GUITAR CARE / CHANGING STRINGS /

TUNING A GUITAR

GUITAR CARE:• 1. Wipe down strings and fret board with cotton

cloths to remove sweat and dust. (The dirt and oil left on the strings after playing will oxidize and kill your tone.)

• 2. Always keep guitar in a safe place (if not on the hook, the guitar should be with you, not laying on the floor or leaning up against anything.)

• 3. Check regularly to ensure there are no loose parts or a improperly adjusted neck.

• 4. Never pull or strum strings aggressively as guitars are delicate instruments.

• 3.

CHANGING STRINGS• You need to change guitar strings because• of fret and finger abrasion, sweat, oil, and • dirt. This eventually causes a reduction in upper harmonics (treble • response) and volume. In other words, the strings sound dead.

• When buying strings you need to consider 2 main factors:

– A. String gauge: The thickness of a string is called its gauge. In general, the thicker a string, the lower it will sound. (Some people prefer heavier, thicker sounding strings, some prefer lighter, easier to play strings.)

– B. String materials: Strings are made from a combination of many different materials (nickel, steel, nylon, gut, silk, etc..) The material that the string is made of will affect its sound.

•

HOW TO CHANGESTRINGS:

• 1. Remove old strings (loosen the tension on them by turning the tuning key and then remove them.)

• 2. Choose the correct gauge (thickness) of string from a new package. (The thickest string (.056) is the one that will become the low E string.)

• 3.Thread the string through the (appropriate) hole in the bridge, then double it back and under itself, making a simple knot.

• 4. Thread your string through the tuner roller (capstan), then bring it back and wrap it around itself a couple of times. Now turn the tuner until the string is relatively tense.

• 5. Now gently pull pairs of strings towards each other so as to allow them to stretch a little (all strings will stretch once tightened – you

will have to tune and stretch a few times until the strings hold tune.)

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TUNING THE GUITARYou can tune a guitar using an electronic tuner or by tuning

the 1st note to a tuner, piano or guitar and then tuning the guitar to itself.. Once you have one of the strings tuned

properly, you only need to fret to match the other strings as follows:

A string matches E string at the 5th fret of the E stringD string matches A string at the 5th fret of the A stringG string matches D string at the 5th fret of the D stringB string matches G string at the 4th fret of the G stringE string matches B string at the 5th fret of the B string

Here's a diagram illustrating this tuning sequence with each string's note denoted along with the corresponding tuners:

USING A GUITAR TUNER

• Guitar Tuner @ HowToTuneAGuitar.org

• Tuner with downloadable version