Before you start playing your guitar, you have to tune it. After all, it’s quite impossible to make music with an untuned instrument. In addition, do not hesitate to check the tuning of your guitar if what you play sounds strange.

Tuning your guitar is extremely important. It is rather depressing to play with an untuned guitar. For in this case, even the most beautiful pieces are unpleasant to hear. On the contrary, it is a real pleasure to play on a well tuned instrument. There are several ways to tune your guitar, we will study three of them.

For a beginner it is the best method by far, for the two others require a little practice. It is thus, the one I recommend most, especially since a tuner is not expensive… On the tuner, choose the string you want to tune (note that some tuners make the selection themselves). Then, check on the tuner if the note is too low (the indicator moves to the left) or too high (the indicator moves to the right). The perfect tuning is reached when the indicator stays in the middle, on the zero (see figure I).

Tune the A string using the tuning fork, then check the other strings by comparing them two by two (play the frets indicated on figure II).

Pick up your phone, using the dialing tone tune the A string, then check the other strings by comparing them two by two (see figure III).

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Begin by finding a flat surface on which to lay the guitar. A table works well, but the floor works in a pinch. Position yourself in front of the instrument, with the guitar’s sixth string closest to you. Completely slacken the sixth (lowest) string of the guitar, by turning the tuner. If you’re unsure of which direction to turn the tuner to slacken the string, pluck the string before you begin turning the tuner. The pitch of the note should get lower as you slacken the string.

Once the string has been completely slackened, uncoil it from the tuning peg at the head of the guitar. Next, remove the other end of the string from the bridge by removing the sixth string bridge pin from the bridge of the guitar. Commonly, bridge pins will provide some resistance when trying to remove them. If this is the case, use a pair of pliers and gently coax the bridge pin out of the bridge.

Discard the old string. Using your cloth, wipe down any areas of the guitar you can’t reach with the sixth string on the instrument. If you have guitar polish, now is the time to use it.

It is important to note that some guitarists remove all strings from their guitar at once and then replace them. I highly advise against this procedure. The six tuned strings of a guitar produce a great deal of tension on the neck of the instrument, which is a good thing. Removing all six strings at once drastically changes this tension, which many guitar necks don’t react well to. Sometimes, when all six strings are replaced, the strings will sit impossibly high off the fretboard. Change your strings one at a time to avoid a variety of issues.

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String Changing Tutorial

Take a look at the strings of your guitar. What sort of shape are they in? Are they discolored? Rusty? Are all six strings present and accounted for? If you answered no to any of these questions, or if it’s been several months since you put new strings on your guitar, it’s time for a string change. New strings make your guitar sound brighter, and generally make it easier to play.

How Often Should I Change My Strings?

Just like brake pads on a car, guitar strings wear out with use. Old guitar strings often behave badly – they’ll lose tuning more quickly, sound less “bright”, and give you problems with intonation. Old guitar strings also break, often during the most inopportune moment. Be sure to head into any live playing situation with new strings on your guitar, and several more sets of strings packed in your case, should you break a string during performance.

When I’m playing my acoustic guitar a lot, I’ll change the strings at least every two weeks (more than that if I’m using it for gigs). It’s probably not necessary for beginners to be quite as diligent with keeping new strings on their guitar, but changing strings a minimum of every couple months is a very good idea.

What Sort of Guitar Strings Should I Buy?

Everyone has an opinion on which strings are best, but let’s put aside the discussion of guitar string manufacturers for a moment, and discuss the type of strings needed for your guitar. If you own an acoustic guitar, you need “acoustic guitar strings”. If you own a classical guitar, you need “classical guitar strings” or “nylon strings”. An electric guitar needs “electric guitar strings”. And a bass guitar needs… wait for it… “bass guitar strings”.

You also need to consider the gauge (thickness) of strings you’d like. This is where personal preference comes into play, but for beginners, I recommend starting with “medium” gauge strings, and varying from that as you develop a personal preference. An oversimplified rule of thumb is thicker strings provide better tone, but are harder to play.

If you’re intimidated by the thought of buying a set of strings from a guitar store, don’t be. Simply march in, and say “I’d like a set of XXXXX (brand name – eg. D’Addario, Fender, Dean Markley) medium gauge acoustic guitar strings please.” Prices vary from store to store, but a set of acoustic strings shouldn’t set you back more than $8 (several brands, like the excellent Elixir strings, cost more, but the merits of these products belongs in another article).

Now, let me show you how to change the strings on your acoustic guitar or change the strings on your electric guitar.

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When you have invested in guitar related equipment there is no reason that you should not take some time and trouble to care for these items. Guitars and their equipment and accessories can cost quite a lot and when you invest this kind of money, it is vitally important that you keep up on the care of these items. Neglecting to guitar care for the items will cause them to become damaged and no longer function properly.

Failure to care for your guitar could result in a poor sound. Even if you are the most trained guitar playing professional in the world, if you do not care for your guitar you will not produce quality music. Therefore, there is no denying the importance of guitar and equipment care.

Common Sense Guitar Care Tips

First and foremost consider where you store and place your guitar when not in use. You should place your guitar in a professionally designed guitar case that can protect your guitar. Additionally, you should be sure to store your guitar at room temperature. You should never store your guitar in a room or area that is subjected to great variations in heat or cold.

This means that you should keep your guitar out of sunlight and you should never leave it in a car or other vehicle overnight. You should take all necessary steps to assure that your guitar does not become wet as it can acquire damage. Do not ever place your guitar in a spot where it may become dirty, dusty or wet. Always take great care to consider the environment wherein you may sit your guitar down.

It is always best to keep your guitar close by at all times. This way you never have to sit your guitar to the side or on the ground. Keeping your guitar close by is very important to keeping it clean and free of foreign debris.

Repairing Damages Such As Cracks

Unless you are a trained guitar repair technician you should not attempt to make repairs on your own. When it comes to your guitar you should always take it to a trained professional who has proper training in fixing and repairing guitars. If you attempt to fix or repair your guitar on your own, you may actually cause more damage or you may actually make your guitars warranty null and void if it comes with one.

Therefore, you should always be sure to seek out the assistance of a trained professional when it comes to cracks or other major damages. However, such things as replacing strings can be accomplished by anyone. But if your guitar has sustained major damage then you should take it to a professional guitar repair shop.

The Bottom Line Concerning Guitar Care

You have invested a great deal of money into your guitar; therefore, you should go to great lengths to care for your guitar. The moment you begin to slack on your guitar maintenance the less life that your guitar will maintain. However, if you properly care for your guitar you will quickly find that it will last forever.

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When I had been playing for about a year, I got sick of my guitar, but I didn’t really have money for another one. It wasn’t a very good model, and it didn’t sound great in the hands of inexperienced player. When one of my friends suggested trying some different guitar strings, I thought he was being silly. I had tried a few different acoustic guitar string brands, and had not noticed any difference. He told me to buy myself some high-quality Martin Guitar Strings and listen again. When I did, I was blown away. They really did sound warmer, brighter, and all around fuller.

That sound was great for me for a while. I have never had anything but good things to say about Martin Guitar Strings.

The problem was that my guitar was a little bit tinny. The Martin strings were too bright for the particular axe that I was using, So I knew that I had to experiment more. I wanted dark guitar strings with a much mellower, lower pitched sound. I was playing my guitar mostly for accompaniment, so I didn’t need it to project out all that much.

When I finally found the perfect set of acoustic strings, I was absolutely overjoyed. They were made by a local manufacturer who hand wound them. Hand wound guitar strings are a little bit expensive, but if you find really good ones they are more than worth it. Unfortunately, he doesn’t make the strings anymore, but fortunately I stockpiled enough for several years to come. I practice using Martin strings still, but I have my special strings waiting in a case for shows. By saving them and using them sparingly, I should be able to make them last for as long as I need them. By that point, maybe I will have bought a better guitar.

You can learn how to restring an accoustic guitar here.

1. Remove the old strings by popping out the pin on the bridge and unwinding it from the head.
2. Thread the ball end of a new string through the bridge and anchor it with the pin. It is important that the ball end of the string sits firmly against the bridge plate. (If you have a pinless bridge and the strings simply pass thru the back side of this bridge, put a “hook like” bend on the tip of the string before threading it thru the hole, this way it feeds up and over the saddle.)
3. After attaching the string to the bridge, stretch it up the neck and bring it down the center of the peghead, then thread it thru the tuning shafts hole.
4. Leave a bit of string length to wind around the tuner, and bend the string to help hold it in place on the peg, then turn the tuning peg to tighten it. While you turn, hold the pin firmly to keep the string from popping out. Turn it at least one rotation, but make sure you don’t turn it too tight.
5. Stretch the new string with your fingers, then turn the tuning peg a bit to retighten it.
6. Use wire cutters to clip off the excess string, leaving about 1 or 2 inches.
7. Tune the new string to a guitar tuner.

A great step-by-step guide with photos that show you how to restring your guitar properly can be found at: http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm

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Proper maintenance is important to any technical piece of equipment, all the way from vehicles down to instruments that you play. The guitar is no exception. One of the things that you must do on a regular basis is to tune the strings on your guitar.

Without doing this, they can stretch and the sound will be distorted. Tuning your guitar every so often will help prevent you from looking like an idiot in front of your friends whenever you are trying to impress them with your musical skills.

There is a standard, as there always seems to be, involved in guitar tuning and it is conveniently labeled the standard guitar tuning method. The standard involves tuning the strings from the thickest to the thinnest. The order should be E, A, D, G, B, E.

This method is the easiest methods because it is the easiest for tuning the most amounts of scales and chords. The way to start this method is with the E string. The E string is the thickest, and the least likely to fall short of tuning.

The A string is the next string that you should tune. The way to adjust the A string is to place your finger on the fret, pick the fifth and sixth strings while adjusting the fifth string tuning peg until the two notes sound the same. The D string comes next in line.

The way to find the proper D string note is to find the A string that is located just behind the fifth fret. You then turn the fourth string to that note. Tune your G string to the note that rings when you put the first finger on your left hand just behind the fifth fret.

The B string should sound like when your first finger of your left hand is placed behind the forth fret. You should recognize that the tuning of the B string is the only one in the method that uses the fourth fret and not the fifth. Last is the E string which is where you place the first finger of, you guessed it, your left hand behind the fifth fret on the B string.

There are other ways to tune your guitar, but they can get more complicated. You can use an online guitar tuner. You can customize these tuners or you can use the standard method in order to hear how the note is supposed to sound. There are many sites that you can visit in order to find an online tuner, but when you find a site that you like, you should bookmark it in your favorites so that you can easily find it the next time.

If you don’t have a keen ear attuned to different pitches, you might want to invest in an electric tuner. With this device you can look at a tuning monitor to see how off-tune each string on your guitar is. Then, by following the needle on the display, you can tune each string on your guitar according to the reading given on the electric tuner.

Even if you do have a trained ear, electric tuners can come in handy if you’re trying to tune your equipment just before a gig. Noises and other distractions can keep your ear from creating just the right sound on your guitar strings.

If you’re experienced enough, you can tune your guitar by using piano notes. This is quite difficult to do though, especially if you’re not trained in tuning your guitar with this method. Experts and musicians who have been performing for years can also tune their instruments though harmonies and octaves, but this might only confuse the beginning guitar player.

If you’re unsure about your tuning abilities, it is best to just stick with the other methods, such as an electric tuner, to make sure that your strings are tuned to just the right pitch.

I just bought this Guitar Setup and Maintenance 3 DVDs set from Learn And Master Guitar, but didn’t have enough time yet to test and review it. I thought I put the link already up here as it sounds pretty good.

It says it will show you step-by-step how to set up your guitar, make basic adjustments to your guitar so you end up with a better playing and sounding instrument, properly restring your guitar, how to adjust the action from the bridge to the saddles, how to adjust the neck and check the relief, and much more.

Check out the video:

I think this sounds interesting, don’t you?

Here is the link to the official Learn & Master Guitar website with a lot more info about this Guitar Setup And Maintenance course

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