Before you start
Standard tuning, from the thickest string to the thinnest, is E A D G B E. The thickest string is the 6th string; the thinnest is the 1st. See the notes and their frequencies.
Find a quiet spot. A phone tuner listens through the microphone: background noise and other strings ringing make it harder to read the note.
Keep the phone close. Hold it near the guitar, or put it on your knee or a table next to you.
Tune every time you play. Strings drift with heat and humidity, and new strings need time to settle, so tuning is the first thing to do when you pick up the guitar.
Tune your guitar in 5 steps
Open the tuner
Open Guitar Tuner Pro, allow access to the microphone and choose the guitar in standard tuning.
Start with the 6th string
Pluck the thickest string, the low E, firmly and once. Let it ring and mute the other strings with your hand.
Read the tuner
The tuner shows whether the note is too low or too high. Too low: tighten the string. Too high: loosen it a little below the note, then bring it back up.
Do the same for the other strings
A, then D, G, B and the high E. In automatic mode, the tuner recognizes which string you play; in manual mode, tap the string first.
Check once more
Play each string again and fix the ones that moved. Then strum a chord you know to hear the result.
Tips for a tuning that holds
- Come up to the note
- If a string is too high, loosen it a little below the note, then tighten it back up to the note. Yamaha recommends tuning upwards: tuning while going down makes it hard to tune accurately.
- Turn slowly
- Small turns are enough. If the note moves the wrong way, you are turning the wrong peg or in the wrong direction: stop and check.
- Give new strings time
- New strings keep stretching for a while. Expect to tune them several times during the first sessions.
- Change old strings
- Old strings lose their pitch and are harder to tune. Yamaha recommends replacing all six strings together.
Tuning without a tuner
Start from a reference A, then tune the other strings by ear. The open 5th string is A2 (110 Hz), two octaves below the A4 (440 Hz) of a tuning fork.
Tune the open 5th string to A2 (110 Hz).
Press the 5th string at the 5th fret: tune the open 4th string (D) to that note.
Press the 4th string at the 5th fret: tune the open 3rd string (G) to that note.
Press the 3rd string at the 4th fret: tune the open 2nd string (B) to that note.
Press the 2nd string at the 5th fret: tune the open 1st string (high E) to that note.
Press the 6th string at the 5th fret and adjust the 6th string (low E) until that note matches the open 5th string.
This method relies on your ear, and small errors add up from string to string. A tuner is easier and more precise, especially when you start out.
Questions & answers
What order should I tune the strings in?
Start with the lowest string, the 6th (low E), and go up to the 1st (high E): E, A, D, G, B, E.
Can I tune a guitar with my phone?
Yes. A tuner app uses the phone’s microphone to hear each string and tells you whether to tighten or loosen it. Play in a quiet room with the phone close to the guitar.
Can I tune an electric guitar with a phone?
Yes. Unplugged, an electric guitar is quiet, so keep the phone very close to the strings. Playing through an amplifier makes the note easier to hear.
Why does my guitar go out of tune so fast?
New strings stretch for a while, old strings lose their pitch, and heat and humidity change the tension. Tune each time you play and replace old strings.