Question on guitar strings and tuning (10 points)?

Question

when you have guitar in standard tuning then you lower the top string until it sounds the same as the 5th string when you press it on 3rd fret,then tuned the same from the top string, is that 1 step down or 1/2 step?

also i had my guitar tuned like this, then when i tried putting it back to normal, my string broke, is this unhealthy for guitar strings?

Answer 1

First of all, I think you mean the BOTTOM string. It's a common beginner's mistake. Top and bottom always refer to pitch (frequency), not position so the top string is the 1st (thinnest) string and the bottom string is the 6th (thickest) string.



>>...you lower the top string until it sounds the same as the 5th string when you press it on 3rd fret,then tuned the same from the top string, is that 1 step down or 1/2 step?<<



That makes no sense. How can lowering the bottom string makes it the same as the 5th string, 3rd fret, which is a C? Or do you mean lowering the top (1st) string an octave and a half until it's a C? I doubt there'd be enough tension to make the note.



The second half of your sentence ("then tuned the same from the top string") makes no sense either.



Try rephrasing your question. Better yet, ask your guitar teacher. Good luck.

Answer 2

Open Strings (where no frets are pressed)

in a standard six string guitars (either metal

or nylon strings) can be tuned as follows:

First let get oriented:

The string closest to the floor when you

hold the guitar in playing position is "E"

often called the 1st string.

The string closest to your chin when

holding the guitar in playing position is the

"Low E" string often called the 6th string.



Most beginner guitar players benefit from

using any of the guitar electronic tuners

available in most guitar stores for around $20.00



Using this gadget most people don't worry

about the tuning of any of the strings since

the unit is most often regulated to provide

a standard tuning based on 440 frequency.



Another gadget you can also use is The "A" Tuning Fork where you want to match the

sound emitted by the fork (440) at the 5th

fret of the 1st string (E). Fork Cost $10.



Once you have the first string set up to play

the Note "A" sound frequency at the 5th fret

you can then Tune all the other strings in this fashion:



The 2nd string (B) when pressed at the 5th fret should match the sound of the OPEN String 1



The 3rd string (G) when pressed at the 4th fret should match the sound of the OPEN String 2



The 4th string (D) when pressed at the 5th fret should match the sound of the OPEN String 3



The 5th string (A) when pressed at the 5th fret should match the sound of the OPEN String 4



The 6th string (LowE) when pressed at the 5thfret should match the sound of OPEN String 5



Any string may break if excess pressure

is placed on the string designated tension

rating. This is where the little gadget

(tuner)described above comes handy.

Most of them designate which note

and string position (1s to 6th) is being tuned.

Answer 3

Your question does not make sense. So lets clarify a few things. The strings are from low to high E, A, D, G, B, E. There is a low E and a high E. The low E (thickest) is the 6th string. The high E (thinnest) is the first string.

Now, by top string do you mean the high E (1st) or the low E (6th)? Because if you mean the low E then you can not tune it to equal the 5th string (A) by lowering it unless you lower it it until it is almost floppy.

I Think you are referring to the high E string (1st) and you are asking about tuning it down to the note of D which would be the 2nd string (B) at the 3rd fret. That would be tuning it down a whole step.

This is not a very common procedure. But tuning the LOW E down a whole step to D is very common. This is one octave below the open D (4th) string. You can also tune it down 2 whole steps to the note of C which IS one octave lower than the 5th string (A) played at the 3rd fret. (this may be what you are trying to describe) Either way you are tuning the high E string down 1 whole step or you are tuning the low E string down 2 whole steps.

For your future reference, a whole step is 2 frets. A half step is 1 fret.

By using the string number you can avoid the problems of top or bottom string.

In music we always refer to the PITCH of the note not the location of the string. So the lowest sounding note is the low string

Answer 4

I think I figured out where your going with this. let's establish that when you say the lower "E" you mean the First string. The scale being the skinniest string being the first string, and the largest string being the 6 th string.



Took me a while of reading the question to decipher what you were trying to say, but based upon the statement "when you have guitar in standard tuning then you lower the top string until it sounds the same as the 5th string when you press it on 3rd fret", that would mean you were tuning to "C", didn't make sense. unless you were actually talking about the second string, the "B" string, then you would be tuning to "D", or a form of "D".



First of all tuning down your strings, and then retuning to " 440 " or standard "E" should never cause damage to your strings, or cause them to break. There is only one form of down tuning that I can think of that would cause you to break a string.



There is a form of tuning used in a song by the Goo Goo Dolls that calls for all the strings but the first to be tuned to D, and the first string is tuned to "B". You tune the 6th string, 5th string , 4th string and 3rd string Down to "D", but the second string you actually have to tune Up two steps from a "B" to a "D". The First string is tuned down to a "B".



The problem is some folks start tuning the guitar back up to the standard "E" tuning, and when they get to the second, or "B" string they forget they have to tune that one down, not up. The end result is if you try to tune it 6 steps UP from a "D" to a "B", the string will break every time.



That's the only scenario I can think of that would cause you to break a string when tuning down.



I hope that answered your question.



Billy Darnell

ECMA/ASCAP

www.billydarnell.com

www.songwriterservices.biz

Answer 5

That would be a whole step down. As for the string breaking, it was most likely just a bad string, but changing tunings too much can be bad for your strings and your guitar as it will not stay in tune very good.