How to Tune a Guitar by Ear: the Perfect Beginner's Guide for Guitar Tuning

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In this guide, OnlineTuner.org will teach you how to tune your guitar by ear to standard tuning (EADGBE). We will walk you through identifying the correct pitch for each string and adjusting its tension with the tuning pegs, using three different methods so you can pick the one that suits your ear. By the end you will have a well-tuned guitar and a better understanding of your instrument — and the ability to tune it anywhere, even without a tuner.

Understanding the standard guitar tuning

Standard guitar tuning, also called E standard, sets the six strings to E2, A2, D3, G3, B3 and E4, from the thickest string to the thinnest. Each string is tuned to a specific note, and just as importantly they must be tuned in relation to one another so the intervals between them stay correct. This is the tuning used as the basis for most music written for the guitar.

One point of confusion is worth clearing up before you start, because it trips up almost every beginner. Guitar strings are numbered from the thinnest to the thickest: the thin E4 is the 1st string and the thick E2 is the 6th string. So the "first string" is the highest-sounding one, not the lowest. Throughout this guide we name strings by their note — E2, A2 and so on — to avoid any ambiguity.

What are the frequencies of the strings in the standard guitar tuning?

In standard guitar tuning with A4 = 440 Hz, the frequencies of the strings are as follows:

• E2 — 6th string, thickest and lowest: 82.41 Hz
• A2 — 5th string: 110.00 Hz
• D3 — 4th string: 146.83 Hz
• G3 — 3rd string: 196.00 Hz
• B3 — 2nd string: 246.94 Hz
• E4 — 1st string, thinnest and highest: 329.63 Hz

These figures come from the equal-tempered scale with A4 set to 440 Hz. They are the ideal values: the pitch your guitar actually produces will vary slightly with string age, temperature and the accuracy of your tuning device. If you prefer a different reference pitch, our 432 Hz guitar tuner covers the most common alternative.

Turning the pegs: understanding how a guitar is tuned

Before you begin, find a quiet, noise-free spot. The strings of your guitar are anchored at the bridge and the nut, run along the neck and up to the headstock, where they wind around the tuning pegs. Turning a peg changes the tension of that string, and therefore its pitch.

To raise the pitch of a string, turn its peg counterclockwise: this tightens the string and produces a higher note. To lower the pitch, turn the peg clockwise to release tension. Keep plucking the string as you turn so you can hear where you are, and move in small increments — sudden, large adjustments are how strings get broken.

Whenever possible, arrive at the note from below. If a string is sharp, drop it clearly flat and then bring it back up. Coming up to pitch takes up the slack in the peg and the winding, and the string will hold its tuning far better than if you ease down onto the note from above.

Start with one reference string

Every method below works the same way: you tune one string accurately against an outside reference, then tune the remaining five in relation to it. That reference can be another instrument, a tuning fork, or one of the pitches from our online guitar tuner.

Most players use the thick E2 string for this and work upward, which is the order we follow here. The goal is not only that each string hits its correct pitch, but that they sound right together — that relationship is what makes a guitar sound in tune rather than merely close.

Tuning the other strings of your guitar by ear

For the rest of this guide we will assume your E2 string is tuned and serving as the reference. Here are three methods, from the most beginner-friendly to the most demanding.

The 5th fret method

Fretting the 5th fret of a string produces the same note as the next open string along. Play the two together and adjust until they match — when two pitches are close but not identical you will hear a slow wavering, or beat, between them; as they converge the wavering slows and disappears.

• Play the 5th fret of the E2 string against the open A2 string. Tune the A2 string until they match.
• Play the 5th fret of the A2 string against the open D3 string. Adjust the D3 string.
• Play the 5th fret of the D3 string against the open G3 string. Adjust the G3 string.
• For the B3 string, use the 4th fret of the G3 string — not the 5th. Adjust the B3 string until they match.
• Play the 5th fret of the B3 string against the open E4 string. Adjust the E4 string.

The B string is the exception, and it is not an arbitrary one. Five of the six strings sit a perfect fourth apart, which is five semitones — the 5th fret. The gap between G3 and B3 is a major third, only four semitones, so that pairing needs the 4th fret instead. Every guitarist eventually memorises this quirk; knowing why it exists makes it much harder to forget.

The 5th and 7th harmonics method

This method compares natural harmonics rather than fretted notes. Harmonics ring clean and bell-like, with no finger pressure to pull the note sharp, so small discrepancies are easier to hear. To produce one, rest a fingertip lightly on the string directly above the fret wire, pluck, and lift the finger away at once.

• Sound the harmonic at the 5th fret of the E2 string and the harmonic at the 7th fret of the A2 string. Both ring at E4. Adjust the A2 string until they sit perfectly still against each other.
• Repeat with the 5th fret of A2 against the 7th fret of D3. Both ring at A4.
• Repeat with the 5th fret of D3 against the 7th fret of G3. Both ring at D5.
• Skip the harmonics for the B3 string and use the fretted 4th fret of the G3 string against the open B3 string.
• Finish with the harmonic at the 5th fret of B3 against the 7th fret of E4. Both ring at B5.

That fourth step is not an oversight. Because G3 and B3 are a major third apart rather than a fourth, the harmonics simply do not line up: the 5th-fret harmonic on the G string rings at 783.99 Hz while the 7th-fret harmonic on the B string rings at 739.99 Hz. Forcing them to match would leave your B string badly out of tune, so the fretted note is the correct tool there.

The 12th fret octave check

The harmonic at the 12th fret sounds exactly one octave above the open string, which makes it a quick way to verify a string against itself. It is also the standard test for intonation: fret the 12th fret normally and compare it with the 12th-fret harmonic. If the fretted note is sharper or flatter than the harmonic, your guitar needs its intonation adjusted at the bridge, and no amount of tuning at the pegs will fix that.

The open chord method

Tuning against an open chord is more advanced, but it is the closest test to how the guitar actually gets played. The idea is to adjust the strings so a full chord — typically E major — rings true, working two strings at a time out from your reference string.

• Fret an E major chord: index finger on the 1st fret of the G3 string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the A2 string, ring finger on the 2nd fret of the D3 string.
• Play the strings one at a time and stop on any that sound wrong against the others, then adjust that peg.
• Strum the whole chord to confirm. Individual strings can each seem acceptable while the chord as a whole does not.

Quick reference table

Why your guitar will not stay in tune

If your guitar drifts within minutes of tuning it, the cause is usually mechanical rather than a failure of your ear.

New strings stretch. A fresh set will keep going flat for the first few days and may need retuning several times in one session. Gently pulling each string away from the fretboard speeds this up considerably.

Temperature and humidity move the neck. A guitar brought in from a cold car will drift as it warms. Let the instrument settle before a serious tuning.

The nut can bind. If a string jumps in pitch with a small ping as you tune, it is catching in its slot rather than sliding through. This is very common on guitars with poorly cut nuts and is worth having looked at.

Old strings will not hold pitch. Strings that look dull and feel gritty have lost their elasticity and often cannot be intonated properly at all. Changing them fixes more tuning problems than any technique.

Beyond standard tuning

Once you can tune by ear in standard tuning, alternative tunings become much easier, because most are described as changes relative to EADGBE. Drop D only asks you to lower the E2 string by a whole tone, which you can check against the open D3 string an octave above. Half step down moves every string by one semitone and leaves all the relationships in this guide intact, so the same fret numbers still apply.

Open tunings change more. Open G and DADGAD retune several strings so the open instrument sounds a chord, which means the 5th fret pattern no longer holds and each tuning needs its own reference points. If you play another instrument, the same principles carry over — our guide to tuning a bass guitar by ear covers the four-string equivalent, where the 5th fret works on every string with no exceptions.

Tips to improve

Tuning by ear is a skill that develops with practice. A few things speed it up:

Listen for the beats, not the notes. Beginners try to judge whether two pitches are the same. It is far easier to listen for the wavering between them and tune until it stops.

Use a tuner as a training tool. Tune by ear first, then check yourself against our online guitar tuner. Seeing how close you were is what trains your ear.

Trust your ears. If a chord sounds wrong even though every string reads as correct, believe the chord. Slight adjustments away from theoretical pitch are common and normal.

Check your work. Play a few open chords in different positions once you have finished. Problems show up in chords long before they show up on single strings.

Maintain your guitar. Clean strings, changed regularly, and a properly set up instrument make tuning dramatically easier. Persistent tuning trouble is often a setup issue rather than a technique issue.

Tuning by ear is a genuinely valuable skill for any musician. It keeps your guitar sounding its best even when there is no tuner within reach, and it teaches you a great deal about how your instrument actually works.