How to Tune a Guitar by Ear (5th Fret Method)

Start with one reference note

Tuning by ear means comparing strings to each other, so first you need one string at the correct pitch. Most people use the low E (E2) or the A string (A2) as the anchor.

Your reference can come from a piano or keyboard, a tuning fork, or the reference tones in our guitar tuner: tap a string name and it plays that string’s target pitch. If you’re about to play with someone, tune to their instrument instead. A guitar tuned only to itself can sound fine on its own and still clash with everyone else.

The 5th fret method

Standard tuning, from low to high, is E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. Most neighboring strings are a perfect fourth apart (five half steps), so the 5th fret on one string gives you the same note as the next string open. That’s the whole trick:

Fret the low E string at the 5th fret (A) and tune the open A string to match.
Fret the A string at the 5th fret (D) and tune the open D string to match.
Fret the D string at the 5th fret (G) and tune the open G string to match.
Fret the G string at the 4th fret (B) and tune the open B string to match. G to B is a major third (four half steps), so this is the one place you use the 4th fret.
Fret the B string at the 5th fret (E) and tune the open high E to match.

Step 4 is where beginners slip up most. Use the 5th fret there and your B string ends up a half step sharp.

Listening for beats

How do you know two notes really match? When two pitches are slightly different and ring together, you hear a pulsing “wah-wah-wah” as the volume swells and fades. Those pulses are called beats, and they happen at a rate equal to the difference between the two frequencies. Play 110 Hz and 112 Hz together and you’ll hear two beats per second.

So let both strings ring and turn the tuning peg slowly. As the notes get closer, the beats get slower and slower until you can hardly notice them. If the beats speed up, you’re turning the wrong way. Listening for beats with both strings sounding is far more accurate than playing one note, then the other, and comparing from memory.

Tuning with harmonics

Harmonics are the bell-like tones you get by lightly touching a string directly above a fret wire, without pressing it down, and releasing as you pick. They ring longer and make beats easy to hear, which is why many players like them for tuning:

Play the 5th fret harmonic on the low E and the 7th fret harmonic on the A string together, and adjust the A string until the beating slows to the point where you can barely hear it.
Do the same between the A and D strings, then the D and G strings.

There’s a catch. The 7th fret harmonic sounds an octave plus a pure (just) fifth above the open string, which is about 2 cents wider than the equal-tempered fifth your frets are built for. Each step is tiny, but chaining several of them lets the error build up. After tuning with harmonics, strum a few chords or check with a tuner. And because G to B isn’t a fourth, use the 4th fret method for that pair.

Why errors add up, and checking with a tuner

The 5th fret method tunes each string from the one before it, so any small error carries forward. After five steps from low E to high E, the last string can end up noticeably off from where you started. On top of that, tuning one string can shift the others slightly.

A few quick checks after tuning by ear:

The open high E and the open low E are the same note two octaves apart. Play them together and listen for beating.
Strum common chords like G, C, D and E. One sour string usually stands out right away.
If you can, finish with our guitar tuner. Seeing how many cents off each string was is a great way to measure how accurate your ear is getting.

Tuning by ear is a skill that improves with practice. Even if you normally use a tuner, try tuning by ear first now and then and use the tuner to check your answer. Over time you’ll start hearing when a string drifts before you even look at the needle.