Guide to Staying in Tune on Guitar

The biggest problem a beginner faces when playing guitar is keeping it in tune. What doesn't make the task easier is most starter guitars don't have very good tuners and aren't properly intonated. For shame, manufacturers! Regardless, there's a few tricks you can do to keep your guitar in tune no matter what you throw at it. First, we'll go over the do it yourself methods.

One that that eliminates a string from slipping out of tune is graphite. Lucky, you probably already have a good supply of it. Take a number 2 pencil. There are two points on the string where you should apply. The slotted nut, which is where the strings meet the guitar near the headstock. Your nut will be white or black and is literally a row of six slots at the top of the fretboard. Take the strings off the guitar and use the number 2 pencil to rub some graphite in there. The other place you should rub the pencil is head bridge. The bridge is the saddles where the strings come out of. Take a look at where the strings meet the bridge and then go ahead and apply a good amount of graphite to it. This is one trick that you should pretty much always use. There's no reason not to use it, so go ahead. Just be sure not to apply too much graphite or the string will have no give at all and will probably snap the second you try to bend it.

Second, always tune upwards. That is, don't tune from A# to A, tune from G# to A. Reason being, if you tune downwards, then the string is ''loose'' and is ready to slip more. If you tune upwards, the string is at it's highest point of tension and is more likely to stay in place. Definitely always do this no matter what.

Third, leave just a little bit of string loose as you tune a string for the first time. One thing many beginners do is tighten the string as tight as possible before turning the tuner. This is a bad idea, and it should be obvious why. If you tighten an already extremely tight string, it'll have no give at all. This increases the chances that it will snap, and also increases the chance that will be more likely to slip out of tune as the string surface area will be stretched far too much than it can handle.

Now, if none of those are helping you stay in tune then I suggest simply buying a new set of tuners, graphite saddles, and getting your guitar intonated by a professional guitar technician. Recommended tuners are Sperzel Locking Tuners. You can find graphite saddles at nearly any guitar store. Getting a guitar intonated is something that should always be done anyway, regardless of whether or not the guitar is in decent shape. Thanks for reading, you should be able to stay in tune quite easily now. Good luck!