luv090909

This has been submitted on the main site, in a much better format, if you want to read that, go to http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/for_beginne rs/how_to_tune_a_guitar_without_a_tuner.html  . If not, continue. Thanks

Tuning a guitar is possible one of the most basic things a guitarist is expected to know, that being said, tuning using the conventional method isn’t easy, especially if you don’t have a good ear.

            I take this opportunity to introduce you people to the idea of tuning VISUALLY.

            Read that line again. It wasn’t a typo. This is something I have known since my eighth months of playing (February 2008, for those interested). It is essentially what I learnt during physics class, I love physics, and so applying it to music wasn’t difficult, almost natural.

            Resonance is a term some would be familiar with, but the rest will go “WTF?” Well don’t worry; I’ll be explaining it to you.  Resonance is the natural phenomenon due to which a body vibrates with larger amplitude when it is exposed to a frequency equal to its own natural frequency (The definition may not be entirely correct, I just finished tenth grade around 2 weeks back, so I haven’t really been studying). Didn’t understand? Don’t worry.

            Sound is produced when a body vibrates, and when the body vibrates, a wave is formed. If the frequency of the wave is x Hz (Hz is the unit of frequency, 1 Hz is one vibration per second), and the body is moved from its position of rest, it will vibrate with a frequency of 1 Hz and if another body, with a natural frequency of 1 Hz is exposed to it, the body starts vibrating with a larger amplitude.

            So what? What does this mean to the average guitarist???

            Try this, tune your guitar using a tuner. Make sure it’s perfectly tuned (Or as perfectly as humanly possible at least ). Now put the pick down for a minute. Fret the Low E string on the 5^th fret. Now Push it down towards the sound hole (Around 0.3 – 0.7 cms should do it). Now suddenly let it go, not slowly, not bit by bit, but suddenly.

            Oh. My. God! Yup, the A string (5^th string) is vibrating

            So what, you ask? You didn’t want to CHECK if your guitar was in tune, you wanted to TUNE it. Be patient my friend.

            Now de tune the A string (One or two turns should do it). Now repeat what was done with the E string, push it down a bit and suddenly let go, the A string isn’t vibrating is it? Well tighten the A string a bit, repeat the pushing and releasing with the A – string. Keep doing this till the A string vibrates. Yup, your A string is now in tune if its vibrating .

            Another thing to note would be that the string might vibrate even if it is a bit out of tune, you have to make sure that the string vibrates to the point where it is moved (or displaced, for the scientifically inclined) maximum from its position of rest, i.e. The more the string vibrates, the better in tune it is. Also, don’t forget to play both the notes at the same time to make sure it IS perfectly in tune. Now repeat for all the other strings. Except, to tune the B string, instead of fretting fifth fret on the D string, fret the 4^th one. If you don’t know why, check out a few other tuning lessons to find out.

            This however, isn’t the end of the lesson. Remember, to tune, we need a reference note; this isn’t as hard as it seems to some. Just try and remember a song whose first note is an E (NOT chord, NOTE). Tune your E string to that note. Now do as written above. I find that “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallic works well for me.

            Thank you for your time, either comment and leave a suggestion and/or thank me (:P) or email me at “luv090909@gmail.com”