So you know so much about your guitar by now. You can hold it. You can use your right hand. You can use your left hand. You even know the parts of your guitar. But why does it sound terrible? 

It’s because your guitar is not “in-tune.” 

The strings on your guitar should be tuned to specific musical notes. What are musical notes? 

The musical alphabet is: A-B-C-D-E-F-G

The guitar isn't in such a straightforward manner.

Starting at the string closest to your face, it goes straight down: 

E

A

D

G

B

E

That top string, we’ll call the 6th string and the bottom string we’ll call the 1st string. Count accordingly.

This tuning is hard to remember though. So here’s some mnemonic help for you:

Elephants

And 

Dogs 

Get 

Big 

Ears

or

Eddy

Ate

Dynamite 

Good

Bye

Eddy

….or create one of your own. 

For right now, you have no clue whether you’re in-tune or not. Luckily for you, we have the technology to help you out. 

There are many apps that help you tune your guitar, but I recommend the GuitarTuna and PanoTuner apps. Both are free on all devices (don’t pay for any extras, you don’t need them).

These will tell you whether you’re in tune or not. Of the two, GuitarTuna is easier to understand. 

To use these apps, pluck the string and watch the needle move. If it's in the middle, it means it's in tune. If it's to the left, it means it's too low and you need to tighten the tuning peg. If it's to the right, it means it's too high and you need to loosen the tuning peg.

If it's on the left or right, you have a problem. To fix it:

1. Pluck the string and locate the tuning peg it's attached to.

2. Turn the tuning pegs (on your guitar head) to adjust the strings. You should start turning slowly at first to see if you’re even turning in the right direction.

3. To make it a faster process, be sure to pluck the string and turn the tuning pegs at the same time. Don't pluck, then turn, pluck, then turn. Do them both at the same time.

Repeat this process with all your strings until all your strings are in-tune.

That’s tuning your guitar, not for dummies, but for YOU!

Make sure your guitar is in tune every time you go to play it. Like everything in life, the more you do it, the easier it is. Happy strumming!