Tuning guides

Practical guides from players, reviewed by a working musician, on tuning well and keeping your instrument in tune.

• Changing tunings safelyChange guitar tunings without breaking strings or upsetting the neck: tension math, tuning up to the note, string gauges, floating tremolos and setups.
• Guitar string frequency chartString frequencies for guitar, 4- and 5-string bass and ukulele, plus every note from A0 to C6, with octave numbers, A4 calibration and cents explained.
• How the tuner worksHow HeyTuner turns a plucked string into a reading: raw audio capture, filtering, long windows for low notes, two pitch methods and why it won't guess.
• How to tune a guitarTune a guitar step by step with HeyTuner: string order, tuning up to the note, a recheck pass, ear-tuning backups and the mistakes that trip up beginners.
• How to tune by earTune a guitar by ear: match a looped reference note, use the 5th-fret method and harmonics, and learn to hear beats slow down to zero.
• Why guitars go out of tuneWhy a guitar drifts out of tune, from stretching strings, weather and nut binding to tremolos and intonation, and how to diagnose and fix each one.