Tuning and Chords
 

Hi, I have bought my first acoustic guitar and im tuning it using the guitar tuner app. The one question i have is i cant find E no matter how much i try , only E4 chord, does that matter? Im learning so i dont really understand yet :) thank you

What App are you using?

It's actually pretty common that many tuners and tuning apps just don't read the bass E string very well. That is particularly true if the strings are going dead and do not have many overtones left. I will often tune that bass string to a 12th fret harmonic (E) or a 7th fret harmonic (B). There is also the old standby of tuning the 6th string fretted at the 5th fret to match the open 5th string. Both are A's. On most guitars, if you make them match perfectly while fretting, the E string may be a couple of ticks flat when played open.

Your tuner reads the E chord because it finally has enough information to lock on top pitch. Another common error is continually plucking the string over and over. You have to pluck it once and wait a couple of seconds for the tuner to lock on. The string may even be a tiny bit sharp at first but will quickly settle back down to pitch.

And don't worry about being new. Once as new pilot going into a check ride, I apologized to the instructor about "only" having ~100 hours. He looked me right in the eye and said. "Even birds start with zero flight time. Let's go fly". ;) Welcome to the AGF and to guitar.

I remember being a new player and when money was really tight for me. That said, buying a sub $20 Snark headstock tuner is one of the best investments you can make at this stage.

Instead of using an app, I would recommend just purchasing a Snark. They are easy to use and very accurate.

I'm guessing that "E4" is designating the octave of that particular E, that is the 4th E on a piano.

Hi Funk, welcome to the guitar and AGF. Have you tried GuitarTuna app? It shows each note next to the peg you turn, makes it a little easier when you’re learning.

https://yousician.com/guitartuna

Yes. Piano key 44 is the 4th octave E.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_key_frequencies

The "high e" on guitar.

Im using the Guitar Tuna app. Thank you, i have just bought a snark to try that instead

Thats the app i was using but i couldnt get E only E4 and i was terrified of snapping the strings

Tuning and Chords
 

Gotcha. A snark is easier but for future reference you can tune the low E by ear using the A string.

1. Get the A string tuned right.
2. Hold down the E string at the 5th fret and pluck it. That should be an A.
3. Tune the E until that fretted note matches the A.

You can also do that in reverse and tune all the strings, it’s called relative tuning the guitar. Good thing to know. If you’re playing alone it really only matters if it’s in tune to itself.

I believe guitar tuna will always have a number after the letter. It's called the octave register. There are several systems to designate the specific octave of a pitch. I'm sure there's a wikipedia entry that explains this. I'm too lazy to look...

Don't worry, you'll always see a number not just a letter, on most app tuners.

You have the tuner set B for bass guitar, E is the 4th string of a bass, either set it G for guitar or C for chromatic.