i know how to tune a guitar if the 6th string is correct, but that's the problem --- i really can't tell whether it is or it isn't.
i'll tune the 6 string to where i think it's in tune, and then i'll play the opening line to a song and it won't sound right at all so i know i screwed up.
though i know the definitions of both, i'm having trouble deciphering between sharp and flatt. i was just wondering if anyone else struggles with this and if anyone has any tips to overcome this?
Are you trying to tune by ear? Or do you have a tuner? I'm figuring it's by ear. What you really ought to do is go down to your local music store and buy a small tuner (they run anywhere from $15-$30). With one you'll always be sure that you are perfectly tuned!
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-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ -:¦:- Elecktrablue -:¦:-
"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
I'll second Elecktrablue. You can pick up this Korg Tuner for $15. If you have no reference for the pitch of the low E string then your just guessing at best. This tuner will help you tune each string individually. I would say a tuner is a must have.
Here is an online tuner to get you by until then.
Psa. 42:8
By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Until you get your tuner, you can at least get the guitar in tune with itself via the open 5th string tuned to 6th string/5th fret, etc., etc. method. You probably already know it, but in case you've never done it that way, the only variation is that the 3rd (G) string is fretted at its 4th fret to tune the 2nd string to it. The hardest part with that method is probably getting the 6th (E) to where it's "right," without something to reference it to.
That method may not put you in the exact key you want, but maybe you'll be able to adjust the 6th string to something that sounds better, and then get the other 5 in tune to the 6th once more.
Be aware too that while you might be at concert pitch and all in tune, a certain recording may have been done with the performers tuned down a half-step or more, or the tempo might've gotten "fiddled with" in the studio. I don't know if that happens as much now as it might've in, say, the Beatles' time.
But yeah, there are some good little tuners on the market at decent prices, so grab one. Some day you may decide you want a chromatic, so you could get one now and not use all the features until you need them. :wink:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Musicians-Friend-CT440-Chromatic-Tuner?sku=210071
By sharp or flat, do you mean the way two notes compare to each other when you're trying to tune? (Did that make any sense to anyone else but me?) I have an entire goofy explanation for how I used to (probably still do, subconsciously) compare one picked note to a reference note until they were as close as I could get 'em. You might find it helpful, but I'll hold off posting it unless you think it'd be useful.
