Here is another Friday 10-second tip for you to enjoy…
It’s all about:
Daily ear training that is simple, practical, and fairly quick
Most guitarists only ever tune their guitars with the use of a tuner.
…But it’s a good idea to “tune by ear” when you can.
There are a few methods to tune by ear, but a really simple way to begin is to do this:
- Tune up your low E string using a tuner.
- Play the 5th fret of the low E string (this gives you the note of A).
- Now pluck the open A string and tune it so it matches the pitch of the low E string (which is played at fret 5).
This is called “Relative Tuning” and the idea is you play the same pitch on two strings and tune them to match each other.
I.e., the low E string at fret 5 is the same pitch as the A string played open (they’re both A notes).
Keep turning the A string machine head so the pitch of the two strings match as closely as possible.
It’s quite tricky to do at first.
Yet this simple bit of tuning is a good way to develop your ear each day.
It was only yesterday I went to pick up my guitar and found that Archie had tweaked a few strings.
This rendered them as out of tune as a deluded singer auditioning for American Idol or X-factor.
It’s easy to use the tuner, but for me, it was quicker to tune by ear than go find my misplaced tuner.
You’ll get to this point too.
The thing is, you are going to be tuning up anyway, so why not add a little ear training into the mix?
Of course, later you can learn to tune all six strings by ear, but at first, if you’ve never tried it, that can be a bit too much.
So, start by using your tuner for most strings and tuning just one string by ear each day.
It’s simple but effective.
For more help from me with plenty of simple tips all taught via video (with complete TAB and notation), you might want to check this out…
How to truly nail the fundamentals of guitar playing with the Breakthrough Beginner course
Have a great Friday
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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