It seems the hardest part about playing guitar besides cramping your hand into strange fingering positions to make chords sound good is keeping your guitar tuned. Most first time guitar players want to start playing like a professional the minute they pick up a guitar, electric or acoustic. Keeping your guitar in tune will ensure that you keep playing.

There are several ways to tune a guitar, just go to a music store and ask any sales associate how they tune, you’ll probably get different answers from each of them. Tuning your guitar is a person thing; since there are different methods available find the one that you feel most comfortable with.

Most of the time you need to tune your guitar after you put fresh strings on it, they will bend by your hand and general playing will stretch them so they need to be tightened so they will stay in tune. If you have an electric tuner you can easily tune each string in a few minutes and continue playing without too much interruption.

If you are taking lessons then ask your instructor how to tune and what method they use, many people use a tuner that plugs into your guitar and into the tuner itself, this eliminates any background noise and allows you to tune pitch perfect. These tuners are fairly inexpensive and should be as close as your favorite guitar pick at all times.

Pianos are good tuners too, since guitar tablature does not read the same as piano music you will need to find middle C on a piano, once you have done that play the open B string on your guitar. Since you are tuning to E, A, D, G, B use the C note on the piano as a starting point. Don’t tune to C but to B, which is one piano key to the left. The tone will sound the same for each piano key and open string. Tuning to a piano is fairly easy because you can turn your tuning knobs without holding any strings down.

Tuning forks are another way to tune your guitar, they are an outdated way to tune and if you find yourself having to resort to this method you should just buy an electric tuner. You don’t want to get frustrated tuning your guitar, tuning should not overtake your practice time. Harmonics are an acquired way to tune also, only after you are comfortable with tuning your guitar should you attempt this method.

The whole point of tuning a guitar is to keep the sound stable so when you are playing chords or soloing on the guitar it sounds like it should. You know what a guitar that is out of tune sounds like; it makes you want to cringe. Electric tuners eliminate your ear but they are the best tool to make sure you are in tune.

Once you learn how to tune your guitar, and you should practice keeping it in tune as much as playing chromatic scales or chords because when you know what a tuned guitar sounds like you can adjust where it needs to be. Even though an electric tuner reduces your ear to tuning you know when a string doesn’t sound right. Don’t remove this important skill from your guitar playing, tune it and play it.

There are two distinct types of guitars. There acoustic guitars and there are electric guitars. One of the first things taught  by instructors is the guitar’s parts. This article will describe the components of a standard acoustic guitar. This article will assume that you are right handed.

• The body of the guitar is that big part that looks like a figure eight. It is also pretty thick and hollow. The body creates the resonance of the tone played; it rolls around inside the body and is made audible by the sound hole.
• The sound hole is a hole in the center of the body under the strings. All acoustic guitars have a sound hole, so they are pretty easy to spot.
• Near the bottom of the body is the bridge. This is usually glued onto acoustic guitars and holds one end of the strings. The bridge also keeps the strings a constant distance above the body. Normally made of wood, sometimes nylon, sometimes a combination of the two.
• At the other end of the guitar body, the neck is joined to it. There are many different styles of neck joints. This is important because the neck helps transmit vibrations to the body so they can be amplified by the sound hole. The neck can be made of any of a number of woods, most commonly rosewood or basswood. Ebony or other high end expensive woods are used in instruments of a higher price range.
• Running across the neck are the frets. These look like small gold bars and they get closer together as they approach the neck joint. These are used to make different tones and notes by pressing the fingers of the left hand firmly behind the desired fret.
• At the end of the neck furthest from the body is a nylon divider with grooves in it. This is called the nut and is simply a guide for the strings. The nut divides the neck from the headstock.
• The headstock is the very top part of the acoustic guitar. It may have different shapes that signify the manufacturer of the instrument. The headstock contains the tuning keys.
• The tuning keys are those metal or plastic “keys” up there. They are used to tighten or loosen the strings for tuning purposes. The string threads through a small hole in the tuning key. As the key is turned so the string is tighter, the string takes on a higher tone. If you loosen the string a bit, the tone goes down.

The size, shape and material that a guitar is made of are of the utmost importance. Two identical guitars could sound completely different. The reason is that different woods, constructions and internal bracing can affect the end sound of the instrument. Before you make that purchase, go to the store and play a few different ones.

Standard tuning of a guitar is E, A, D, G, B, E and is done using a piano to get the first E tone right. This is the way most classical instructors will teach. If you don’t have access to a piano, you can purchase a set of pitch pipes to help you keep tuned up or an electronic tuner that will always keep you in tune to 440Hz.

There are two distinct types of guitars. There acoustic guitars and there are electric guitars. One of the first things good instructors  always teach is the guitar’s parts. This article will describe the components of a standard electric guitar. In this article , it will be assumed that you are right handed.

• The body of an electric guitar can take many shapes. Typically, they are somewhat thinner than acoustic instruments. The electric guitar’s body helps create the tone of what is played. Rather than a sound hole (in acoustics), sound is conveyed by what are called “pickups”.

• The pickups are electronic and located under the strings. The pickups send the sound played to the amplifier. Electric guitars can have one, two or three. There are many types as well.

• The bridge is located near the bottom of the body. This is normally bolted onto the guitar and holds one end of the strings as well as keeps the strings a consistent distance above the pickups. They are usually made from metal of some sort and some have designs etched into them or whammy bars attached.

• At the opposite end of the body is the neck joint. This is where the neck meets the body. Electric guitars have two types of neck joints; 1) bolt on, and 2) neck through. How the neck meets the body can affect the sound of the guitar.

• The neck is that long piece of wood sticking out to your left as you hold the guitar. The neck is usually made of rosewood or basswood. Other expensive woods are used in high quality instruments.

• The frets are those small gold bars running up the neck. The closer you get to the body, the closer they get together. Different notes or tones are made by pressing the fingers of the left hand firmly behind the frets.

• At the far end of the neck (away from the body) is a divider with grooves in it. This is called “the nut” and serves as a guide for the strings and it divides the neck from the headstock.

• The headstock is at the very top of the electric guitar. There are numerous designs that are proprietary to the maker of the guitar. The tuning keys are on the headstock.

• The tuning keys are those metallic looking “keys” on the headstock. They are turned to tune the strings by adjusting tension on them. The string is threaded into a small hole. Tightening the string raises the tone, loosening the string lowers the tone.

The size, shape and material an electric guitar is made from is very important. Identical instruments could have completely different sounds based on those components. Different woods or materials, neck joints and pickups can affect the resultant sound of the electric guitar. Before you purchase, go play a few different ones.

Standard tuning is E, A, D, G, B, E and is done using a piano to get the first E tone right. This is the way most classical instructors will teach. If you don’t have access to a piano, you can purchase a set of pitch pipes or an electronic tuner that will always keep you in tune.