daily News

Canadian soul singer Melanie Fiona travels in time between where music has ...
New York Daily News
Melanie Fiona travels through time in her music. Play her records, and you're trans-ported back to the DayGlo days of mod '60s soul, a time when snappy ...



Jet's in, nice theme music
Dallas Morning News (blog)
Jason Terry just entered the game with the Mavericks trailing, 15-12, accompanied by a few notes of Phantom of the Opera. Of course, probably only the most ...

and more »


Reuters

Music Biz Insiders Say Sony-Jackson Deal Makes Sense
ABC News
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - The magnitude of Sony Music Entertainment's landmark recording contract with the estate of Michael Jackson raises ...
Sony bets MJ fans never can say goodbyeLouisville Courier-Journal
Michael Jackson Betrayed After DeathPeopleMagazineDaily.com

all 66 news articles »


New York Times

Charlie Gillett, Disc Jockey and Historian, Dies at 68
New York Times
In the 1970s, Mr. Gillett was the first disc jockey to play music by Graham Parker, Elvis Costello and Dire Straits. By the time he had finished playing ...
Charlie Gillett: the patriarch of world musicThe Guardian

all 4 news articles »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006