Tutorial: How to Tune A Guitar Perfectly By Ear [NOT by 55545!] 

The dog on the right is having flashbacks to Vietnam in his previous life.

I just watched several of your lessons (this one on tuning, Endless Loop, CAGED, etc)... I've been playing for 6 years and I conceptually understand all of these relationships, but you have put things into a whole new logical way of seeing the relationships. Very interesting, challenging but doable... thank you very much!!!

I've been tuning harmonically for years now, but I never learned how to do it on the 1st and 2nd strings. Thanx a lot, buddy! You're never to old to learn something new, unless you close your mind first. I'm a 56 yr. old woman and I like and play everything from Metallica to Tracy Chapman. I still like Simon and Garfunkle and the mighty Zep always rules, but Avenged Sevenfold and the Black Keys kick serious booty too. To all you young players starting out; never let anyone tell you what you can't do. You'll surprise yourself with what you can accomplish. Thanks for the great lesson! Using your guitar's natural harmonics to tune is the most accurate way I know of.

For the people asking about the E string, since this is relative tuning.....Maybe try finding the pitch you speak in and then tune from that. You can do this by humming at the pitch you would naturally speak and then finding that note on the guitar. Most people seem to be somewhere from E-G (the E above middle C, an octave higher than your low E string) For example, I know (from checking with my guitar in the past) that my voice naturally falls on an F note. So, if it were the same for you, you could hum and fret the 13th fret of your E and turn the peg until that note matches the one you hum. Your E is now in tune and you can proceed as normal from there. I've done this for a few years now and any time I check it with a tuner, I'm never more than a few cents off.

That dog looks a little worried, like he's confused about why he is allowed on the couch today and how long will it last. The Lab is just making the most of his time.

The dog on right side can't sleep well cuz guitar is out of tune

when I bought a guitar, the seller has tune guitar for me this way and I was very impressed thank you explain how it's done!)

I've always done it via harmonics. Usually I try and get a G chord to sound really nice, then I'm happy.

But how do you know the E is tuned perfectly, since you are tuning relatively to it right?

Been playing 2 1/2 years and despite learning the entire caged system, all the notes of the fretboard, major scale modes, harmonic minor modes, sweep picking, and a good amount of jazz theory I could never tune by ear. Your video taught me in 5 minutes. Thanks!

Your dogs are better students and guitar players than any of us, they are with you for every guitar class.

But somehow you have to tune the E-string or am I wrong?

Great video, Assaf! Very useful informations! :) besides the 5th-7th harmonics thing on the E-A, A-D, D-G, B-lowE there is a 4th-5th harmonics rapport on the G-B strings :)

The dog on the right is like ''WHAAAT? I CAAAN'T HEAR YOU!!''.

And now your little dog knows how to tune your guitar for ya! haha :) RIP little guy! I just lost my dog this thanksgiving and what I found helpful was to write down all the amazing memories of him and I. Helped me vent and now I have something to go back to for the rest of my life. Thanks for these amazing guitar lessons! My favorite channel on YT to learn for sure!

Dude...I've been playing for 15-20years. Always discouraged cause I can't get it. It's been getting harder. Found this....now I'm on the right path. Getting some confidence finally. I'm like..."dude, you can't be a guitar player if you can't tune it by ear." Thanks for this great tutorial. I've seen my brother in law do it....but it didn't click till today. Gonna keep practicing this method. You're the man, man.

This is probably the best way of tuning, I've tried all of them during the years.

Not the best method: The first problem is that harmonics are sharp, one reason is that the string is vibrating at both sides, thus slightly increasing the string tension ,twice . Also, the pitch of the higher harmonics gets even sharper due the mass of the string. The mass of the string is the reason why we need compensation at the bridge. But this compensation won't work for the harmonics. The second problem is that the harmonics will not necessarily reflect the same pitch when you press the string against the fret since the string tension might not be the same. Another problem has to do with intonation. Harmonics do not follow the equal temperament intonation of the guitar, so you would be tuning the guitar to another intonation. This method works as an approximation of the ideal tuning and you can use it, but it is not the best approximation, so do not expect the best results. I do believe that the 55545 method works better as long the guitar is properly intonated and compensated, including a good string action, because it's based on perfect octaves of fundamentals. Octaves of fundamentals are the basis for equal temperament, which is the intonation intended for the guitar.

I love to tune my guitar by ear, the tuning speaks to you (through sound waves) about how you have been acting lately: and tries to help you come back to center-field

You can also tune the B string by using the harmonics on the 4th and 5th frets of the G and the B string. They are a little bit harder to hear, but it works. So the whole thing would be 5-7, 5-7, 5-7, 4-5, 5-7.

When starting to tune my guitar by harmonics, Does the lower E string/6th string be in tune first using a tuner or by ear?

Biggest issue with this is, how do you know if the string you start off with tuning "Lets say the low E" is actually in tune to begin with? If you use a tuner to make sure your actually in the pitch of E when you start tuning, then you may as well just use said tuner for the rest of your strings. Suppose you start your tuning with the low E and its actually to the pitch of Eb, what you will wind up with is a guitar tuned to Eb this way and not 440. You first HAVE TO KNOW that the string you START with is ACTUALLY tuned to correct pitch.

AWESOME ! I Find it a lot easier to pitch it 100% right with this method instead of the old 55545 :)

Your smile at the start is contagious

What if the first(top) string is off? wouldn't everything after that be off? sorry I'm new at this

I have an acoustic guitar and I always leave it tuned over night until someone told me that it ruins the strings and the neck of the guitar. Is that true and should I leave it tuned overnight?

EXCELLENT! Got lower E string tone off piano and moved up from there. Sounds great! thank you

5 yrs ago i have learned it. But i forget so i watch agian. Thank you . Sir for your effort in guitar lesson .

harmonics are at higher frequencies, if you get them right everything will be right. In electronics when someone wants to get "x" frequency, he/she looks for an oscillator having "x" . "y" frequency and then divide the product by "y" again. The reason is that there will always be some % errors, and , by dividing it the errors are reduced, therefore the frequency will be more precise.

What key are you tuning to? That is always ignored by all tuning instruction videos. How can you tell the difference between a guitar tuned to A versus G

I'm reading a lot of comments about how to tune the E string so the other strings are tuned correct. This method that LickNRiff has shown. For free i might add. ( just reminding the haters.) is a method that allows you to be in tune with yourself if your playing alone. So that the cords don't sound bad. The E string will essentially be whatever it was when you started. Your actually not going to tune the E string. Your just going to use it as a refference point to tune the other 5 strings. If your playing with people this tuning might clash. What you'd have to do is get the E string correct to the other instruments and then use the method to tune the other 5 strings. And the method works just fine. My own guitar teacher uses this method if he does,nt have his tuner. Great video man.

While there are many methods to insure that your instrument is in tune with itself, few if any people have perfect pitch--so if your low E is flat or sharp, then your entire instrument will be flat or sharp. A tuner is a pretty good investment, especially if you intend to play with somebody else.

my question sir how to get the reference note if all strings are not in tune

Ignore the pedantics. This is good enough for most purposes thanks! How do you know that you have an E? Unless you have perfect pitch it is hard but I got to a point by humming the lowest note I could. Then compare it to an electronic tuner tone. Eventually I got there to the E. It takes daily practice but doable. Initially I had D (too low) then Eb. Then E. Be patient!

about 30 years playing guitar since I was 35 and this is the firt time i learn this method... thank you so much !!! I hate tuners !!! :D

LOL! From 0:00 to 4:32 that dog was trying to initiate a staring contest with his owner till he lost all hope

For people that don't have perfect pitch and don't have a tuner though most can get a free app tuner on their phones, if you can remember a tune that starts on a A chord for standard pitch and then use that as a reference for your other strings by tuning to open chords and chords up to the 12 fret..the reason being that the guitar has got to be in tune to itself as every guitar neck is slightly different to sound sweet all over the neck unless you have intonation issues and in that case there are many videos to show how to correct that as it requires a truss rod adjustment etc...even with tuning to a tuner a guitar can sound out of tune unless it is tuned to itself using micro fine adjustments.

I can't get harmonics at 5th fret, especially the lower E at 5th is completely non existent, all the other strings at 5th are barely audible.... At 7th and 12th, all strings are OK... Is there a problem with my guitar?.... I'm using Dadadario extra lights strings 10-47.

U sir, are the man!! I was staggering with the electronic tuner, it just wouldnt work, now i did it like u, with the harmonics and my guitars sound is so clear now! I recommend this to every beginner!!!

a lot of comments here are correct about the starting low E to have something to tune the rest of the strings by. there's nothing you can teach that will allow you to be able to have perfect pitch to tune the low E string. so you'll need to go online to get that tone or have a tuner. i still have a set of pitch pipes, which I think is still very practical and useful. however if i could add something to this it would be to make sure you tune your strings to how hard you personally hit the strings or it will still sound out of tune when you start playing. for instance if you are tuning by barely hitting the strings it will sound fine as long as you aren't strumming very hard, but when you start hitting the strings as you normally would you might sound like you're still out of tune. or you feel like you are never really in tune. that's usually why so tune your strings at the same striking level as you play for reference. here is a pitch pipe, which in my opinion is very practical for tuning guitars without having to take your hands off your guitar. just put it in your mouth and go www.amazon.com/Kratt-SN10-Super-Pitch-Pipe/dp/B000EEJBGQ/

I thoght 5 on string six was an "A" , yet you say its Harmonic is an "E", like string One. Is that correct, please?

thanks so much man!! You have seriously helped me out after years of poorly tuning my guitar you have finally shown me how to do it properly. Wish i could pay you back somehow! Thanks so much!

BUT what if the strings are new and you going to put all of them on the guitar and you have to tune the A STRING in tune first. DO I use a pitch pipe tuner or a fork and hit it on the edge of the table. Can it be done by ear to tune that string while it is new string ?

FOR THE LIFE OF ME!!! I can't seem to get those same sounds from my own metal strings without risking them to pop. Why is that?? I bought 09-45 strings because they are thinner. But still- not even close to standard tuning sounds such as above☝ Worth mentioning that I have rewired my epihone guitar to play left handed, as well as changing the bridge saddle upside down. Could this have something to do with it? All help welcomed! Thank you!

I use the same method, but then I add an extra step to make it sound tempered tuned. I correct the tuning of every string comparing some notes, depending on what I will play: Usually, I compare open A string with the A in 3rd string (2nd fret). And D string with the D in second string (3rd fret). And so one with all strings. Then I check it out with thirds: ej: 5th string 3rd fret and 4th string 2nd fret. ...Then, the same with some arpeggios, using the chords I will use. That's the only way to make it (un)perfectly tuned. All strings will be slightly detuned, but they will sound perfect as a group. Thats the way pianos are tuned.

This doesn't work well for equal temperament, but it's nice when you don't have a tuner available. I would tune every string to harmonics found on the G string to get my guitar more in-tune

How did you get this idea?? I mean the idea of 5 with 7 and so on..coz if I want to tune my guitar in DADGAD, how will I do it with this same technique?

LOL!! I'm the female you minus the gift of play. I'm on the couch with my first guitar, a cheap buy from the local music store today and my GSD pays no mind while my other dog ran out of the room when I opened the case. And here I sit shaming the art of guitar playing and am grateful one dog makes me feel like there is hope. Thank you for this video, I'm clueless..my two friends play plus I'm going to take lessons because I think I'm tone deaf. But I'm subscribing to your channel and maybe the village can help and one day I will have both dogs stay on the couch ;)

Which string are you hitting in the first example of the touching the 5,7,12, frets.

this is assuming at least one of your strings is in tune, what do you do they are all out of tune?

Excellent method. I've known about the method for years but seldom use it. First I assume you tuned one string like the thick E. Nylon string guitar strings have to be tuned a smidge higher when first put on l, or they will always be out of tune. I like to tune my guitar 6 to 1. People don't usually know that the neck is being warped, especially when tuning the thick strings. I was doing video on on minuet in g. .. I woke up the other day and now have the d sound from my Casio keyboard firmly imprinted in my brain. I have good relative pitch, not perfect, but could never recognize any notes. So I'm passing this knowledge along. Maybe others will be helped. As now I can tune my d string with out a tuner. The best.

The best ever guitar tune tutorial ever...👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️

Can you use this method for downtuning your guitar a whole note for example?

I'm wondering, if you play an harmonic on the 5th of the low E isn't that gonna be an A harmonic? And thefore how is that used to tune the high E sting?

the dog is like: "is he talking to me??"

To answer people questions about the e string (base string), if you are not around another instrument to tune to; here's 2 suggestions: when your guitar is in tune, recorded the sound of the e string, on your phone or device to play back later, or if you Google e string, there are sites with MP3 files to play, with the sound, you can reference those. Also, you could get a pitch pipe, they are cheap. I think eventually you will just know what it should sound like in your head, and won't need any of that!

There are a lot of methods to get your guitar tuned. I want to share mine to contribute to yours. Here it is. I use ONLY one string as reference to tune, lets say first string(can be any one) and is as follows: 1st string open will be our reference - 2nd on 5 fret - 3rd on 9 fret - 4th on 14 fret - 5th harmonic over 7 fret and 6th harmonic over 5 fret, so, 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 and 6 strings are getting the same sound of open 1st String. This is even more accurate because we are using ONLY one sound to set the other strings. As I said this is only another method as good as the one that you explained to us. Thanks.

If your E is out of tune won't you just end up tuning your A incorrectly that same way as if you were doing the 55545 way?

Everyone should try memorizing the pitch of your low E (it can be done, try singing your lowest note and see where it is in relation, memorize it, start from there but work towards not singing). Then know how they should sound as 4ths. Listen to your E and A together and you can hear how they are supposed to sound. Very easy interval. Then you don't have to use any fingers on the fret board. I did not invent this way obviously and am not claiming so. A brilliant guitarist who I had the good fortune of working with taught me this way. I suggest this because it trains your ear, requires no fingers on the fret board and you have a better enharmonic understanding of your tuning and guitar mentally and physically. Also, eating lots of mangoes, phosphorus and a diet high in fiber will not only keep you regular in the BM (bowel movement) department but will also make your ear more acute to frequency relationships. Maybe that last part was made up...maybe it wasn't...I dunno.

OK, this is fine, BUT, you are tuning the guitar to itself, how would you know if you in say, 440 or whatever tuning you are trying to reach, for example, if you try to play with someone whos guitar is in perfect 440 pitch, you WILL be out of tune with them..

Thank you! I'm 30 years old and first time picking up the guitar. But I been around it all my life and I understand for me I am trained to hear it. So tunning my guitar by myself it took me a while but the guitar naturally starts harmonizing with itself even if I do two. I love it.

This video has the best intro I've heard in a long time. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

I appreciate the harmonics method because of the bell like sustain it gives thank alot

Question on Harmonics. If I hold a string without pressing it down. This dampens the string. What am I doing wrong? Should there be some pressure. As until I apply some using my fret hand fingers. No note is audible.

there must be a lot of people in the comments who have no idea how to tune or play a guitar anyway. I have never used a tuner and I've always been able to turn mine by ear, but this is definitely a helpful trick and it makes it a lot faster.

Yes but how do you get the first note in tune? The staring note has to be right.

If you strike a note on one string then the next string will vibrate if you have it fretted at the same note. I tune the high e string and then tune the b string so the e on it vibrates and so on across all the strings.

i dont get it. I try to put my finger but it doesnt sound right. Maybie im not doing it right.

WARNING ! I'm sorry but I disagree ! You don't know enough how it works ! Ok that method is beter than 55545, BUT you forgot 2 things that make you tune it NOT perfectly. First thing is that by that method, you have to be sure at 100% that the 5th string is tune perfectly for the 4th string, and than that the 4th string is tune perfectly for the 3th string. I mean by that that if there is a little little difference every time you tune the next string, well you'll have for example the 6th string not tune correctly with the 3th string ! And the second reason is the most important ! You forgot that by using harmonics, you're using the "natural pitch" and not the "temperate pitch"(the system of the frett made the guitar like a temperate instrument), so you forgot that the harmonic in the 7th frett is Higher (because it's the natural pitch) than in the "temperate pitch". So everything is wrong because of that, unless you know that you the harmonic in the 7th frett is normaly higher than an harmonic on the 5th frett... What you propose us is a great way to tune the guitar, but not to tune it "Perfectly" ! (In fact, it's impossible to tune perfectly a guitar 'cause it's a temperate instrument...)

Does one string have to be already in tune?

Do you think you can do that on a 12 String guitar ?

Uhmmm 55545, ever thought of using your picking hand to fret the note (index for fretting, thumb for picking, other fingers for supporting the neck, ellbow for muting) and use your fretting hand for tuning? Just saying.

Hey licknrift could you make an open c tuning video please? I don really understand other videos...or could anyone explain it to me how to tune?? Please

thank you brother :) i didnt realize there is a b and e on 7th and 5th :) changed my life

The word "perfect" has a very deep meaning. It also implies your ears to be perfect, the room, guitar quality and the microtones. Words like "good" and "convenient" prevent such overstatements. When you say "the best way" you assume you know all the ways. Humble up a bit next time and say "the best way I know".

Wowwww, I've had to pause and post after 10 seconds to say that your intro is outstanding. I'm going to like this channel. *sub* and *ding-a-ling* - DONE!

could you explain what to do around 3 minute in a little more visual way separately for each string?

I have always tuned this way. But after tuning perfectly, some open chords sound out a little. Is it because my guitar's intonation is out ?

I don't understand... as soom I let go of the strings, the sounds change immediately. can someone please explain?

Now this deserves a BIG like, thank you

I don't understand. Can't please someone explain this to me?

I looked for ever to find a simple video like this.. this is the best method I believe. Will it work for electric guitars?

Also, here's a tip I'd like to pass on: When tuning your electric guitar harmonically, you can hear the warble when the notes are out of tune a lot better when you add distortion. Thanx again!

does this work with eletric guitar

Actually tuning with harmonics is an un-accurate way to do it, cause they dont macth a any note if the chromatic schale ratios (prove it yourself doing it an comparing with electronic tuner) for precise info, look for "how to not tune your guitar" here on youtube

Best guitar tutor on utube!!!awesome

This is an amazing way to tune the guitar. It actually works! I wonder why nobody thought of it before. Thanks for sharing :)

Even the strings themselves can affect tuning . I defend this method , even though I use some kind of tuner or video to find Low E , I then use 55545 to get closer and then fine tune using harmonics because you have to tune the guitar to itself. Even then since every guitar has a different spirit , I find I have to flatten the B string just a little or that's all you'll hear ,

Awesome. I have seen a buddy do this and never took the time to figure it out. Great stuff

tried this thing multiple times, can't tune G and B, they sound so different , any other sounds good

Only works if the low E is in tune otherwise it doesn't.

My guitar doesnt sound like yours when I do the same. And second... How do you tune the 6th string first?

Thanks! this is the method I was looking for. I always got really close by ear. Now I get them dead on!

Best way is to learn how one string sounds, get it into your head perfectly and then use harmonic/55545

The little dog totally cracks me up.... thanks for the laugh... he's like... dude... the only reason I tolerate this is because I love you and this is my comfort zone and there is very little I can do about this!

I don't know about me man but the dog at the right really seems to be getting it hahaha . very funny!

Unfortunatly.. my guitar doesn't understand harmonics - if i touch a string above a fred and pluck.. nothing much harmonics happen..

That dog on the right was like.... DUDE, stop confusing people. The big one on the left was like... We have suffered here

so where is your point of reference with low E ?

Beautifully Presented. I never paid much attention to harmonics but this is useful.