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Home > Beginner Guitar Lessons

Basic Guitar Tuning - Tuning a Guitar

Tuning forks

Tuning your guitar with a tuning fork can be a little tricky at first. With a tuning fork, you are tuning one string, usually the 5th or 6th, then tuning all of the other strings to that one. If you are tuning the 5th string, you will be using an A 440 tuning fork, this is the one I prefer. If you want to tune your 6th string, then you are going to use an E 329.63 tuning fork. The numbers stand for the cycles per second, not really important unless you are a physics freak.

How to use it

I am going to show you how to use an A 440 tuning fork, since that is the one that I have.

Hit one of the sides of the tuning fork on your knee, while holding the stem with your thumb and 1st finger.
Take the base of the tuning fork and rest it on the guitar. Since your guitar is wood, it will vibrate at the pitch of the tuning fork. A 440 in this case.
Play the harmonic at the 5th fret of the 5th string. You are going to pluck the string with your right hand 2nd finger, while still holding the base of the tuning fork against the guitar. (that is the tricky part at first)
Tune that harmonic to match the pitch of the tuning fork.
You with then tune all of the other strings to the 5th string.

Watch this video on using the tuning fork

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Page 5, electronic tuners

Page 1, back to the beginning of basic guitar tuning

Basic guitar tuning jump zone

Tuning the 6th string
Tuning the rest of the strings
Tuning with a piano

Pitch pipes
Electronic tuners
Using a tuning fork