Tuning up, every single time

An out-of-tune guitar makes everything you play sound bad. It does not matter how good your technique is. Tune every session, even if you played yesterday. Strings drift overnight from temperature and tension.

Standard tuning: EADGBe

Six strings, low (thickest) to high (thinnest):

• 6th string: E (low E)
• 5th string: A
• 4th string: D
• 3rd string: G
• 2nd string: B
• 1st string: e (high E)

Memorize it: "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie."

Use the Guitaring tuner

Pluck a string. The screen tells you which note you played and whether you are flat (below) or sharp (above). Turn the peg until the indicator centers.

Tip: turn the peg slowly. Half a turn changes the pitch a lot. If the string is way off, tune up to the target (loosen below, then tighten up to it). Pegs hold pitch better when you arrive from below.

Try it

Tune the open strings, low E to high e, using the Guitaring tuner. Then strum all six together. If a note is still off, you will hear it. Re-tune just that string.

Next: holding the guitar so you do not develop a wrist injury in month two.