Tuning your guitar with a tuner is the fastest, most reliable way to get every note spot on, even if you're a total beginner. Just play an open string, check whether the display reads flat or sharp, and turn the tuning peg until you center the note. This guide walks you through every step, from the 6th string to the 1st.
In a nutshell: play an open string, watch the tuner's display, turn the peg up toward the note until the needle is centered, then move on to the next string, working from the 6th (low E) to the 1st (high E).
Which tuner to use
Any modern tuner works fine to get started: a clip-on that attaches to the headstock, a smartphone app, a pedal if you play electric, or a web tuner in your browser. Convenience and use case vary, but the way you read them is identical across the board. Whatever the format, a chromatic tuner shows the note name and handles alternate tunings like Drop D, while a preset (or guided) tuner only confirms the six standard notes. If you want to weigh the pros and cons of each type before choosing, check out the comparison of clip-on, app, and pedal tuners.
If you'd rather not install anything, you can tune online with EasyGuitarTuner: it's a free web tuner that runs in your browser, no sign-up needed, on any device with a microphone, and it supports 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar, and ukulele. The only limitation is that, since it relies on the microphone, it's affected by background noise: that's why it's best used in a quiet room.
Get ready to tune
A few small habits make tuning faster and more accurate:
- Quiet around you. If the tuner uses a microphone (app or web), turn off the TV and move away from noise sources: it should pick up only the string you're playing.
- Comfortable position. Hold the guitar in your lap like you do when playing, so you can reach the tuning pegs without shifting the instrument.
- One string at a time. Play only the string you're tuning and keep the others still: the display should read a single note.
- Clean attack. Pluck the open string with medium force and let it ring: hitting it too hard skews the initial reading.
Tune string by string
Your reference is standard tuning, the six notes EADGBE from the lowest string to the highest. If you want to dig into the basic notes, read the guide to standard EADGBE tuning.
Always work from the 6th string to the 1st:
| String | Note | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 6th (lowest) | E | Low E |
| 5th | A | A |
| 4th | D | D |
| 3rd | G | G |
| 2nd | B | B |
| 1st (highest) | E | High E |
For each string, repeat these moves:
- Play the string open, without pressing any fret.
- Read the display. If it shows flat, the string is too low; if it shows sharp, it's too high.
- Turn the peg up toward the note. If the string is sharp, dip below the note first and then come back up: reaching the note while tightening removes the slack in the tuning peg and keeps the tuning more stable.
- Stop when the needle is centered and the indicator confirms you're in tune.
Working from the 6th string to the 1st builds up the tension on the neck gradually, reducing the settling that would otherwise force you to start over.
Double-check and fine-tune
Once you've tuned all six strings, run through them a second time from the 6th to the 1st. Tightening the strings slightly changes the overall tension on the neck, and the strings you tuned first may have dropped a little: a second pass brings them back to center.
A guitar with fresh strings often needs several passes over the first few days, because new strings stretch and tend to go flat. If the tuning won't seem to "hold" or notes sound off even with the display centered, the cause is usually one of a handful of recurring mistakes: you'll find the fixes in the guide to the 7 common tuning mistakes. With a little practice, this final check becomes an automatic few-second habit before every session.