Comments on: Review: Tuning the Guitar by Ear http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/ Classical Guitar Lessons, Interview, News, Tips & More Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:11:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Gerald Klickstein http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2410 Gerald Klickstein Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:59:59 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2410 Great question, Bobber. I recommend that beginning guitarists use tuners until they have the technical skills to tune by ear. For the rest of us, though, electronic tuners are insufficiently accurate to serve our needs. Not only are tuners relatively imprecise compared to our ears, but they also don't accommodate differences in guitar setup, which my tuning system does. Tuning isn't difficult once we acquire certain knowledge and skills. But ignorance of basic tuning concepts pervades the guitar world, so students and teachers commonly ignore the main issues. So countless guitarists struggle to tune, and they mistakenly believe that it's due to a lack of talent rather than a deficit of knowledge and skill. I agree with Christopher that, for performing classical players, using a tuner on stage seems lame. After all, if listeners go to a concert to hear expert, artistic playing, surely they expect that the performer can tune easily. That said, in noisy environments like a jazz club or reception, tuners can be quite helpful. It's up to all players to make their own decisions about the tuning systems they'll use. But I believe that we should expect fluency with tuning to be a standard ability shared by all performing guitarists, and we should expect teachers to provide their students with basic knowledge, including the know-how to tune fluently. Hence, I created Tuning the Guitar by Ear so that expertise with tuning would be accessible to any guitarist or teacher. Great question, Bobber. I recommend that beginning guitarists use tuners until they have the technical skills to tune by ear. For the rest of us, though, electronic tuners are insufficiently accurate to serve our needs. Not only are tuners relatively imprecise compared to our ears, but they also don’t accommodate differences in guitar setup, which my tuning system does.

Tuning isn’t difficult once we acquire certain knowledge and skills. But ignorance of basic tuning concepts pervades the guitar world, so students and teachers commonly ignore the main issues. So countless guitarists struggle to tune, and they mistakenly believe that it’s due to a lack of talent rather than a deficit of knowledge and skill.

I agree with Christopher that, for performing classical players, using a tuner on stage seems lame. After all, if listeners go to a concert to hear expert, artistic playing, surely they expect that the performer can tune easily. That said, in noisy environments like a jazz club or reception, tuners can be quite helpful.

It’s up to all players to make their own decisions about the tuning systems they’ll use. But I believe that we should expect fluency with tuning to be a standard ability shared by all performing guitarists, and we should expect teachers to provide their students with basic knowledge, including the know-how to tune fluently.

Hence, I created Tuning the Guitar by Ear so that expertise with tuning would be accessible to any guitarist or teacher.

]]> By: Christopher Davis http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2402 Christopher Davis Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:30:48 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2402 I think using a tuner on stage looks bad, but I don't see anything wrong with it for practicing, etc. I haven't owned a tuner for about 5 years now. I think using a tuner on stage looks bad, but I don’t see anything wrong with it for practicing, etc. I haven’t owned a tuner for about 5 years now.

]]> By: Bobber http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2400 Bobber Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:41:06 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2400 So why not use a tuner? So why not use a tuner?

]]> By: Gerald Klickstein http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2398 Gerald Klickstein Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:24:09 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2398 ProFuzz: Thanks for your comment. Unlike you, I've found that many experienced guitarists don't tune swiftly and precisely because they employ flawed tuning systems and lack fluency with tuning skills. In fact, the widespread confusion about tuning was what motivated me to create my tuning method. Regarding your being dissatisfied with the way that chords sound on your guitar, I suspect that you're a sensitive player and you're noticing the compromised nature of equal temperament (virtually all guitars are fretted in equal temperament). Equal temperament causes some intervals to sound beatless and others to beat significantly. When you play a major chord on an accurately tuned guitar, for instance, the octaves will sound beatless, the fifths will beat very slowly, and the third of the chord will beat noticeably. For that reason, I recommend that guitarists use test chords that lack thirds. You can read more about these and other tuning issues in this free article that I wrote about ten years ago: http://www.guitar9.com/columnist177.html ProFuzz: Thanks for your comment. Unlike you, I’ve found that many experienced guitarists don’t tune swiftly and precisely because they employ flawed tuning systems and lack fluency with tuning skills. In fact, the widespread confusion about tuning was what motivated me to create my tuning method.

Regarding your being dissatisfied with the way that chords sound on your guitar, I suspect that you’re a sensitive player and you’re noticing the compromised nature of equal temperament (virtually all guitars are fretted in equal temperament).

Equal temperament causes some intervals to sound beatless and others to beat significantly. When you play a major chord on an accurately tuned guitar, for instance, the octaves will sound beatless, the fifths will beat very slowly, and the third of the chord will beat noticeably. For that reason, I recommend that guitarists use test chords that lack thirds.

You can read more about these and other tuning issues in this free article that I wrote about ten years ago: http://www.guitar9.com/columnist177.html

]]> By: Bobber http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2397 Bobber Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:57:39 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2397 About 7 and a half minutes into this video, Steve Vai displays a guitar with very strange looking frets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b58Xil8RfRY About 7 and a half minutes into this video, Steve Vai displays a guitar with very strange looking frets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b58Xil8RfRY

]]> By: ProFuzz http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2396 ProFuzz Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:11:18 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2396 There are so many ways on how you can tune a guitar, but I think that it's all about experience. The more experience you have, the better and faster you will tune it. You can tune the guitar using intervals or even full chords, for example when I take a chord - I always hear if there is something wrong in the way it sounds! There are so many ways on how you can tune a guitar, but I think that it’s all about experience. The more experience you have, the better and faster you will tune it. You can tune the guitar using intervals or even full chords, for example when I take a chord – I always hear if there is something wrong in the way it sounds!

]]> By: Christopher Davis http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2388 Christopher Davis Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:18:40 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2388 I hadn't heard of that. I put my guitar in tune, then I play--not terribly interested in the mathematics of tuning: too many other things to do and learn about. I hadn’t heard of that. I put my guitar in tune, then I play–not terribly interested in the mathematics of tuning: too many other things to do and learn about.

]]> By: Jojo http://www.classicalguitar.org/2010/01/review-tuning-the-guitar-by-ear/#comment-2387 Jojo Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:55:03 +0000 http://www.classicalguitarblog.net/?p=2787#comment-2387 I was beginning to wonder if you've ever heard of the pythagorean comma, in the context of fifths, when you stated that your method of tuning included checking fifths. But that said: I don't really think it matters that much, since no guitar with straight frets will ever give you perfect equal temperament over all frets and all strings. (PS: What going on with Jason Vieaux? Is he scared to release information? Or is the interview just completely unimportant to him?) I was beginning to wonder if you’ve ever heard of the pythagorean comma, in the context of fifths, when you stated that your method of tuning included checking fifths.

But that said: I don’t really think it matters that much, since no guitar with straight frets will ever give you perfect equal temperament over all frets and all strings.

(PS: What going on with Jason Vieaux? Is he scared to release information? Or is the interview just completely unimportant to him?)

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