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**More Content Will Be Added Very Soon. I am in the process of making (and remaking) some more videos to help you learn. By Doing this, I can get more content posted faster than writing alone and have some videos on individual steps before explaining them in further detail. View these videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/UtopianTMG and subscribe to my channel there, and follow my blog here.***
If you have already purchased your guitar, chances are you have bought a tuner. If not, go and get one! (Don't forget the batteries!) Most come with microphones and guitar jacks so they are perfect for both Acoustic and Electric guitars and even bass guitars. They are cheap, running as low as $15 dollars and they last a very long time and have very low energy consumption with auto-shut off features, so batteries last a long time.
Understanding The Basics
In the guitar world, there is a standard tuning. It goes like this in string order:
1: E - High E (Remember, this is the thinnest string)
2: B
3: G
4: D
5: A
6: E - Low E (The thickest string; 2 octaves lower than the High E string)
Each of the letters represent musical notes. Now in the music world, there are technically only 12 notes, but there are what are called higher "octaves" of the same notes. If you have a guitar with you now, hit any open string, then press down on the 12th fret of that string and pick it. You'll notice that it's the same note, just a higher pitch or "octave" of the same note as the open. (A guitar with 24 frets spans 4 octaves.)
The 7 major notes are represented by the letters A-G, and the other 5 are "sharps" and/or "flats."
I say "and/or" because these 5 notes are "in between" notes (a note between A and B, for example) that you can consider either the higher pitch of a note such as A#, or the lower pitch of a note such as Bb. Now what this means is that an A#(sharp) is actually the same note as a Bb(flat)!
These sharps and flats are actually the black keys on a piano.
Now why am I telling you all this stuff? Because even though the standard is "E B G D A E," not all songs, especially in today's newer rock music, are tuned to standard.
Just about every Guns n' Roses song is tuned down a half step. A "half step" is one fret, and can be considered just another fancy name for "flat." You're just effectively tuning down by one note. A whole step is two notes.
In case you're wondering, one of the benefits of tuning down is strings are easier to bend because of less tension. This is especially useful if you're a hardcore solo junkie with delicate girl fingers that cringes at the thought of sore or callused finger tips. Some other reasons a song may be tuned lower is to perhaps set a different tone or mood of a song, or even as simple a reason as a particular singer's preference or vision for a song.
Some musicians like Rob Zombie and Ozzie Osbourne usually always tune down even further than a half step, ranging from a whole step to even 2 whole steps down which give them a deeper and darker sound.
Drop D tuning is extremely popular, and is used by Creed, Godsmack, Rob Zombie and many many others. In all honesty, just about all new rock that comes out is in Drop D tuning. All the classic "hair" metal bands are pretty much strictly normal tuning, but may be tuned down a half-step or more. (E B G D A E)
All you do with Drop D tuning is tune your 6th string (the thickest string) down a "whole step," which is effectively 2 notes, or "2 flats."
(You can learn more about "steps" in my String Bending Tutorial.)
In every tablature book, tuning information goes in the circled area in the upper left hand page of a song's title page. So what does it mean if nothing is there? Standard Tuning! Most of the time, song books usally tell you the standard tuning in the same format as the other pictures. But when they don't, it's simply because it's the standard guitar tuning and you are expected to know that. So now you do ... You're welcome.
Now if you ever want to play along to any recording, you have to tune exactly the way they do, and you will sound exactly like they do. It truly is an awesome feeling to really learn a song and play along with it on the radio, a CD, or an MP3 file.
Watch this video here to help put things in persepective and explain a few more extra things you need to know.
Don't Have A Tuner? No Problem!
If you need to tune your guitar right now, use the tool embedded on the right section of the page --------->
The "5th Fret Method" Used To Tune Your Guitar To Itself
For those of you who don't have a tuner, here is the best way to tune your guitar to itself. Meaning that even if you're not exactly tuned to the specific "E B G D A E" notes, you can still tune your guitar so that the strings are tuned in relation to each other thus making your guitar in tune with itself.
With this method, you will start by pressing and holding the 5th fret on the 6th string and pick the 6th string and the 5th string at the same time. After strumming both strings at the same time and they are not in tune, let them ring and quickly reach up with your pick hand and begin tuning the 5th STRING until both strings sound EXACTLY the same in perfect pitch. You should be able to tell which way you'll need to tune (higher or lower) by the sound of the 5th string's pitch in relation to the 6th string.
You'll know it is in tune when both strings sound like a single string was picked.
Continue doing that down the line as shown in the picture until you get to the point where you are tuning the 2nd string to the 3rd string. You'll notice that the 4th fret on the 3rd string is held down as indicated by the pink color code. This is the note that you need to tune the 2nd string to.
When that is done, use the 5th fret method again to tune the 1st string to the 2nd string.
TIP: Never tune the string you are holding down with your finger. With this method, you'll always be tuning the open string below the particular string you are holding the 5th fret down on.
Here is the video tutorial:
As a bonus, I will show you how to tune to Drop D tuning and back to standard again in just 3 seconds by ear.
Congratulations. You Are Now Ready To Learn Tablature!
Now that you know how to tune your guitar, you can learn to play tablature. Once your guitar is in tune, you'll look and sound like you know what you're doing when you start playing the tablature.
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