Beginner lesson: How to tune a bass guitar by ear

[bassandbeyond]

I've posted a new lesson on my site about tuning by ear to an external reference pitch:

How to Tune a Bass Guitar

It's very basic, but we all have to start somewhere!

[JimmyM]

dude, you have no idea the flak i got a couple weeks ago when i was hammering these guys about learning to tune by using your ear.

"tuner's more accurate."

"nobody can tune by ear onstage at a loud club."

etc etc etc blah blah blah freakin' blah!

here it is, the number one most important thing you should learn, even before you start getting into playing, and kids are going to argue with me that they don't need to do it because they own a tuner. then they ask questions like "how come i tune my G string and the tuner reads F#?"

learn how to tune your instrument by ear using a reference pitch, gang! you can't even begin to call yourself competent until you can.

[bassandbeyond]

One time at a major showcase event, one of my students performed an entire song with his A string tuned to A#. He had the strangest look on his face, but never reached for his tuning pegs. When confronted about it afterwards, he claimed that he must be in tune because he used a tuner backstage before going on! Obviously, he tuned to the wrong pitch.

Tuning by ear is so fundamental, yet it's amazing how many people don't develop the skill to do it. What if the battery in your tuner dies before a gig? What if hot stage lights or a careless bump onstage make your instrument go out of tune? What if the piano isn't tuned to A440? You're going to have to use your ear to get you out of trouble sooner or later.

[maxgrant]

Originally Posted by bassandbeyond

he claimed that he must be in tune because he used a tuner backstage before going on!

I did that to myself once. My tuner has two characters. Tuning to E it shows this: E8

The "8" swirls. If the top is swirling, it's sharp. If the bottom is swirling it's flat. But this is the cool part; tuning to D# you see this:

D.8

That dot is kind of easy to miss in the dark with a red LED display, if you aren't used to tuning to a sharp note.

The irony is, I used to ALWAYS tune by ear. My instructor in college orchestra had to force me to buy a tuner, one of those cheap quartz jobbies, which I still have.

All of my kids (2 mine and 2 stepkids) are learning to play music. I have several times insisted they won't be getting far without learning how to tune by ear.

Usually, if I don't want to get or use my tuner, I tell someone to cue up "Tom Sawyer" on Youtube, and I tune to that. A nice long E. But during a show I'm often switching tunings in a hurry and I HATE making people watch me tune my bass.

[Yerf Dog]

How do you tune without a reference pitch?

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

dude, you have no idea the flak i got a couple weeks ago when i was hammering these guys about learning to tune by using your ear.

Flak? Those guys weren't even German... LOL

Good post, Jim.

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by Yerf Dog

How do you tune without a reference pitch?

You don't.

Buy a tuning fork.

Or go to:
http://www.onlinetuningfork.com/

[sidd_laroy]

IMO, you're only half the musician you think or claim you are if you can't tune by ear...

and not only does it benefit the person from them knowing how to do it, but it also makes it easier to learn songs by ear.

[Kenner]

Dial tone on the phone is an "A".

[togglehead]

Originally Posted by Kenner

Dial tone on the phone is an "A".

Mine is an F.

You a horn player? =P

[bassandbeyond]

Originally Posted by Yerf Dog

How do you tune without a reference pitch?

Well, you could check all the strings on your bass against each other. Usually, at least two of them will already sound in tune, so those ones are probably still at or close to 440.

What drives me nuts is when the E and A strings sound in tune, and the D and G strings sound in tune, but the A and D don't match!

[bobwhite]

I have found it helpful to go by the piano and play the four (five) bass string notes on the piano regularly. Going to get the mail? Stop by the piano for 30 seconds and play and listen to the notes. Now assuming you keep your piano in tune, or have an electric that is dead-on all the time, you'll be amazed how quickly your ear will develop so you can tune straight up, without a tuner and without using relative tuning very often.

Obviously, if you are trying to play with someone who has an out-of-tune piano, or you are tuning down with a guitar player, etc., you'll likely need to listen and then using relative tuning.

[Yerf Dog]

Originally Posted by Chris K

You don't.

Buy a tuning fork.

Or go to:
http://www.onlinetuningfork.com/

How does a tuning fork or other reference tone differ from a tuner, other that being more limited?

[Kenner]

Originally Posted by togglehead

Mine is an F.

You a horn player? =P

Actually-----yes....

[Kenner]

We're both right....
http://www.chacha.com/question/what-...of-a-dial-tone

[bassandbeyond]

Originally Posted by Yerf Dog

How does a tuning fork or other reference tone differ from a tuner, other that being more limited?

A tuning fork doesn't require a battery, for one thing. But I think the point here is that being able to tune up by ear is an essential skill.

Here's another quick anecdote to make my point. At a gig a few years back, for the last song of our first set, I tuned my E string down to D. I left the bass that way during the break, and then of course, forgot to retune before the second set!

First song of set 2 was Steely Dan's "Josie". Lovely guitar intro, followed by 4 big sustained notes on the low string! Boy, that first note sure sounded WRONG! lol But as soon as I realized my mistake, I reached for the tuning peg. I got it in tune by the second bar. The real moral of this story is to never forget to check your tuning before you play. But, in these kind of situations, an electronic tuner will not get you out of trouble nearly as quickly as a well trained ear.

[wideload]

Does anyone else remember Neil Young's Rust tour with the band tuning between songs to giant tuning forks, using the stage for resonance? Hilarious!!

[Kenner]

Originally Posted by bassandbeyond

A tuning fork doesn't require a battery, for one thing. But I think the point here is that being able to tune up by ear is an essential skill.

Here's another quick anecdote to make my point. At a gig a few years back, for the last song of our first set, I tuned my E string down to D. I left the bass that way during the break, and then of course, forgot to retune before the second set!

First song of set 2 was Steely Dan's "Josie". Lovely guitar intro, followed by 4 big sustained notes on the low string! Boy, that first note sure sounded WRONG! lol But as soon as I realized my mistake, I reached for the tuning peg. I got it in tune by the second bar. The real moral of this story is to never forget to check your tuning before you play. But, in these kind of situations, an electronic tuner will not get you out of trouble nearly as quickly as a well trained ear.

Tune up at the end of your set before leaving the stage.....victim of the same trap....once

[togglehead]

Originally Posted by Kenner

We're both right....
http://www.chacha.com/question/what-...of-a-dial-tone

HAHA. I figured we were actually in different countries...but it could be a phone carrier choice also.

Clearly, i just used it as a stab at horn players (of which i am also) transpositions.

[togglehead]

Originally Posted by Yerf Dog

How does a tuning fork or other reference tone differ from a tuner, other that being more limited?

Ever carried your calculator to a math test and been told to leave it outside? Naturally..youre allowed a pencil and paper...so i hope you remembered your formulas.

Same thing here. With a tuning fork youre only giving yourself the reference note for your ear to hear the proper intonations.

Granted...without a tuning fork you may not have a reference note....but thats what guitarists are for, right? =P