The guitar is such a simple and convenient instrument: just open the case and start playing. Well, it’s not THAT simple. A good practice before playing the guitar is to tune it first.
Tuning the guitar prior to playing it will ensure that you create harmonious music; for each string has a specific note to play and if it goes out of tune, the sound will seem to be disarrayed. Note that some guitars may not need frequent tuning (well constructed / expensive), but if it is played (to the point of abuse, actually), then it may need tuning. Read on for an essential guide for guitar tuning.
The guitar presents a particular kind of difficulty in tuning because it has six strings, each of which has an individual pitch or a place in the musical staff assigned to it. The string numbers, as more popularly known, from top to bottom are 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, while their musical counterpart are mi, la, re, sol, si, and mi or E, A, D, G, B, and E respectively.
In order to tune the guitar correctly, you must have an axis or a reference pitch. You will need a commercially available pitch pipe or, better yet, acquire a tuning fork in case you don’t have a reliable instrument at hand to give you an axis. Pitch pipes have the bad reputation of changing pitches after some time. Tuning forks are more reliable and easier to use.
First, make the fork vibrate by tapping it lightly on any hard object while holding the handle and then let the handle touch the guitar’s soundboard below or above the sound hole while gently moving it toward the bridge. This will locate the spot where the resonance is at its loudest. You are supposed to hear a high pitched A (la) which should be the same as the sound produced by striking the first string while it is being depressed on the fifth fret.
Now that you have tuned the first string (E/mi), its open sound is the same as the sound of the second string pressed on the fifth fret. The third string on the fourth fret is equal to the open second string (B/si); the fourth string/ fifth fret equals open third string (G/sol); fifth string/ fifth fret equals open fourth string (D/re); and the sixth string/ fifth fret equals open fifth string (A/la).
In order to check the accuracy of your tuning, gently or lightly touch the fifth string directly above the fifth fret wire without pressing the string to the fingerboard. By striking the string in this manner, it should sound similar to that high-pitched tone produced by the tuning fork. Sounds of the string produced this way are called “harmonics.”
Harmonic 5 (Harmonic on the fifth fret) of the sixth string equals harmonic 7 of the fifth string (which is also similar to the open sound of the first string). Harmonic 5 of the fifth string equals harmonic 7 on the fourth string; harmonic 4 of the third string is equal to the harmonic 5 of the second string and harmonic 7 of the first string. Incidentally, harmonic 4 may require lots of practice for some, so I suggest that harmonic 7 of the sixth string be used to tune the open second string. These pairs of harmonics, when sounded together, should produce only one steady tone. If the sound they produce clashes or seems wavy, they are not in tune.
These two methods of tuning must always go together. You may use the harmonics method first then check with the other or vice versa. If, after crosschecking, the strings do not agree with each other, you may have to repeat the whole process. If you still cannot get them in tune, your strings might be defective. If your strings are new, this may even be worse - your ears need tuning!
To avoid all the hassles of manual tuning, a costly electronic device called a strobo tuner is available. Just turn the dial to the string’s name and it will pick the string’s sound through a condenser microphone and tell you if it is in tune through a meter
Other conventional methods of tuning are through imitation of pitches from different musical instruments like the piano, flute, etc. You can even use that portable but silly investment, the pitch pipe. But you have been warned!
Making a slide requires good execution. This is a technique where a guitarist can create a loud wailing sound on the guitar. Here are some tips to make a perfect slide.
1. The tuning of the guitar must be replaced from its regular chord tuning of E-A-D-G-B-E to a more open tuning; with the chord alignment on the D major arranged as D-G-D-B-D. The change should be from the sixth string up to the first string.
2. He can make a slide by moving the fingers of his left hand. The execution should follow the correct positioning of the chords. A smooth and slow slide would be perfect to accurately play the new chords.
3. Make a gentle grip on the neck of the guitar and expose the end finger to have a feel on the strings. In this way, you can easily make the slide with simple finger movement.
4. To create a wailing sound, it is necessary that you must only cover the strings that are needed for the slide. Sometimes the guitar will produce an unwanted noise from the strings if the slide is not properly done, so be sure that strings are properly covered by the fingers.
5. Always remember to have a slide vertically aligned straight to the strings. This will allow you to exert effort when making a slide than the normal way of holding a guitar.
6. You can make a little movement along the strings with the fingers. It must be executed with smoothness and gentleness. A hard press or tight hold might create distracting noises on the fret.
7. You can execute a slide on the first and second string making E and B chords and a D-major key on the twelfth fret of the guitar.
8. Then execute the slide going toward the bottom from the D-major key, which is in the twelfth fret for a G-major key in the fifth fret. That would give a loud wailing sound because of the slide.
9. You can make a slide going back on the A-major key, which is in the seventh fret and then release your fingers removing the slide and make an open twelfth fret to create a D-major sound.
To have a perfect execution in sliding requires more practice. It is easy to learn sliding by practicing with an open tone because all of the strings will have similar chords when they are strummed. If the strings are set up with their regular tones, the player needs to make sure to cover the right strings when sliding.