How to Tune a Guitar: By Ear, With a Tuner and in Alternate Tunings

A guitar that is slightly out of tune makes every chord harder to enjoy. Tuning is also ear training. The more carefully you tune, the faster you learn to hear small differences in pitch. This guide covers standard tuning, online tuners, tuning by ear and a few alternate tunings worth exploring.

Standard guitar tuning

From the lowest string to the highest string, standard tuning is E A D G B E. The low E is the thickest string and the high E is the thinnest string. If you are new, say the names out loud every time you tune. The repetition helps you remember the string order.

Using an online tuner

An online tuner listens through your device microphone and shows whether each string is flat, sharp or in tune. Pick one string at a time and let it ring clearly. If the tuner says the note is flat, tighten the string. If it says sharp, loosen the string.

Use small turns on the tuning peg. Overshooting the pitch wastes time and can make old strings unstable. Tune upward into the note when possible. If a string is sharp, loosen it below the note, then tighten back up to pitch.

Tuning by ear with the fifth fret method

Once the low E string is in tune, fret it at the fifth fret. That note is A, so it should match the open A string. Fret the A string at the fifth fret to tune the D string. Fret the D string at the fifth fret to tune the G string. Fret the G string at the fourth fret to tune the B string. Fret the B string at the fifth fret to tune the high E string.

This method is useful when you do not have a tuner, but it depends on the first string being correct. If the low E is wrong, the whole guitar will be wrong together.

Check chords, not only single strings

After tuning, play open G, C, D and Em. If single strings look correct but chords still sound sour, the guitar may need new strings, better intonation or a lighter fretting touch. Pressing too hard can bend notes sharp, especially near the nut.

Why guitars go out of tune

New strings stretch. Temperature changes move wood and metal. Heavy strumming can pull strings sharp or flat. A capo can add pressure. None of this means your guitar is broken. Tune before practice, after moving the capo and before recording anything you want to keep.

Alternate tunings to try

• Drop D: D A D G B E. Lower the low E string to D for heavier riffs and easy one-finger power chords.
• Half-step down: Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb. Useful for singers who need a slightly lower key.
• DADGAD: D A D G A D. Great for open, ringing folk textures.
• Open G: D G D G B D. Common in blues and slide guitar.

Build tuning into practice

Use the ChordLines online tuner at the start of every session. Then tune one string by ear before checking it with the tuner. Over time, your ear will predict the tuner more accurately.

Good tuning is not a separate skill from playing. It is the first musical decision you make every time you pick up the instrument.