Using a Tuner

• 1). Plug one side of the 1/4-inch instrument cable into your guitar pickup. Plug the other side of the cable into your guitar tuner. Start tuning below the note you want and tune up to the pitch each time you tune a string. With the string tightened, it is less likely it will go flat when you play.
  
  
• 2). Turn on the guitar tuner. Make sure that its settings are configured to tune a guitar and not a bass guitar, as many tuners offer this option.
  
  
• 3). Tune each string to its corresponding note. The bottom E string is the first string to tune, followed by the A, D, G, B and high E strings.
  
  

Tune By Ear

• 1). Find a piano that is tuned properly. Listen to the piano chords to check if it is in tune.
  
  
• 2). Play the first E note on the piano, below middle C. Tune your bottom E string to this note.
  
  
• 3). Play the E string with your finger on the fifth fret, which is the A note. Tune the A string to match this note.
  
  
• 4). Play the A string with your finger on the fifth fret. Tune the D string to match this note.
  
  
• 5). Place your finger on the D string at the fifth fret, and play the G note. Tune your G string to match this note. You may need to tune your G string more often than the larger strings because its string core is thinner than the bigger strings, which have a winding around the core wire.
  
  
• 6). Place your finger on the fourth fret of the G string. The B string should match this note.
  
  
• 7). Play the B string on the fifth fret. Tune the high E string to this note.
  
  
• 8). Play some chords to make sure it sounds in tune. Correct any minor pitch faults you may have missed.