Classroom Guitar: Tuning
Classroom Guitar
Tuning
Tuning is one of the most important things that should be taught in a guitar class. Developing intonation awareness is easier on a fretted string instrument than any instrument in a wind ensemble or orchestra and can be taught in a way that is fun for students without causing string breakage. Everything played in a guitar class is going to sound better if all students are in tune with each other which will encourage further practice and growth individually or as a large group
1 Pitch Awareness
I think that tuning awareness should start very early on in the learning of guitar. students need to know the parts of the guitar and the open string names first and then they can learn how to tune. Try this activity to develop tuning awareness with your students. make sure all of the guitars are tuned before the class starts. Have them find the tuning peg that is connected to the low E string. play an E drone on the classroom speakers. this is the YouTube video that I use. have students hum along with the Drone so they hear when what it feels like when they are in tune. have them play the low E string and instruct them to turn the tuning peg clockwise one quarter of a turn to lower the pitch. turn the Drone off and have each student play their flat E string. turn the Drone back on and instruct students to tune up to the E string by going counterclockwise to make the pitch higher. turn the Drone back off and check each student's pitch by having them play it out loud. There will be some students that are better at this than others at this, but this gives them the ability to understand how much movement is necessary to make a pitch adjustment.
Take 5 minutes at the beginning of each class to work on tuning by ear. Repeat the steps for the low E string for the a d g b and high e strings. When you are watching the students detune and re-tune their instruments, be sure to call out students who are doing a good job of being careful with their adjustments to positively reinforce the fact that large movements can result in string breakage.
When students tune a string that is too high, instruct them to go slightly below the pitch and tune it up. This will ensure that string windings in the tuning machine don't slacken up and allow the guitar to go out of tune during playing. Some students have a tendency to continually re-attack the string while tuning. I find it’s best to play the string first and then make tuning adjustments. If students are re-articulating the string while tuning, it can cause the string to sound sharp which will result in inaccurate tuning.
2 Pitch memory
I like to teach my students a song to memorize the intervals between the open strings. Turn the E drone on playing and sing the pitches of the open strings from high to low using the words “We Tune GuiTars By Ear.” They can make up their own words to the tuning song, but the end goal is for them to be able to auralize the intervals from the strings high to low. Have them sing the song against the Drone while playing the strings of a guitar that is in tune so that they can reinforce this connection between the pitches they are singing and the open strings.
You can gamify tuning by ear by having students get into partners and detune each other's guitars. The rule is that they can only tune a string by a quarter turn. have students swap the guitars and play an E drone so they can sing the song and check their strings. have them identify which strings are out of tune and in which direction they are out of tune. Have them work together to get both guitars in tune to present to the class. You can also model this by having a student come up and detune a presentation guitar at the front of the room while you check it and talk through the process of tuning it by ear.
3 Using A Tuner
After guitarists have learned to tune by ear, i introduce how to use a tuner. Students need to know the letter names of the open strings and how the musical alphabet works first before using a tuner. I do examples on the board as bell ringer questions to ask them which letter is higher or lower than string names to prepare them for strings that register as a different letter on a tuner. I like using Snark Clip on tuners with guitars because they are cheap and do not require a microphone to register the pitch. in a large classroom with many players, it is difficult to have students isolate their own instruments sometimes. here are the link to the tuner that I use.
To use a clip on tuner, connec it to the headstock of the guitar and play a string. See what letter is being registered compared to the open string name. If the letter is higher or lower than the open string name, make large adjustments to the tuner to get it to the correct letter. You can always sing the tuning song to make sure you are tuning the correct octave. Once the letter that is being registered is the same as the string name,, follow the visual cues to get the pitch into the center. remember to remind students to tune below the pitch and then back up to the pitch to ensure tuning stability.
Instruct students to turn off their tuners when they are finished to not waste batteries. I buy a few extra 2032 batteries just in case the tuners die out. Have a location in the room where these tuners are stored. I use a music stand next to my board and have students clip them to the bottom of the stand.
There will be times when students are not able to use a clip-on tuner, in that case I require them to download a tuning app. I like the tuner from Yousician. it is called Guitar Tuna and can be accessed via a free app or online. here is a link to that tuner
4 Tuning Mindfulness
Students ask me when they should tune a guitar. my answer is, “When it's out of tune!” Some guitars will go out of tune quicker than others depending on the age of strings, the weather, or how well the guitar is set up. Encourage students to develop mindfulness about their intonation while they play. Remind them to check tuning between songs and for them to be stewards of their intonation. Model how to talk to each other about tuning without being adversarial and while being supportive. This will help a class or Ensemble stay in tune together without the need for instructor intervention. Give praise to students who are actively monitoring their own tuning or the tuning of the group, this will give them a boost in confidence and remind the group of the expectations.
5 Things To Watch out For
Some students may have learned tuning techniques using adjacent strings as reference points. The fifth fret of the E string should be the same pitch as the A string for example. This works to get a guitar in tune with itself, but the guitar might not be in tune with a tuner. If you see students trying to tune like this, encourage them to at least check one of the strings with a tuner so that they can ensure that the guitar will be in tune with the rest of the class.
If there is a guitar that is not able to be tuned, change the strings. If there is still trouble, take it to your local music shop to get it properly set up. It could be an issue with the nut slots, the truss rod, the bridge saddle height, or the bridge saddle intonation.
