Tuning Your Guitar to a Piano or Keyboard
Sometimes you may need to play along with another instrument. If you are playing along with another instrument, it is essential that your guitar be in tune with that instrument. Tune the open strings of your guitar to the corresponding notes of the accompanying instrument.
E.g. to tune to a piano, tune the open 6th string to the E note on the piano, as shown on the keyboard diagram. Then either tune your guitar to itself from this note using the methods outlined on the following pages, or tune each string of your guitar to those notes of the piano shown on the keyboard diagram.
It is important to understand that guitar music is written one octave above piano music so the note range of the guitar can fit on the treble clef. The open sixth string is notated below the third ledger line underneath the music staff. If you play this note on the piano, as written on piano music it will be the E note immediately below the middle C note in the middle of the piano keyboard. This note will sound one octave higher than the open sixth string. Therefore if you wish to play a note on the piano that corresponds with a note on the guitar you must play the note one octave lower than written on the piano music.
On the accompanying recording a keyboard is used to play each of the notes that correspond to the open strings of your guitar. Each note of the keyboard will sustain for a considerable length of time giving you plenty of time to tune the string to the same pitch as the keyboard note.
