Quick Tip: You’re Tuning Wrong!

Tuning your guitar isn’t rocket science.

Keeping it in tune, on the other hand, that’s a different story.

There are a lot of factors involved in tuning stability, but one of them applies to any guitar, bass, or other stringed instruments out there.

When tuning your instrument, always tune UP to pitch, not down.

This means you shoot take a note that’s flat, tune it up until it hits the desired pitch. If you go too far and the note is sharp, don’t tune it back down to that pitch and leave it. Start over, tune it to BELOW your target, then back up to the target.

I know, it sounds so pointless and tedious, doesn’t it?

It’s not just a bunch of hearsay or superstition, it’s based on the how strings instrument and tuning pegs are designed.

By tuning the string up to pitch (tightening it instead of loosening it) we eliminate any potential string slack that might cause the tuning to shift or slip later on.

This same principle is also why you can find products to lubricate different parts of the guitar, allowing the string to move smoothly without getting caught in any areas or creating this excess slack.

By doing this we eliminate the possibility of slack in the string winds and the string being caught in the nut.

While you’re playing this slack will get released, loosening the string and changing its pitch.

It’s not a life-changing move, but your tuning can never be too stable! So, next time you get told to “tune up” your instrument, take it literally.