Tuning a Guitar Using Harmonics

Harmonics are sounds that you can make on a guitar that have a unique bell or chime like sound. You can use harmonics to tune your guitar. Harmonics occur in many places on guitar strings. The loudest and the easiest to play are the ones above the 5, 7, and 12th Frets. First of all you should learn how to play a harmonic. There are many ways to play a harmonic but we will just cover the easiest way.

How to Play Harmonics

Playing a harmonic on a guitarTo play a harmonic place your finger directly above the 12th fret on the 6th String (thickest string). Now lightly press the string with your finger, do not fret the string or push hard, just barely touch it. Use the picture on the right as an example. Now with your right hand, pluck the 6th string. You should hear a chime-like sound. To make a clearer and longer lasting sound, immediately remove your finger from the string right after you pluck it. After some practice you should be able to play harmonics fairly easily. Try playing harmonics on the 5, 7 and 12th frets now. If the harmonic doesn't sound clear or isn't loud, make sure your finger is directly above the fret you are playing, and try adjusting your finger slightly. Remember not to press to hard.

Now let's learn how to tune your guitar using harmonics.

Tuning with Harmonics

Tuning your guitar using harmonics is similar too how we tuned the guitar in our 5th Fret Tuning Method article, in the sense that we use notes on different strings as references for the string we are tuning. Use the picture below as a reference.

Tuning a guitar using harmonics

First of all, make sure your 6th string is in tune. The 6th string should be tuned to E, if you are tuning your guitar in standard EADGBe tuning. We are using the 6th string as the reference string so if your 6th string is off-key, then the rest of your strings will be off-key with it. It will be tuned too itself so it will still sound fine in relation to itself even if your 6th string is off key. This method comes in handy if you don't have a piano or tuner around.

Now, follow these steps:

  • Play the harmonic on the 5th fret of the 6th String and play the harmonic on the 7th fret of the 5th String. Adjust the tuning pegs on the 5th string until the 2 chimes match.

  • Play the harmonic on the 5th fret of the 5th String and play the harmonic on the 7th fret of the 4th String. Adjust the tuning pegs on the 4th string until the 2 chimes match.

  • Play the harmonic on the 5th fret of the 4th String and play the harmonic on the 7th fret of the 3th String. Adjust the tuning pegs on the 3th string until the 2 chimes match.

  • Play the harmonic on the 7th fret of the 6th String and play the open 2nd string. To play it open means you do not fret or do a harmonic anywhere, just simply pluck the 2nd string. Adjust the tuning pegs on the 2nd string until the 2 notes match.
    Tip: Try not to play the open 2nd String too loud or else it might overwhelm the sound of the harmonic. Try to pluck it softly enough so the 2nd string matches the harmonic note in volume.

  • Play the harmonic on the 5th fret of the 2th String and play the harmonic on the 7th fret of the 1th String. Adjust the tuning pegs on the 1st string until the 2 chimes match.

Congratulations! Your guitar now should be tuned.

Tips: When matching the two harmonics together it should sound like 1 note is being played. If the tuning is off you can hear a "ripple" in the sound. It kind of has a wavy sound, sort of like vibrato. The farther away from the correct tuning you are, the faster the ripple sounds. The ripple sounds slower as you get closer to the correct tuning, until eventually it disappears when you are in perfect tune, and it sounds like one note. It is hard to explain, but you should begin to hear it over time when your ears get more practice.

Ask any questions below in the form if you have any and hopefully we can help you out.

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Comments (20)
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Equal temperment, blah blah blah. If you tuned every string perfectly every chord would still be off to a certain degree. James Taylor
Method is the best way. Tune everything down a tad flat. Low E -12 cents, A -10 D -08 G-6 B-4 e -3 cents. Youre welcome

by Satch on

Says: "First of all, make sure your 6th string is in tune. The 6th string should be tuned to E"
But it doesn't tell how to do that! So the rest of the article is moot until one learns how to do this first.

by Rick on

Harmonic tuning

Harmonic tuning became fashionable on mainly Electric Instruments because it was easier to hear the "beat" because of the equivalency of the two harmonic tones being produced near mechanically the same (ie: instead of one note fretted and one open giving notes less equivalent)

The guitar will never be a Tempered instrument. No matter how hard one tries there will always be a compromise required and good players will adjust between songs when the tunes go from sharp to flat keys or visa versa.

The Temper issue in tuning comes from the displacement of the string length when it is pressed down and stretches minimally when being fretted. The actual making of the fingerboard and installing the frets is the best compromise "when the note is FRETTED" and is much more of a problem on Acoustic instruments owing to their generally higher actions. On Electrics the action is often so low you barely even lose a Cent in pitch.

To tune the B string aside from employing the 6th string 7th fret harmonic you can use the 9th fret 4th (D string) B harmonic to tune the B strings 7th fret harmonic. You have to mechanically produce the D string harmonic well as it is not a strong node but does give you another method.

Also, many very good players do not tune to any set method in a religious manner at all only to get the instrument into the "area". Jazz trumpet players would push their slides in to lift the pitch a few cents higher. Its a trick to help your melody stand out from the rhythm section that has been employed by those in the know or having good ears or both. I know Martyn Tailor is on the record as tuning his B and E strings higher for the same and I have always done it by instinct.

Tuning most instruments has always been a compromise. Violins often go flat on the D string for some reason and I could go on about the entire Orchestra (but won't)but on Guitars it is a good idea to cross reference its Temper by employing different techniques to see if it is a good compromise from flat to sharp keys and the entire length of the fingerboard so you get no rude shocks in performance.

by Steve on

Mr

My guitar has never sounded better after having had it tuned by a music teacher by tuning in harmonics , the guitar sound heaps better

by Roy on

To all the people saying that this method puts the guitar out of equal temperament: this is correct, but it's not as big of a problem as you think for a solo guitarist. The kind of temperament produced using this method makes some of the standard guitar chords sound better than the equal-tempered equivalents and makes some sound worse.

In particular, I like how the C, G and F chords sound in this temperament, so I'd maybe tune a guitar this way before playing a song in C. Whereas I'd tune it with a tuner or with the fifth fret method before playing a song in G or any other key that uses D or E frequently.

by George Parkins on

Tuning supposed perfect fifths using fifth and seventh fret harmonics will get some strings out of tune by as much as six cents of a pitch - quite noticeable. The ONLY harmonics used in tuning should be octaves of the open string, e.g. 12th fret (one octave up) and fifth fret (two octaves up). You can use 12th fret harmonics with the next adjacent string up on its seventh fret note (not a harmonic) except for the B string for which its eighth fret note will be the same as the G string 12th fret harmonic. The low E string 5th fret harmonic should be the same as the open high E string. You can then check unisons and octaves across all the strings.

by Jim on

**** you

by Fuck Boy on

BLAKE = Idiot

Blake, Too doesn't mean Many, it often precedes the word many. If you're going to be a grammar Nazi then get it right. Too means also or to a higher degree. IE: You're too stupid to be a grammar Nazi.

by Matt on

Harmonics work for me. Anyone in a concert listening for theoretical correctness of the tuning, probably is not hearing the music. I'm just saying.

by Unfor Given on

Tuning by harmonics.

I'm surprised this article hasn't been taken down. As a previous poster said, because of equal temperament the harmonic method of tuning is NOT theoretically correct. I am sure some people tune to the harmonic method and then tune out the errors this creates. So you WILL want some "wobble" to do this accurately on some of the notes. It would require a very good ear and experience to know where these errors lie and how much they should be corrected. Not a quick and easy method of tuning.

by Robert Boettcher on

If you tune the A string to A440 using a tuning fork (or download an A440 mp3) and then tune the E string to the A and then continue on to the rest of the strings you will have your guitar tuned to concert pitch.

by John on

If you tune the A string to A440 using a tuning fork (or download an A440 mp3) and then tune the E string to the A and then continue on to the rest of the strings you will have your guitar tuned to concert pitch.

by John on

I think problem begins with 6 th string tuned to E. I have known many excellent guitar players, excellent meaning spot on at playing BY EAR. They have no idea if the 6th string is bottom Or top. Or where the E is. They may know terms like G, C, D etc. as chords, and can tune their guitar, but would would have trouble with this if fine tuning....

by Tracy on

Nice article but the word too means many, two means 2. You used too when it should be to. (your eyes rolling)

by Blake on

Theoretically, the harmonic method will not get you purely in tune, because the guitar is based on the 12 tone equal tempered scale, which has slightly flattened perfect 5ths. Tuning to harmonics based on the 5th of a string is tuning based on pure 5ths. I've also heard that harmonics will cause a string to go slightly sharp, which, I would think, would exacerbate the problem (your fifths may be slightly sharp rather than slightly flat, as they should be). Because of these issues, some will advocate tuning by the 5th fret to open string method. AT the end of the day, though, I've found through experimentation that I get much closer to an accurate tuning via the harmonic method, and so currently that is what I'm doing. Thanks for the article. :)

by Nick on

very educationnel thank you ff

by hibou on

Very informative, thanks a bunch!

by Will on

Tuning

How to tune Drop A??? I really don't know how it is?! ^_^ Thank you very much// :)

by MatthewSabangan on

Most excellent and understandable description. Thank you!

by Catherine on

Nice primer on playing harmonics. Good job.

by Scott on
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