My new distraction

[Getting_There_Monkey]

So ive just started playing the guitar my new distraction, only problem is it isnt going to well... Im having trouble tuning it never mind learning how to play it :) So was just wondering if anyone had any tricks or tips that maybe could help me? Or know any decent online tuning sites that I oculd use to help me tune my guitar :)

[Jelly Fairy]

Get an electric tuner - I use one for all my instruments. Basically you play and note and it shows whether it is sharp or flat. Make your adjustments, play again and keep going until it shows up as being in tune. I think some of them all electric guitars to plug into them too.

Will try and find one online to show you what I mean.

[Jelly Fairy]

http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/068311/details.html This is simular to the one I use (I've had mine years so expect this is just the newer version).

[The One Who]

It is possible to manually tune it, but that depends on your 'ear'. There are probably a million and one videos and tutorials out there on how to manually tune a guitar. Otherwise, and especially if you aren't confident in your own ability to do it yourself, get an electric one. You'll be able to get one for less than a tenner.

[chesterlily88]

Tuners are good and all of that, but learning to tune by ear is the most reliable way to tune any instruments (because tuners tend to give you the wrong results sometimes). Guitars are luckily one of the easiest to tune by ear. The best way to do it is to get a pitch for your highest string (E) with a pitch pipe (real or app) or a piano or something that has constant pitch. Then tune the E string to the fifth fret of the B string (which would be E). Then tune the B string to the fourth fret of the G string (which is a B). The rest of the strings can be tuned using the fifth fret of the lower string (like with the E/B string combination). Then double check if the low E matches the high E and play a chord to double check all of the strings (I usually play G major, but any sixth string root chords work). The strings that are hardest to get into tune (and keep in tune) are G and D so when a chord is out of tune, check those strings first.

Now, I'm not saying never use technology to help with tuning, but don't be fully dependent on it either or your ear will never develop. And the better your ear, the better the guitar player (or player of any instrument) you are and vice versa.

Plus, you don't always have a tuner, but you always have your ears.

So I'd say tune by ear and double check by machine until you get the hang of it.

Then the best thing to start with are all of your open chords (major, minor, dominant 7th) and the progressions that use these (generally ii-V7-I, IV-V7-I, and iv-V7-i). Then move on to the major, minor, and dominant 7th bar chords and then you can play common progressions in any key.

If you need me to explain things more, PM me.

Also, the key thing that helped me with guitar is knowing where notes are on the fretboard.

[Getting_There_Monkey]

Thank you all so much, I think i am going to buy myself an electri tuner and learn what each string is meant to sound like, then learn to tune by ear :)

Thank you for your tips Chesterlily :) I really am a new beginner only picked a guitar up for the first time yesterday :) Looks like I got alot to learn :) x

[Jelly Fairy]

Definately agree with chesterlily that tuning by ear is a helpful skill to have, but when first starting out a tuner can be handy. I tend to use the tuner if I am playing with a backing track at home etc as it's the easiest way to make sure I am tuned exactly to A = 440 without having access to a piano.

When playing in ensembles (I'm a woodwind player) it is pretty much essential to be able to tune by ear as the person who you tune to might not be tuned exactly to the same pitch as the tuner, so unless you all tune using an electronic device there can be some variation in tuning.