Guitar Tuning

The Importance of Tuning

by Michael Shapinko

It is mind boggling how many times I’ve been out to see live music and have to listen to musicians who do not tune their instruments properly! It must be either because they are incredibly lazy, or they think that tuning “isn’t cool”. Either way, their choice makes for a less enjoyable listening experience.

Not only is it important for making sure you’re playing in the same key as your band, but good tuning is important for developing your ear as a budding guitarist! As you gain experience and play with other musicians, you will realize how important it is to be able to hear what someone else is playing and be able to pick up on that. The ability to do this starts with tuning your guitar properly and recognizing what the six strings sound like. If you can do that, you will start to pick up on what different chords sound like, and that is a huge first step to recognizing what someone is playing. It will also allow you to teach yourself your favorite songs just by listening to them and picking out the notes.

This is such an underrated bit of advice, but trust me when I say that it is one of the most important things you should get in the habit of doing.

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