Tune a Guitar Without a Tuner

You might find yourself in a situation where you need to tune your guitar but don't have a physical tuner handy. If you've learned the manual fifth-fret tuning method, which uses the low E string as a reference to tune the other strings, then you're in luck! But you'll still need to make sure that your low E string is itself in tune and this article shows you how to tune it using alternative reference sound sources that might be closer to hand.

Steps

Getting Started

  1. Hold your guitar in the normal playing position.
  2. Find the low E string. Also known as the sixth string, this is the thickest string, located right at the top.
  3. Find the low E tuning key. Follow the low E string to its tuning key.

Tuning Your Low E String

  1. Find a reference sound source for low E. In the absence of a tuner you could use one of the following devices as a reference to tune your low E string.
    • A Piano. Find the low E key on your piano. This is usually the third white key from the left. If you have an electric keyboard instead of a traditional piano, that will work just as well.
    • A Computer. Using your web browser, you can listen to a recording of a low E guitar string through speakers or headphones connected to your computer. For example, the Fender guitar company has an online tuner built into an image of a guitar head on its official website. Here you can play low E by clicking the tuning key furthest left, either once by selecting the "No Loop" option, or repeatedly by selecting the "Loop" option. Alternatively, you can also listen to recordings of a low E string on a number of websites, such as Soundcloud and YouTube, although these are often user uploads and therefore may not be completely reliable, plus you'd have to reload them for repeated listening.
    • A Smartphone or Tablet. A range of apps, such as Cleartune and Gibson Learn & Master Guitar (IOS and Android), or Guitar Toolkit and Cadenza (IOS only), offer rich tools for tuning, including the ability to get your smartphone or tablet to play and tune a low E.[1]
  2. Play low E on the sound source and your guitar together. Sitting in front of your sound source with your guitar, use one hand to play the low E key on it and the other to strum the low E string on the guitar, so that they sound out at the same time. [2]
  3. Get the sound source and guitar to match. Continue to play the low E on the sound source and guitar together, gently adjusting the guitar's low E tuning key so as to get the guitar to sound the same as the sound source.[3]
    • Turning the tuning key clockwise lowers the pitch, while turning it counterclockwise increases it.
    • Aim to get rid of any "dissonance" while tuning. This is the wobbly out-of-tune vibration that you hear when musical notes are similar but don't quite match.[2]
  4. Tune the remaining strings. Once you're satisfied that your low E string is in tune, move on to tuning the remaining five strings using the fifth-fret tuning method.

Tips

  • If you aren't already familiar with the fifth-fret tuning method, then working through our article on tuning after you've used this one to tune your low E string is a great way to learn.
  • A piano is a great option if you have access to one in this situation, since pianos and keyboards tend to stay in tune longer than guitars and are likely to be a reliable reference sound source for tuning your low E string.[4]
  • Online tuners and tuning apps not only have the ability to give you the low E reference that you're looking for here but often also have full-fledged tuners with features that are just as, if not more, advanced than a physical tuner. This is especially true if your computer, smartphone, or tablet has a microphone and can utilize software-based chromatic tuning which will listen to each string as you play it and tell you when its in tune. All of this makes manual fifth-fret tuning seem redundant and you may wish to just use an app to tune your entire guitar. But it is still worth knowing the manual fifth-fret tuning method, in case you find yourself in an even stickier situation where your guitar is out of tune and there is no physical tuner, piano, or digital device or to hand. In such a situation, you could still use "relative tuning," where you'd just assume that your low E string was in tune even if it wasn't and tune the remaining strings to it using the manual fifth-fret tuning method. [5] This way, although your guitar wouldn't necessarily be in tune with other instruments, you could still play it harmonically because it would at least be in tune with itself!
  • The E of a piano is the immediate white key after the two black keys for tuning. Usually, the 5th octave E is taken but if you have a keyboard, then the 4th octave also works as well.

Warnings

  • Whenever possible, electronic tuners, be they physical or app-based, should be used to tune guitars in order to ensure that they are in concert pitch, especially if you play with other musicians or are a multi-instrumentalist. The methods for tuning outlined here are for situations where a tuner is not available. While tuning without a tuner is a valuable skill worth knowing, and one which will come in useful in emergencies, it should not be relied upon unless necessary.
  • Some online forums suggest that a landline telephone can be used as a reference sound source for tuning a guitar. This is based on the belief that the landline dial tone in some world regions such as North America is emitted at 440 Hz which corresponds to concert pitch, the musical note A above middle C.[6] However, these dial tones are actually emitted across a range of 350 Hz and 440 Hz and should not be considered a stable or accurate reference sound source for tuning a guitar.[7]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.theguitarjournal.com/the-9-best-guitar-tuner-apps/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://guitar.ricmedia.com/tune-guitar/#tune-using-online-reference-tuner-or-piano
  3. ↑ http://www.guitar-beginner.com/low-e-guitar-tuning.html
  4. ↑ http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/methods/
  5. ↑ http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/tuning-your-guitar-to-itself.html
  6. ↑ http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-cafe/94331-tuning-dial-tone.html
  7. ↑ http://www.tech-faq.com/frequencies-of-the-telephone-tones.html

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