There are a number of tools available for tuning your guitar. This article outlines the most common guitar tuner types.
Digital Guitar Tuner
Tuning a guitar is easiest with an automatic digital guitar tuner. An automatic guitar tuner is a device that detects the pitch of a guitar string and tells you whether the string is in tune, too low or too high via digital display. Automatic tuners receive sound input via a built-in microphone, vibration sensor, or a 1/4″ audio input jack. Guitar tuners with a digital display or LEDs are commonly called digital guitar tuners.
Digital guitar tuners can be very compact. The PitchBoy pocket-size, mini tuner ($9.95) can even fit on a keychain.
Automatic guitar tuners also come as software for Macs, PCs, and mobile devices. eMedia guitar lesson software (such as eMedia Guitar Method, Interactive Rock Guitar, etc.) features an automatic digital guitar tuner, as well as a metronome, guitar chord dictionary, and recorder. These four powerful guitar tools are also available together as the eMedia Guitar Toolkit, which at $4.95 offers an exceptional value.
Guitar Pitch Pipe
A guitar pitch pipe (seen below) has six pipes that are blown into to provide reference notes for each of the strings on the guitar.
How to Tune a Guitar Using a Piano
Refer to the graphic below to find guitar tuning reference notes on a piano keyboard.
Tuning Fork
When a tuning fork is tapped lightly it produces a sound that can be matched to an open guitar string. For example, a tuning fork in A would be matched to the open A, or 5th string. Some tuning forks are tuned to E or G, in which case you would match them to the open E or G strings respectively.
When matching tones, keep in mind that tuning forks may produce a pitch an octave higher than the string they’re to be matched with. Once one string is in tune, the relative tuning method can be used to tune the rest of the strings.
Learn How to Play Skip To My Lou on Guitar with Simple Guitar Chords
Skip To My Lou is a classic American folk song that is an easy guitar song for beginners to play. Note that learning this song is part of the award-winning eMedia Guitar Method, where you can learn to play this and over 70 great songs as you learn how to play guitar in a fun and interactive way.
How to Play the Guitar Chords for “Skip to My Lou”
This song uses the simple C and G7 chords seen below. These are incredibly easy guitar chords. So anyone young or old will be able to learn how to play Skip To My Lou on guitar.
Here is a video of how to play and strum the Simple C and Simple G7 guitar chords.
Remember to start slowly at first. It’s not easy learning how to change guitar chords but it will get a lot easier over time. it is better to play slowly than to miss a beat. Try to tap your foot so that you play in time at a slow tempo. Use a metronome if you have one to provide a steady click to play along with. If you don’t have a metronome yet, do remember that the eMedia guitar lesson software includes a complete set of great guitar practice tools that include an automatic guitar tuner, a metronome, an interactive chord dictionary and an audio recorder so you can hear your progress as you get better. These practice tools are also available on their own for only $4.95 as the Guitar Toolkit for Mac and PC. This can be easily purchased as a download from the eMedia website.
Welcome this set of free guitar lesson to help you learn how to play guitar. Most of the content is taken from the award-winning eMedia Guitar Methodguitar lessonsoftware, minus the interactive elements which are not possible using current website technology.
As you go through the lessons, be sure to use proper hand and finger technique and don’t try to rush things. Play guitar chords and notes cleanly. You will want to be sure that you don’t develop bad habits that can hinder your progress later on.
Types of Guitars and Parts of the Guitar
Here is an overview of the different types of guitars and their parts. Note that some music styles require certain guitar techniques, and some guitars support those technique better than others. For example, the string bends done in blues and rock would be almost impossible on a classical guitar. This instrument is not designed for it, as string bends are not found in classical guitar repertoire. However, string bending is easy on an electric guitar, as they are built to support this technique.
Acoustic Guitars
Acoustic guitars are designed to make sound without amplification. Some might include a pickup, but they are still designed as acoustic instruments. Acoustic guitars are like hollow boxes made of thin wood, with a sound holein the front underneath the strings. This allows vibration of the guitar strings to radiate sound waves into the guitar body, which then resonates. The front of an acoustic guitar (called a top) is usually made of softer woods like spruce that let the wood vibrate. The back and sides are usually hardwoods (mahogany, rosewood, etc.) to reflect sound back towards the sound hole.
Classical and Nylon-String Guitar
The classical acoustic guitar is commonly used for playing classical music — usually with the fingers, though a pick is also sometimes used. Unlike the electric and steel-string guitars, which have metal strings, the classical guitar has nylon strings, which can be easier on the fingers. The neck of the classical guitar is slightly wider and, likewise, so is the spacing between the strings. You also find nylon-stringed guitars used in flamenco and folk music. You should never try to put steel strings on these instruments, as they have no reinforcement in their necks to deal with the extra tension. Listen to how the nylon string acoustic sounds below.
Steel String Acoustic Guitar
The steel-string acoustic is the most common acoustic guitar, and is perhaps the most versatile. As the name implies, it uses steel strings and is common in folk, country, blues, jazz, pop, and rock music. It can also sound great when playing classical pieces, but will be much brighter than a classical guitar. Steel-string acoustics are commonly strummed and played with a pick, but can also be played with the fingers using various fingerpicking techniques. Play below to hear how a steel-string acoustic guitar sounds.
Electric Guitars
The electric guitar is hooked-up to an electronic amplifier and can be adjusted to create different types of electric guitar tones. Electric guitars are used primarily in pop, rock, country, blues, R&B and jazz. While usually played with a pick, it can also be played with fingers. The strings are usually thinner than the steel-string acoustic and the necks a bit easier to play. As a result, electric guitars can be a great fit for beginner guitarists who prefer the previously mentioned music styles. Hear the electric guitar licks below for a taste of how the electric guitar sounds.
Digital guitar tuners, such as the PitchBoymini tuner (pictured to the left), or the eMedia Guitar Toolkitmake tuning a guitar easier, as you can tune visually with less dependance on your own ear’s ability to hear pitch differences.
Holding the Guitar
It is important to hold the guitar properly while playing it. This can affect your arm and hand position which is crucial to get right when learning how to play the guitar. Hold the neck with your left hand and pluck or strum the strings with your right hand. Keep the guitar face nearly vertical with the top inclined slightly toward the body. If sitting, try to sit straight — avoid bending over the guitar. Settle into a comfortable position and stay relaxed. The type of guitar you have affects how you sit or stand with the guitar. Here are some examples of good ways to hold different types of guitars.
Sitting Position
(right leg crossed over left)
Classical Position
(Left foot on raised platform)
Standing Position
(With guitar strap)
Right Hand Guitar Technique
The right hand is used to make the guitar string vibrate by touching the string with your fingers, thumb and/or guitar pick. The right hand should rest comfortably on the guitar, with the hand basically parallel to the front of the instrument. The main right-hand guitar techniques are:
How to Strum a Guitar
Strumming is used for playing chords on the guitar. You strum with either the thumb, index finger or all the fingers across the strings in an up and down motion. See video for a demonstration. With any of the strumming styles, the right arm rests on top of the guitar and the usual place to strum is just behind (toward the bridge) or over the sound hole. For an electric guitar, which doesn’t have a sound hole, the strumming is done over the pickups. This video shows you how to strum a guitar.
How to Hold a Guitar Pick
To learn how to hold a guitar pick, try making a loose fist and put the pick between your index finger and thumb. Don’t let too much of the pick be exposed as you need to control firmly as you strum and play individual notes. Keeping a minimal amount of pick exposed also keeps it from being caught in the guitar strings and coming out of your hand. When using a pick, alternate between down and up strokes, giving each note a separate stroke. Thus the first note would get a down stroke, the second an up stroke, the third down, the fourth up and so on. Here is a video to show you how to hold a pick.
Fingerpicking
This is the technique widely used by classical and folks guitarists. Here your hand rests above the guitar strings with the thumb roughly parallel to the strings and the rest of your fingers curved and plucking the strings perpendicularly. Note that some rock guitarists will use fingerpicking too. When using fingers (playing fingerstyle), pluck alternately with the index (i) and the middle (m) fingers. Thus use i for the first note, m for the second, i for the third, m for the fourth and so on.
Left Hand Guitar Technique
Here are some things to observe when developing proper left hand technique for guitar. Those are:
Play With Thumb Parallel to the Neck and Arched Fingers
Your thumb should rest in the middle of the back of the neck, opposite your 2nd finger and vertical (perpendicular to the neck, not angled or parallel). Try holding your guitar neck with your left hand and then pull your hand down keeping your fingers slightly curved.
Keep space between the curve of your hand that is making the chord and the guitar neck. If you were to look at your hand from the end of your guitar (near the tuning machines), it should be in a “C” shape, with arched fingers.
Play On Your Finger Tips
Make sure you play with the tips of your fingers, so that notes can ring out and not be accidentally muted. Do not let your finger flatten out when playing single strings.
There is generally a one finger per fret, rule, that says all notes played on a particular fret should be played by the same finger across all strings on that fret. For example, if the 1st finger is on the 3rd fret, it plays all notes on the 3rd fret across all strings, the 2nd finger plays notes across the 4th fret, the 3rd plays the notes across the 5th fret and so on. Then as you move your hand up and down the neck you always have maximum reach with minimal movement. Very important when playing melodies and riffs at higher tempos.
Play Slightly Behind the Fret and Don’t Press Too Hard
Your fingertips should press down just behind the frets (slightly towards the tuning machine end of the neck), and as close to the frets as possible without having your finger on the top of the actual fret. This will make it much easier to hold down the string to get a good tone. You should not need to press down very hard to make a note sound. If the note sounds muffled, your finger is probably on the fret and you need to move it back a bit.
If your left-hand fingernails are too long, they may need to be trimmed.
Paying extra attention to technique as you learn how to play guitar pays off greatly as you start to improve. Getting the basics right during your initial beginner guitar lessons pays off a lot in the long run.
String and Finger Numbering
As seen in the graphic below, there is a guitar finger numbering system in place that indicates which finger to play relative to the frets. See the guitar fingering chart below for more information on guitar fingering notation.
Note: The dots on the side and face of the guitar neck are placed before the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th and 19th frets. The 12th fret has two dots. These dots help you find your way on the neck.
First Guitar Chords
The guitar chords below are called simple chords. They are perfect for beginner guitar lessons, as most of them only require a single finger and three strings to play. They are the most basic, easy guitar chords for beginners and work well for children with small hands, or others who might have problems playing full chords. Try playing them and remember to play all the notes in the chords.
Easy Guitar Chords Charts
Here are some videos to help you learn some of these beginning guitar chords and beginner guitar songs that use them.
How to Play a Simple G Chord
Beginner Guitar Song #1: Play Brother John/Frere Jacques
Now use your simple G chord to play this classic folk song. Each slash (/) indicates a downward strum on the beat. If possible, play to a metronome click so that you can to stay on the beat.
Have a clear idea of what you need to practice. Simply playing the same two songs over and over will not make you progress. In general, consider putting time aside for these three areas:
Improve guitar technique and strengthen your fingers. Remember that everyone needs to warm-up before playing and performing. Ways to do that effectively are to practice playing scales in different positions on the neck, changing between chords in common chord progressions, picking and fingerpicking, and playing in-tempo with a metronome. Start SLOWLY. Try to play CLEANLY without extra noise from accidentally hitting open strings, or accidentally muting notes by not holding down a note on the fret properly. Getting good tone will help make you a great player.
Practice songs and repertoire. Once you are all warmed-up, now is the time to practice the songs you know. Don’t rush them, but make sure that you are cleanly changing chords, hearing all the notes, and playing it at tempo without pausing.
Learn something new. Stretch yourself with a new technique, song, or musical style. Learn music theory and train your ear.
Learn Faster with eMedia’s Interactive Beginner Guitar Lessons!
Guitar lesson software such as eMedia Guitar Methodor eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar helps you learn how to play guitar faster. It provides a mix of great beginner guitar lessons by qualified teachers from leading music schools, and interactive music technology that gets you playing quickly. The Animated Fretboard and interactive guitar notation lets you see which notes to play, while the software listens to you and displays whether you’re actually playing the right note. Plus you learn hit songs like Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Rock’n Me.
Beware of Common Practicing Mistakes
Here are some really common mistakes made by new guitarists. As you practice and learn how to play guitar please keep them in mind. Be patient, as mastering any instrument takes a lot of practice.
Remember to tune your guitar first and warm-up your hands.
Be patient.
Practice slowly and watch your hands to have good guitar technique.
Practice with a metronome to have a steady feel for tempo and keeping the beat.
Change your chords on the the beat. Better to play slowly in rhythm than fast and miss a chord.
This free guitar tuner is useful as a reference tuner. Just click on a note to play it!
eMedia guitar software includes useful accessories such as this automatic guitar tuner, a metronome and an audio recorder.
Remember that you can get a full-featured, automatic, digital guitar tuner in eMedia Guitar Toolkit, for only $4.95. This gives you a digital tuner in software (for Mac or Windows) that lets you tune the guitar visually and take the guesswork out of tuning your guitar. It also includes other valuable music lesson tools too, such as a metronome, recorder and chord dictionary! Or if you want a hardware tuner to use on-the-go, be sure to see the EarMaster Pitchboy Mini Tuner.
As you learn how to play guitar and keyboard, learning basic chord theory will help you become a better player. A musician with a solid understanding of chord theory can use more varied chord voicings for accompaniment and more easily improvise solos and melodies to match a chord progression. Bass players will also use chord theory to create their bass parts.
What is a Chord?
A chord is the simultaneous sounding of three or more notes. Played together, they create what is referred to as harmony. The sound of a chord is based on the relationship of pitches between each of the notes, which are called intervals. Generally the intervals that chords use are the notes found on every other note of a scale. Any chord can be built on any note by using the appropriate formula provided for that particular chord. The notes in a chord are usually played at the same time, but occasionally are played in rapid succession as with arpeggios.
The three broad categories of chords are:
Triads: major, minor, diminished and augmented.
Seventh chords (and other four-tone chords): major, minor, diminished, augmented and dominant.
Extended chords: ninth, eleventh and thirteenth chords: major, minor, diminished, augmented and dominant.
Suspended chords are treated as a special type of chord. All chords can be altered. Note that the octave, which is the same note played higher or lower (e.g., the low E and high E in an E chord), is usually found in chord voicings played on polyphonic instruments like guitar or piano and is not considered a separate interval.
You will find that certain styles of music tend to us particular types of chords and voicings. You can learn much more about guitar chord theory and its applications in eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method, while piano and keyboard players can learn more about chords on their instrument with eMedia Intermediate Piano and Keyboard Method.
Triads
The most common chords are triads. A triad contains three notes commonly built on every other note of a scale. For example, take the C major scale: Begin with the note C and add two more notes in the scale, skipping every other note. The result is a C major triad (C, E, and G). The notes of a triad are numbered from the bottom upward 1, 3, 5. The first note (1) is called the root or tonic. The next note is called the third, and the top note is called the fifth. So for a C chord; the root is C, the third is E and the fifth is a G note.
As shown in the example, the root determines the name of the chord. Although the root is commonly played on the bottom (the lowest note of the chord), sometimes the notes of a chord are rearranged. These chords are called inversions.
Major Chords
A major triad is a chord made up of the root, third, and the fifth of a major scale. In the C major chord, the notes are C, E, and G. The major chord is often abbreviated using the capital letter of the root note — in this case C. When you hear play a C chord, you are being asked to play a C major chord. Major triads can be built on any note using this formula: root + major third + minor third (root + M3 + m3).
Minor Chords
Minor triads are chords made up of the root, third, and fifth of a natural minor scale. You could also consider it the first, flatted third, and fifth notes of a major scale. The notes of the C minor chord are C, Eb, and G. The abbreviated symbol of a minor chord is the capital letter of the root followed by a smallm for minor. So, a C minor triad is written Cm. Minor chords can be built on any note using the formula root + minor third + Major third (root + m3 + M3).
Suspended Chords
Suspended chords are chords where one note is eliminated (usually the third) and replaced with another note (usually the fourth or second note of the scale). Suspended chords are abbreviated as sus, often with a number added to designate the replacement note. The C suspended fourth chord would be written as Csus4.
Seventh Chords
Seventh chords are the most common four-note chords. Like triads, they are built on every other note of a scale, but they have a fourth note:
There are major seventh, minor seventh, diminished seventh, augmented seventh and dominant seventh chords. There is also the seventh chord with a suspended fourth, sometimes called a suspended seventh chord. Any seventh chord can be built on any note using the correct formula.
If you see 7 attached to a chord name (for example, A7), it is a seventh or dominant seventh chord. A7 is the shorthand spelling of the A seventh or A dominant seventh chord. The same rule applies to minor chords. For example, an A minor seventh chord would appear as Am7. The seventh note is the most common color note, used heavily in blues and rock music. If there is a capital M or a triangle (∆) in front of a number (such as with an AM7 or A∆7 chord), it is a major seventh chord.
Other Chords
Seeing other numbers next to chords (e.g., 6, 9, 11, 13) indicate extended chords that follow the same naming conventions and formula you saw with seventh chords. These chords include the basic notes of the major or minor triads plus one or more color notes. Extended chords are used largely in jazz and some classical music. You can also find the 9th and 7#9 (often called the Hendrix chord, as it was used in popular songs by Jimi Hendrix) used in blues, rock, funk, and pop styles. However, you don’t often see more complex extended chords in these music genres.
A diminished chord is a minor chord with a fifth that is only two and 1/2 steps higher than the root. An augmented chord is a major chord with a fifth that is four whole steps higher than the root.
Using Chord Theory
Each chord has a certain character that composers use to make songs invoke happiness, sadness, tension, and other emotions. Chords are strung together to create chord progressions, and the chord progressions for the basis of songs and other compositions. Another way that chords are used creatively is by using variations on a triad to add color to the chord progression. For example, if a chord progression indicates that you play a C chord for 8 measures, you might play a C for four measures and then a C7 for the second four measures.
To understand all the ways that chord theory can enhance your own playing you should investigate eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method,eMedia Intermediate Piano and Keyboard Method, and eMedia Bass Method. The curriculums were designed by highly qualified, professional teachers. They utilize interactivity to help you identify intervals by ear and teach chord theory to help you improvise solos and enhance your playing.
Greensleeves is a song that calls to mind Elizabethan England, and a time of formal courtships, and romanticism. Those who learn how to play Greensleeves on guitar can consider themselves carriers of the fine minstrel tradition that dates back centuries to the days of the lute. The song is based on an Italian style of composition and was even mentioned by Shakespeare in his play The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Learn how to play Greensleeves on guitar using this tab (guitar tablature) transcription below. If you need help learning how to read tabs, then check out this post for learning How to Read Guitar Tabs . A great way to learn this piece the fastest is by using eMedia Guitar Method. This guitar tutorial software contains over 180 lessons and lets you see the notes to play on an Animated Fretboard, and easily slow down and loop any difficult areas in songs or exercises. Plus you learn fingerpicking, chords, strums, and other skills. Also you get over 70 great songs and practice tools like an automatic tuner, metronome and chord dictionary.
Note that this song is in a 3/4 time signature, with a 1/4 note arpeggiation of the chords. As you learn how to play Greensleeves on guitar be sure to use the Right Hand Pattern outlined below to let you play the piece smoothly. Remember to start slow and build tempo as you can easily change chords without hesitation.
The CAGED guitar system is a way of understanding how to play guitar chords in all keys by knowing the fundamentals five basic open chord positions. As you might guess, the five open chords used as the basis of CAGED guitar are the open C, A, G, E and D.
CAGED guitar teaches that if you know how to play basic C, A, G, E and D open chord shapes (with minor and other variations), and can identify the root notes within those shapes, then you can play chords in any key. Also by knowing these shapes all around the guitar neck, you will have a better understanding of how the notes lay out on the guitar and access a huge variety of chord voicings while you play.
Basic CAGED Guitar Chords
First let’s look at the chord shapes with their fingerings. Note that if need to learn these basic CAGED chords, we cover some basic chords here. Also remember that eMedia Guitar Method is the fastest way to learn these chords plus all of the other basics of playing the guitar.
Some Basic Guitar Chord Theory – How Chords Are Made
A chord is three or more notes played at the same time with a certain relationship between the pitches of the notes. The relationship between notes is referred to as intervals. For example, a C major chord combines the first, third and fifth notes of the C major scale (C, E and G). Since the first note of the C scale was the initial starting point when adding the other intervals on top, the C note is called the root of the chord. This root note determines the name the chord (a C chord in this case). If the chord was formed by starting with a D, the chord would be a D chord, and so on. The notes of a chord can be rearranged, creating different positions of the same chord which are called inversions. Three-note chords built with a root, third, and fifth are called triads.
Find the Root
This guitar chord chart shows where the intervals are located in our CAGED guitar chords. R is for the root, 3 is for the Third and 5 is for the Fifth. Knowing where the root is located is the key to being able to move the chord shape around the neck to quickly become a different chord.
Move Chord Shapes to Create Chords in Different Keys
Now that you know where the root of the chord is, simply move (transpose) the chord up the neck and put the root note on a different fret. This creates the same type of chord in a different key. The approach will seem familiar to users of eMedia guitar lesson software as it is seen in the lessons on how to play barre chords and power chords. Those lessons show how to make E and A chord shapes into moveable barre chords. For example, the E shape becomes a G chord by simply moving the whole shape up and creating a barre with your finger on the third fret.
To move the shapes you will need to learn how to barre with your first finger. Basically you are using your finger the same way the guitar nut is used in the normal open chord voicing. Here is a video to illustrate creating a barre on the first fret and using the E shape to create an F chord:
Using this idea, you can see how only using a single chord shape can deliver that chord in any key. Memorizing these basic CAGED chord shapes, their roots and the notes on the fingerboard, lets you create moveable chords that help you play songs in any key.
Know Your Guitar Notes
Now that you have all this power to create new chords, remember that you have to know all the notes on the guitar. Knowing your guitar notes lets you easily see where to put the CAGED chord shapes to create a new chord. Memorize this chart below, and always remember that the notes are in a simple A, B, C, D, E, F, G sequence and then the notes start over again. Also remember that there are 2 frets between each note, except for B to C and E to F where the note pairs are only one fret apart.
A diagram showing where all the notes are on the guitar fingerboard.
eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method is a great way to learn your intervals, chords and scales. Created with University of Colorado-Boulder’s Kevin Garry, Ph.D., it uses flash card exercises to improve your ear and other interactive tools. Also you learn popular songs and use guitar theory to help you learn how to play guitar solos. It’s like having your own 24/7 private guitar instructor.
An example of nylon strings, showing a wound and unwound/plain string.
Classical and folk guitars require nylon strings so it’s important to know the types of nylon strings available. Nylon strings have a softer, more mellow tone and are usually used in classical, flamenco, samba and folk styles. These types of guitars are lightly braced internally and do not have any extra reinforcement built into their necks. Note that these these types of guitars can’t handle the extra tension of metal strings so you should NEVER use metal strings on these types of guitars as you will bow the neck and/or pull the bridge off. Our article on how to string a classical guitar can show you how to change strings on these guitars.
Nylon string sets use 3 nylon/plastic, usually clear, strings for the high E, B, and G strings. Low E, A, and D strings are wound with silver or brass around a nylon center.
Classical Guitar Strings
The bridge of a classical guitar showing the string windings.
Classical guitar strings are plain on both ends. Installing them requires that you tie the string at the bridge by wrapping it around itself. Classical string sets will come as either normal/low-tension, moderate or high-tension which relates to your guitar neck’s ability to take different levels of stress. Beginning guitarists should purchase low-tension. This string set is the best-seller among all the types of nylon guitar strings available. The gauge (thickness) of a low-tension string is .028 of an inch. Higher tension strings are slightly thicker.
Folk Guitar Strings
Similar to classical, folk guitar strings feature three plain strings (usually black) for the lightest strings (G, B, and high E) and three wound strings. Folk strings are much lighter gauge (starting at .045 inch) than classical strings. Each folk string has a plastic ball on one end used to secure the string at the bridge.
This post will focus on varieties of metal strings available for steel-string acoustic guitars. If you have a classical, flamenco, or folk guitar, please read our post that covers types of nylon guitar strings.
Steel guitar strings have a bright sound popular in pop, rock, country, and folk styles. Steel-string acoustic guitars are constructed with a metal truss rod in the guitar neck to brace against the tension of metal strings. Do not install steel strings on any guitar designed for nylon strings. Since these instruments lack a truss rod, you might warp or break your guitar neck!
In a typical set of six guitar strings, the two thinnest strings are plain (bare steel) and the rest are wound. (Plain strings are sometimes called unwound.) Wound strings feature a metal alloy string wound around a steel core. A breakthrough in string design, winding two strings together creates a single, heavy thread that vibrates evenly so pitch can be clear and stable.
Bronze
The metal alloy called bronze, was traditionally a blend of 88% copper and 12% tin. In commercial bronze, zinc has replaced tin, and modern bronze acoustic guitar strings are actually a mix of bronze with other materials, such as phosphor, zinc and copper on a steel core.
80/20 and 85/15 Bronze or Brass Strings– The Brightest Sound
As the name suggests, two metals are blended to form an 80/20 alloy using a ratio of 80% copper and 20% zinc. This is known as low brass. You may already be familiar with the term brass if you know something about orchestral instruments. Some manufacturers have taken to calling these strings “80/20 bronze” even though these are not true bronze. You will also find sets with an 85/15 ratio, sometimes referred to as “Vintage Bronze”.
The tone of new 80/20 strings is brilliant but fades quickly to warm. A change in tone is not always desired by musicians, and this is why we have a variety of string options. Manufacturers of “coated” strings boast that their tone stays consistent much longer. This is true, but the tone of a coated string is not as bright to begin with.
Phosphor Bronze – Warm Sounding
Phosphor bronze strings combine copper with zinc, tin, iron, and phosphor. The strings are still mostly copper, but these other metals combine to provide a longer lasting tone than regular bronze. The tone is warmer with enhanced mids. These strings tend to hide finger noise and pick scrapes better than others. These guitar strings would sound good for jazz and softer styles.
Gold Plated– Medium Bright
Gold resists corrosion. While it seems extravagant, some players are willing to pay for gold-plated strings. Under the gold-plating is usually 80/20 bronze wound strings or phosphor bronze. These are somewhat popular with players who dislike the synthetically coated strings. Often these can be gold-plated 80/20 bronze wrap wire and phosphor bronze sets. The bright tone is said to last until the string breaks from old age.
Titanium – Medium Bright
Titanium strings are known for their resistance to corrosion. As they are not magnetic, titanium strings are not used with electric guitars. They offer a medium-to-bright tone, and can cost over 30X the cost of common bronze strings.
Silk and Steel String Sets
These strings sets use steel high E and B strings, with the remainder of strings made of bronze or brass windings over a nylon core. This makes for a softer sound than strings wound on a steel core. These strings are excellent for beginners because they are easier to play. These types of acoustic guitar strings are usually found on very lightly-braced acoustic guitars and on guitars that lack a truss rod.
Choosing Your String Gauge
When purchasing guitar strings, you’ll select a string gauge. The term gauge refers to thickness. The lighter the gauge, the brighter and weaker the sound. In contrast, heavier strings sound duller but project louder.
Your guitar has been set up by the manufacturer for a certain gauge of strings, probably light gauge. If you change the string gauge you may need to hire a guitar tech to adjust your guitar setup to maintain optimum playability. Most guitars ship with light or extra light strings, where the thinnest string is .012 or .011 millimeters thick.
Guitar players will often change the tuning of the guitar in order to get a particular sound or combination of notes. These are called alternate guitar tunings. Sometimes this is simply changing all the notes higher or lower by the same number of steps, sometimes it is changing the tuning of just one string, and sometimes all the strings are tuned to an open chord.
Below are a few of the most commonly used alternate guitar tunings.
Low Tuning
This is where all the strings are tuned the same degree lower. This is commonly used because it works better for a vocal range and/or to make the guitar tone more bass-heavy and powerful. Occasionally you can find a song where all strings are tuned higher for the same reasons, however that is rare. Songs by U2, Van Halen, Nirvana, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and many others have used low alternate guitar tunings. Here are some of the most common low tunings:
Eb (E flat) – Tune all the notes down 1/2 step.
D – Tune all the notes down a whole step
C – Tune all the notes down 2 whole steps
Below is an example of Slash playing Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door in an Eb low tuning. The original version by Bob Dylan was in standard tuning and uses an A minor chord more often. Notice how the lower tuning and simpler chords in this version help to deliver a powerful rock rendition of the song. You can learn this song note-for-note, complete with the impressive Slash solo, by using eMedia Masters of Rock Guitar.
Drop D Tuning and Other Drop Alternate Guitar Tunings
In “Drop” tuning one string (and occasionally more than one) is changed to create more interesting chord voices and to extend the range of the guitar to play lower-pitched guitar riffs. “Drop D” is the most common, where the low E string on the guitar gets detuned to a D (one whole step down). This alternate guitar tuning is used in everything from classical guitar music, to folk songs, to the grunge sounds of Nirvana and other rock bands.
A powerful aspect of playing in drop D is that you create a power chord by simply barring across the low E and A strings on any fret. As a result, it becomes very easy to make fast power chord progressions that would be impossible in standard tuning.
Here is Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters with an acoustic version of Everlong that uses a drop D tuning. Listen to how he uses the low E and A string to create a chord progression that delivers power even on an acoustic guitar.
Open Tunings
Open tunings are when the strings are tuned in a particular sequence to play a particular chord when you simply strum all the open strings. Often many notes are octaves of one another so it creates a very full sound with a strong drone. A drone, which is particularly popular in traditional Indian music, serves as a constant accompaniment note during a whole song and can impart an Eastern sound.
Open C – The C tuning has roots in English guitar, which uses open-notes of C-E-G-C-E-G. A variation of that (C-G-C-G-C-E) was used by folk guitarist William Ackerman, blues fingerpicking guitarist John Fahey. Mick Ralphs of the rock band Bad Company even used a version of the C tuning (C-E-G-C-E-C) for their song Can’t Get Enough.
Open D – Vestopol is another name for open D, which is tuned to D-A-D-F♯-A-D, also called tuning. Players that have used this tuning include Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, noted fingerstyle guitarist Leo Kotke, John Fahey and the Allman Brothers.
Open Dsus4 – Commonly called “DADGAD”, strings are tuned to D-A-D-G-A-D. Even though this is commonly called Celtic tuning, it is actually used in many styles of music. It is a versatile tuning as it sounds neither major nor minor. Popular opinion is that the tuning came about when an oud player in Morocco influenced British guitarist Davey Graham.
Open G – Variations on the popular open G include G-G-D-G-B-D, G-G-D-G-B-D, and D-G-D-G-B-D. One of the most well-known guitarists who depends on this tuning is Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones who has used it in many Stones hits.
One of the most popular songs in an open tuning is Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir. This hit is played in open Dsus4/DADGAD. All the droning D strings help to give this song its Eastern flavor.
In this excerpt from the excellent DVD It Might Get Loud guitarist Jimmy Page shows the chords and tunings to Jack White of the White Stripes, and The Edge of U2. You can see from their interest, that alternate guitar tunings have created some legendary rock guitar parts.
Tuning a guitar is easiest with an automatic digital guitar tuner. An automatic guitar tuner is a device that detects the pitch of a guitar string and tells you whether the string is in tune, too low or too high via digital display. Automatic tuners receive sound input via a built-in microphone, vibration sensor, or a 1/4″ audio input jack. Guitar tuners with a digital display or LEDs are commonly called digital guitar tuners.
Guitar lesson software such as 
eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method
