What is tuning?

The most important part of playing guitar is making sure your guitar is in tune. If your guitar is not in tune you might as well play it like a drum. Each time before you practice you should make sure your guitar is in tune. When a guitar is in standard tuning, the strings should make the notes E, A, D, G, B, E. The strings are numbered from smallest to biggest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The biggest string is E and the smallest is E as well, sometime the 1st string is signified as a lowercase E, or ‘e.’

Tuning Your Guitar

A beginning concept to grasp is that any note just isn’t any note. An E can be out of tune and still called and E. Notes don’t just click from note to note, instead they go through a stead transistion from flat to ‘in tune’ to sharp and onto the next note. The only way to know that your guitar is perfectly in tune is to use an electronic tuner.

An electronic tuner for beginners is a must. As a beginner you will not know an E from an F# unless they are played right after each other. Point being you will not be able to tell if a string is slightly out of tune. And even worse if you don’t tune your guitar you may be teaching yourself that a chord sounds out of tune instead of what it should sound like.

Making those first… noises…

To make the first sounds on your guitar plug a ¼ inch cable into your guitar and the other end into your amp. Then turn on the amp and turn the volume up a little. Make sure your guitars volume is up as well. Next pluck a string with your finger or pick to make some noise. Anything that makes the strings vibrate will make noise. Next you can use the frets. Don’t push the string down right on top of the fret but instead push it down so that your finger is between two frets. It may feel like you have to use a lot of strength to push the string down but this is just because you are new to playing. Eventually you will build finger strength and be able to push the strings down with ease.

Plucking

To hold a pick place it against the thumb side of your index finger and hold it against your index finger with your thumb. You don’t have to hold it incredibly tight but just so it doesn’t go everywhere. The pick might slide around as well, you will have to adjust your grip accordingly. Strumming takes a lighter grip or a thinner pick. The main thing to work around is how tight to hold the pick, tight enough that it doesn’t fall out but loose enough so that it doesn’t make a harsh noise against the strings or make your hand cramp.

For more Bass Guitar Lessons, please visit our site for Free Guitar Lessons
—–
David Coates has been playing guitar his whole life, and is presently a team member of a Free Guitar Lessons site. The site features free tools, lessons and resources for guitarists of all ages and stages. So if you are interested in learning to play guitar there will be an enormous variety of tip, tools and tutorials for you.

Share This