Tuning is a fundamental skill that needs to be mastered by all aspiring guitarists. Beginners, especially, fail to realise that even the best guitarists on earth would sound terrible if their guitar was out of tune. Of course, this would never happen because seasoned musicians instantly know when a guitar is not in tune and how to quickly fix the problem.
As an example, let’s take a look at one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, Adrian Legg, in an exceptional performance of adjusting the tuning while playing for melodic and creative effect. But hang on in there, it doesn’t get going until 0:17, and for the crescendo, you’ll have to wait till 1:30, pure genius…
Why does your guitar keep going out of tune?
Well, there are many reasons, from not understanding the basics of tuning properly to issues with low quality or old/broken hardware. But before we get to that, let’s take a quick look at…
How to Tune a Guitar
These days, most guitarists use smartphone apps for tuning. The majority are excellent - accurate, very affordable or free, and you always have them with you. Some, myself included, still use dedicated physical tuners. I find them slightly more accurate than apps, mainly due to the better and bigger displays.
However, the downside to having a tuning app so readily at hand is that many guitarists don’t make the effort to learn to tune a guitar by ear. This is a rite of passage for every musician, and there are numerous benefits from taking the time to master the skill.
The most important of these is the radical improvement in the way your ears detect and analyse musical notes. Learning to tune by ear is your first step into ear training, a skill that is so important to becoming a great guitarist. So, instead of instantly going to your app or tuner, try tuning by ear every now and then, and check the results against your app. Over time, you will get closer and closer to getting all the strings perfectly in tune using only your ears, which will reap huge benefits as you advance on your musical journey.
Now that that’s covered, let’s move on to the first reason your guitar keeps going out of tune…
#1 - It wasn’t in tune in the first place!
Sounds bizarre, I know, but you’ll be surprised at how many people either don’t take the time to get every string precisely in tune or think that they only need to tune the instrument a few times a week.
I’m not going to go into the finer details of tuning, there are a million sites on the web to get that information. But I will give you some tips and tricks that will get and keep you in tune for longer…
New String Stretch
New strings go out of tune quickly until they have settled. There are techniques to speed up the process, such as stretching the strings when you put them on the instrument. For more details, check out my in-depth guide to Why Your New Guitar Strings Won’t Stay in Tune & How to Fix It.
However, you can still expect some movement that will cause the strings to go out of tune. Therefore, you’ll need to retune regularly for the first few days after replacing your strings.
Old Strings Die
Not only do your strings lose their sparkle as they get older, but they also get more unstable in terms of tuning. If they’ve been on your guitar for a while and you’re having trouble staying in tune, a string change might quickly and easily solve the problem.
The G String
The G string is a weird beast and the hardest string to get perfectly in tune all over the neck. I’m not talking about intonation here, i.e., making sure that the notes on the 12th fret are exactly the same as the open notes, the G string on some guitars defies that.
Have you ever noticed that when you play a root chord with the G string left open, it sounds great, then you play a chord where the G string is fretted, such as a Bm, and the string suddenly sounds slightly off? All the other strings are still perfectly in tune, but the G is ever so slightly out of tune.
There is no solution to this problem other than tuning the string to the region of the guitar where you play the most chords. For example, if you normally play root chords, tune it open or to the A note on the second fret. Or, if you tend to play E and A-shaped barre chords a bit further up the neck most of the time, tune it to the C note on the fifth fret or even the D note on the seventh.
Due to their design, some guitars suffer less from this issue than others. So the best option is to try a few different G string tuning methods and then decide on the one that suits your playing style the best.
Now that’s covered, let’s discuss…
How often should you tune a Guitar?
Simple answer… every time you play it! That’s right, every time you put it on your lap or wrap the strap around your neck, your first job is to make sure that it is ‘perfectly’ in tune. It doesn’t matter if you tuned it last night before going to bed, or even a few hours earlier before taking a break for some food. You need to tune it every single time you play it.
I used the word ‘perfectly’ in the last paragraph - this means getting every string to be dead center on the display, not ‘close enough’, but dead center (assuming your tuner or app has a center display that is?).
And once you finish tuning all the strings, you need to go through them all one more time to make sure they are still in tune. This is to ensure that adjustments you made to one string, especially the lower, thicker strings, have not caused the other strings to go out of tune.
I know that’s a lot of effort, but the payoffs are well worth it. Not only will everything you play sound better, but your ears will constantly be exposed to notes at the correct pitch, making it easier to tell when things are not correct in the future.
#2 - You bend your strings like a demon
The second reason for strings going out of tune quickly could be down to your technique, especially if you love bending strings.
Every bend physically stretches the string, creating the emotional sound we all love so much. You would assume that when you return the string to its start position, it would be back in tune, but if it encounters any friction due to your hardware, that might not be the case.
There are a few fixes to this, roller nuts, such as the excellent Guyker Nut TL001 Adjustable Nut for LP Electric Guitar Titanium Alloy, let the string glide over the nut as opposed to being caught in the tight rut of a traditional nut.
Or, if you tend to bend more in the higher regions of the neck, you could try a roller bridge, like the Guyker GM008 Adjustable Tune-O-Matic Locking Bridge. This has been specially designed to allow the strings to move freely over the bridge, lowering the friction to keep your guitar in tune after heavy bends.
For Strat players, go for the Guyker GG1001 Tremolo Bridge, or if you play a Tele, the Guyker Brass Bridge Roller Saddles for Fender Strat & Tele.
Better still, add a roller nut and a roller bridge for the ultimate in silky smooth, frictionless bending.
#3 - Issues with your Tuning Machines
You’ve tuned your guitar properly and every string is at exactly the right pitch; however, 10 minutes into your practice routine, one or more of your strings has gone slightly or even majorly flat. The problem is more than likely your tuning machines.
These small but vital pieces of guitar hardware are under a lot of pressure from the string, which over time can cause them to fail, especially if they are not manufactured to the highest standards. Thankfully, they are easy to replace with a set of aftermarket tuners such as the GK-D-502SP 3R/3L Dopamine Color Guitar Locking Tuning Machines.
These funky, high-quality replacement tuners feature a locking mechanism that will help keep your strings in tune, and are available in the standard finishes - chrome, gold, and black - as well as far more exciting colorways, such as the gorgeous chrome and blue tuners seen in the above photo.
For more in-depth info, check out How to Buy the Correct Tuning Machines for Your Guitar.
This leads us nicely on to…
#4 - Lock them down
Locking machine heads are a great addition to any guitar that is suffering from tuning stability issues. They feature innovative technology that locks your string in place within the tuning machine, which not only keeps it in tune for longer but also makes string changes quicker.
There are a number of styles available, so check out my thoughts on the 10 Best Locking Tuners for all the info you need.
#5 - A Bridge Too Far
As I’ve already mentioned, the final reason your strings could be going out of tune is your bridge. Adding a roller bridge, like the Guyker Roller Bridge for Jazzmaster, is an excellent option for offset players, which will not only improve your guitar's tuning stability but will also keep the strings in place with more frantic use.
Wrapping it Up
That’s it for my look at the reasons your guitar is going out of tune. Hopefully, you’ve found out what’s causing the problem and now know how to fix it.
Never underestimate the importance of having a guitar that is perfectly in tune and stays that way. So, make sure to tune it every time you play to enjoy the wondrous sounds it creates in all their glory!
