How To String And Tune Your Acoustic Guitar

The best way to get started is to decide what type of string you'd like to use on your guitar. Assuming you have a steel string acoustic, the most common type, I would recommend that you visit your local music store to make some new friends.

After that, try a set of light gauge strings, with the high E maybe a size .012 to .013. Be prepared to spend between five and ten dollars. D'Addario makes a nice set (blue label). There are two reasons to start with light gauge strings:

If you're new to this, it'll hurt your fingers less.

If you've done this a while, it makes it easier to play melodic (lead) parts on the higher frets.

Now that you're back home with the strings and have your axe handy, let's get those crusty old strings off. Then take a paper towel and put a spot of vegetable oil on it, somewhere near the middle. You can use this to rub down any rough spots (sticky, dirty, etc), the headstock, and the back of the neck to make it fun to play. There should not be any excess on the instrument, just enough to make it easy for your hands to glide.

Take the low E string out of the pack. Always start with the lowest (largest). The easy way is to lay the guitar in your lap, with your right hand over the bridge, and your left hand over the headstock. Feed the string through the bridge, the nut, and into the hole in the headstock matched up to the tuning key for that string.

You'll need to leave enough slack in the string so that you can wind it around 2-4 times. On the first wind, make sure that the end portion of the string that protrudes from the key passes UNDER the string as it winds around the key. Then you can bend the end part of the string up and away from the headstock. That way it's less likely to stab you in the hand or poke you in the eye as you go along (the ends are SHARP, and they bite).

After the first pass, you need to wind the string so that the end part passes OVER the string as it winds, and continue the same way until the string is tight. Tune it so that it's close to where you think the actual pitch should be, and go on to the next string. For the top three strings (G,B,and E), turn the guitar the other way on your lap, so that your right hand is over the headstock, and so on. Makes it easier.

As you tighten the strings you also want to periodically take a strong pull on the string with your thumb and forefinger, lifting the string up and away from the soundhole. This to set the string at both ends, and to take up any slack that you can't see with your eyes. It will stay in tune longer if you do this.

To tune you'll need a pitch pipe, another instrument in concert pitch (piano or mouthharp, f.e.). Match the string to the pitch and tune the others from there. Every string can be tuned by playing the string below it at the 5th fret, except for the B string, which can be tuned by playing the G string at the fourth fret.

A more advanced way to tune can be had with harmonics, playing at the fifth and seventh fret. Just gently lay your finger on top of the low E at the fifth, for example, just touching the string directly over the fret without actually pushing it down. There's your high E octave, and the same on the A string on the seventh fret. So the pitch should match up pretty well (except for the pesky B string).

Enjoy.

Peter Angermeier - I've been playing guitar and piano all my life, writing and performing for many years. I also enjoy the freedom of working from home, to make my own hours and give me the time to pursue my music. If you'd like to know more about these things, you can visit my website, The Peter Principle, at: http://peter-thepeterprinciple.blogspot.com