Digital/Manual Tuning Education Question

[Mr. Jelly]

Have any of you come in contact with a person capable of playing the guitar that doesn't know how to manually tune it?

I was wondering about technology being so prevalent today and how it changes daily life without us realizing it and how it might impact something as simple as tuning a guitar. It occurred to me that someone could easily learn to use a tuner to tune their guitar and never become comfortable tuning a guitar manually. What say you?

[robj144]

I have the absolute worst ears possible which is why I learned guitar since all I need to do is press the right fret when tuned. I sort of refer to guitar as "instrument by numbers" as opposed to say violin, where you actually need to hear the note and there aren't any frets.

Anyhow, I know how to manually tune, but could never do it correctly because of my awful ears. Thank god for electronic tuners.

My ears have gotten better though over the years though...

[Goodallboy]

If anything, a more precise tuner has advanced my ability to hear when a string or note is out of tune.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Have any of you come in contact with a person capable of playing the guitar that doesn't know how to manually tune it?

Hi Mr J

Yes, of course, there are players who cannot tune very well by ear. Digital tuners resolve it for them.

[bufflehead]

I'm not at all nostalgic for the days of tuning forks. Do people remember how difficult it could be to retune between sets in a noisy venue? Or how much time was wasted at the beginning of a practice session trying to get everyone in tune?

Yeah, modern electronic tuners create a dependence on technology. But a tuning fork is also a technology. Remember, technology is the application of science for practical purposes. It's not all bad.

[BT55]

I was always good at tuning by ear then tuning each string to that note. The problem was that if my “tune” on the first string was off the entire guitar was off. I started tuning with a pitch pipe, the world has changed and vibration tuners are the best thing that has happened to tuning.

[CoryB]

I used a tuning fork for many years. A friend told me that U.S. electrical outlets hum at Bb and after that I could tune up whether I had my A440 fork with me or not.

Nowadays I use an electronic tuner - I seem to have acquired several of them even though I only remember buying one - much easier than holding my 60-year old ear against an electrical outlet

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Have any of you come in contact with a person capable of playing the guitar that doesn't know how to manually tune it?

Yes, I see this more lately than ever before. I call it 'tuning by eye' and I do wonder what happens when the batteries die.

When I observe 'visual' tuners, I see them often being super inconsistent about what constitutes 'in tune'. I feel that might train them to accept more inaccuracy over time.

I use a digital tuner to get ONE string in tune - and then I tune all other strings (unison or octave) to that one by ear. Unless I'm onstage - then tuning silently by eye is the most practical approach.

[Steadfastly]

Yes, me. I can come close but I find I am usually tuning on the low side of things. I never started playing until the digital age of tuners so that's what I use.

[Mr. Jelly]

As for me I used a 440 tuning fork for years and years. I do use a clip on now days and yes with noise tuning by ear sucks. Often I tune with the clip on and then fine tune the guitar by ear. I learned early on to touch/pick the octaves and listen to the waivers in the sound.

[Mandobart]

I grew up playing violin in orchestra. The conductor or concertmaster/mistress played an A (440 Hz) and everyone else tuned their A string to it, then tuned their remaining strings by ear. We were trained to hear the 5th interval (bass of course learned the 4th). At practice I use a clip-on Snark. At shows I use a Korg pedal tuner/mute.

[ljguitar]

Hi all

My dad and grandad firmly believed unless you could drive well with a stick shift (manual shifting transmission), you were a less-than-adequate driver. And their peers agreed…

My grandmother believed restaurants were nice to visit about 3 times a year, and she always commented that she could still cook a better meal at home from scratch whenever she went out to eat at one.

Several of my older buddies are still using Persiman Woods to golf with and think the new metal and composite clubs are a compromise. They obviously have never watched a 16 year old hit a 300 yard drive right down the middle of the course while waiting to tee off!

Whenever I hear we old-guys complaining that the kids these days don't know how to tune with an A-440 tuning-fork, and then I hear the kids play circles around us, I'm feeling my age.

If you've ever watched somebody committed to the old ways tune-n-tweak by ear for a couple minutes, during a concert, and try to keep the patter up while they tweak, you'll soon realize the audience wants to hear music not tuning as they pull out their cell phones and begin checking their texts.

[AndrewG]

Digital tuners are great for tuning individual strings to pitch, but they do not take into account that tempered tuning, and the way fret spacing is formulated, does not compensate for the fact that not all chords will play in tune in all keys. This is where ear training and experience takes over. Example; tune your guitar for a 'perfect' first position Dmaj. Then play an Am; the top E in the chord will sound flat. Conversely tune for a 'perfect' Am and the F# in the Dmaj chord will sound far too sharp.
Electronic tuners are very useful, but are not a panacea for accurate tuning.

[muscmp]

depends upon your ears and your location(loud environment). some people are able to manually and some with the tuner. i'm sure there is a test on the AGF to see if the manually tuned is close to the tuner tuned. i use the peterson stroboclip and it is heads above the snark tuner. its sweetened tunings really fill the bill. so there are differences all around.

play music!

[Steadfastly]

I figure if Vince Gill uses a clip-on tuner (as well as the session player beside him), a clip-on is good enough for me.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEdP...r-mGg&index=36