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Living in
Nashville, where there�s a writer�s night on every street
corner, it seems, I�ve seen hundreds of
singer/songwriter/guitar players perform onstage. You
would think the quality of songwriting/ performing would
be a little higher than the national norm. And it probably
is.
However, one thing I continually see (even at The Bluebird
Caf�) is that at least 50% of the guitars are noticeably
OUT OF TUNE.. I have done many writer�s nights where the
other writers ask me to join in on guitar when they play
their songs. Way too many times, I have to stop playing
immediately, because they are so far out of tune that it
sounds awful. This is especially true when they are using
a capo. What�s wrong?
Two things: (1) Even if you use an electronic tuner, if
you only tune the OPEN strings, that does not mean that
the fretted notes will be in tune. If your guitar has
really good intonation, it will be pretty close. How do
you remedy this? It�s easy. After getting the open strings
in tune, check the notes on the 3rd fret. To do this, you
need a chromatic tuner, one that reads the pitch of ANY
note, not just the notes of the open strings. Tuners that
are not chromatic are not worth the paper they�re printed
on. Well, you know what I mean. O.K., that will help a
lot.
Here�s the other thing: (2) CAPOS usually make your guitar
go out of
Tune ! Why? Because they squeeze the neck TOO HARD, way
harder than you would with your fingers. They make your
strings go SHARP, (by varying degrees). The most popular
kind of capo, the quick clamp-on ones that almost
everybody uses, is the WORST kind to use, as far as tuning
goes. It is not adjustable, so there�s no way to get it
not to squeeze too hard. What you need is an ADJUSTABLE
capo. Not only does it need to be adjustable, you need to
be able to adjust the tension while it�s ON THE GUITAR.
Most of the popular brands of capos do not do this. The
capo I use (made by a company called Paige) has a bar that
goes across the neck and is fastened to a curved bar that
goes around the back of the neck. The tension is adjusted
by a screw in the lower curved bar. You put the capo in
place, fasten it, then tighten the screw until you get a
CLEAR note on each string. When you have a clear (not
buzzy) note, STOP tightening the screw. That�s all you
need. The tighter you adjust it, the more out of tune it
gets. This kind of capo takes a couple of seconds longer
to put on, but to me it�s well worth it to be in tune.
Sometimes your capo might make your strings go sharp an
equal amount, so that you still sound in tune. But when
somebody in standard pitch without a capo tries to
accompany you, it�s horrible. that�s because you & your
non-adjustable capo are sharp relative to the other
guitar.
Oh, yeah � one more thing; STRINGS ! You can not expect an
ancient set of strings to play in tune. Songwriters are
notorious for hating to change strings. I use and
recommend Elixir guitar strings, which sound really good
and last 3 or 4 times longer than other strings.
Oh yeah �one more thing: if your strings are too high off
the fret board, not only is it harder to play, but putting
a capo on makes you more out of tune than if your strings
were lower.
Oh yeah�just two more things: (1) On most acoustic
guitars, it is a bit dicey to set the intonation yourself,
because you usually don�t have an adjustable bridge like
most electrics do. A good luthier can help you with that.
And finally (I think) (2) There is a relatively recent
invention called the Buzz Feiten Tuning System. (see
www.buzzfeiten.com ) Buzz, a phenomenal guitarist and
inventor, designed a new tuning system for guitar. It
requires about $175 worth of modifications on your guitar,
but I�ve talked to some great players who swear by it.
Well, that�s about it. I hope this info helps you get (and
stay) in tune any questions can be addressed to
gary@garytalley.com.
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