NOBODY has ever told me you should always tune up to pitch and not down. But as far back as I can remember I have always done this on my own thinking that it made a difference. If a string goes out of tune I always tune down first then tune back up. Its cool to see that this actually does make a difference and that my assumption was correct lol

This makes sense, because I feel like many notes that I bend pretty hard on are on the G string, and after playing a few songs I always need to tune it again.

Thank you for that advice! I’m learning the guitar. And I never turned a guitar before. Was getting frustrated as to why it wasn’t tuning. I did it 10 million times. Watched your video and it solves a problem. Thanks again

"Tugging" the strings, exactly what I've been doing for over 50 years!

My Jackson keeps going higher after I tune it, insane.

I found myself doing this over the years. It's cool that others came to the same conclusion. I still have more to learn because I'm mostly sticking with the classic strat and David Gilmour, for example use the tremolo extensively on his strats and managed to keep them in tuned. I really like to hear from him his techniques.

it's a little more complicated than just "Do this one trick and your problems are gone." Should be noted that cheaper guitars aren't going to have that same solution. Pointing at the Standard Strat from Squier, its bridge is a little rough, can't do much. Doing this /and/ adding proper lubricant to the moving metal parts (includes under the strings where they meet the saddle) will more than likely fix the issue. If not, check how your bridge is set up, make sure it's balanced or where you want it. If that doesn't fix it, move up to the nut, lubricate, still no dice, try the string trees. Sometimes it could just be the nut not being filed correctly, which a lot of people recommend going to a luthier and having them file the nut to be one gauge up from what strings you prefer, just to eliminate the chances of binding. A spectrum of things depending on the quality of the guitar you buy.

If your strings are not brand new (and therefore in need of some stretching out), the reason strings go out of tune 90% of the time is because they "catch" in the nut slot. Lubricant in the nut slots, and/or slightly enlarging the slots, or better still using a Tusq or similar self-lubricating nut is the answer.

i had that notion that it's best to always tune up, but i didn't imagine that there was so much tension being lost like this... my strings are now steady, thank you very much!!!

What a legend. Straight to the point. Interesting. Not full of himself. Absolute legend. Subscribed.

A Well Grooved/ Lubed Nut Is What Ya Need. Those Strings Gotta Slide In That Nut, Man. Ive Got Bone Nuts And Roller Saddles On All My Guitars, Does Wonders.

I love this method and it is something that I always do when tuning. One of my acoustics always surprises me by going sharp rather than flat.

thanx my friend, great advice, i had no idea tuning up or down made any difference whatsoever, i'm usually tuning up when i come back to standard obviously, but when im playing a half step down (which i often do) i have noticed it goes out of tune much quicker, guess that's the reason.

I’ve had my guitar for over 2.0 years and Ive never had an issue till just 3 days ago every single string goes down half a step.. I did use a new brand of strings I’ve never used before and I stretched them right after I stringed them and still have tuning down

Intonation is another thing that many don't know about. I use the tuner that has the +/- indicator, often times +2 is a live-able tune, eventually it'll drop to tune and then there's always the way you tuned it, better or worse string pluck might register as hot or flat. But tuning shouldn't just be the string at the strumming/plucking point, Check the tune at the middle of the 12th fret zone, where the 2 dots are. That should also register as the same string tune at the head or in between the pickups. The guitar needs to be in tune from bridge to nut.

I've been doing this of my own doing for a while now. You do not need fancy tuners - as long as all the slack is taken out of the machine head gears and the spooling of the strings, then the strings will stay in tune providing there's not too much temp variance. Tuning down is a no no unless you pull up the string to bring the pitch down into range.

This immediately made a major improvement on my guitar tuning, especially with the dreaded G string. Thanks a lot!

I already knew about the “tune up instead of down” thing, but I always did it by tuning way down then tuning back up. This is definitely simpler, but I dunno how much the stretching will affect/wear on the strings. I know youre supposed to stretch them initially to break them in, but beyond that, i figured it might wear them out a little.

I had seen this video come through my feed a few times and was skeptical that it could help me with some tuning issues on one of my guitars. I had put on locking tuners, graphite in the nut slots, and done a real good job stretching out new strings that I would install. I tried this and it worked. Thank you GS for posting this and taking away a lot of frustration I had.

Thank you SO much. I have a Physics background and was thinking that tuning down was just a bad idea -- but I never thought of the obvious -- stretch the string. Once you taught me that -- it stays in tune. Thank you!

Interesting. I've discovered this trick on my own, when I've bought my first guitar. I've just thought I'm a strange creature for tuning my guitar in that way, but now I learn that's actually a proper tuning XD

I cant freaking believe this technique actually works. Darn it

Some guitars have a humidity problem--I bought a martin acoustic several years ago that needed a desert set up, which worked great when I got it back from the tech in another city--no techs in Reno that could work on Martin Guitars within warranty. After that, the bridge came right off the body and had to be glued and screwed back on. I thought, "what else is going to happen?" I got rid of it and now play Taylor acoustics--the 114 cutaway. It costs a few hundred more, but worth it, and made in America even. The only problem I had was it got too dry and I took it in and they (Guitar Center) put water back in it to straighten out the curve behind the bridge--it's been well over a year and it's doing fine. Some guitars, depending on where you live, and the guitar, have to be kept in a humidity case...

I am literally mind blown right now. I have been playing guitar off and on for roughly 14 years. And I am just now learning that I've been tuning it wrong this whole entire time. Granted, I've never once taken a lesson in my life, and to me tuning a guitar has always seemed like something that doesn't really have much though involved. Pluck string, find note, all good. Makes so much sense now, goes to show you never know everything. Even the simplest things can pass you right by

I string my guitar with at least 2-3 wraps in G and B string and they hardly go out of tune now.. Vaseline and graphite in the nut slots help as well

Picked the guitar up after a long lay off. Put new strings on. sounds fine when i play one chord but not a different chord with open strings. this literally makes it more consistent. thanks.

stretch the strings by bending when you first pick it up and tune it. also, a lot of cheap guitars have bad nuts. that causes tuning instabilities. Les Pauls also have a shitty string angle out of the nut on the D and G string. they will go out of tune regardless

That's a great tip.......pulling the string after tuning it, retuning it and pulling it over and over until it sets it in place is a solid tip. Also, use some pencil lead in the nut slot....it will settle quicker and not bind if there's any imperfections in the nut slot.

I have been using the string stretch system for years, my method is I put all 4 fingers under the string and my thumb ahead, pull up the fingers and press down the thumb and go up and down the string, keep doing this until after stretching the string is still in tune go steady on the treble strings.as they are easier to snap if to heavy handed.

I just tried this and it works great!!

This makes so much sense and this video and method really helped. My b string always went out of tune and each time I tuned it and fretted it and plucked it it sounded like the note was wavy and wasn’t holding the note if that makes any sense lol. But doing this fixed it and I did it to all my strings thanks for the help!

Thank you. I’ll try this tomorrow. 👍🎸

What about when it goes sharp?

My guitar has new strings and same thing it keeps getting out of tune. It's pretty annoying. New subscriber here. I'm gonna check out your other video on how to correctly put in your strings.

your video was the first i went to and it fixed my tuning problem. Thanks!

I would say this isn't completely accurate. The nut not being properly cut is the main reason guitars go out of tune or need to be tuned up to a note. Also, poor tuners or poorly wrapped strings. Those are the things that cause string slippage causing tuning failures.

Young Country James Hetfield

Hey guitar heroes!!! Check out my free online course at: www.yourguitarsage.com/free-ugs-membership

Try tightening the neck as tight as possible without stripping the holes before you do anything else..Hook your guitar up to a good tuner. Then, pick a string holding the guitar body firmly. Then reach with your pick hand and push on the neck away from your body.. Watch the tuner..The note will go flat...Let go of the neck and watch to see if the note returns to in tune...If not, then you have slight play in the neck pocket..This is very common in Strats with floating trems..This has always been my number 1 reason why my Strats do not stay in tune..

Why when I put guitar a whole step down I have to do it like 5 times?

Can I ask you a question YourGuitarSage? Will thicker strings stay in tune better?????? And will a 'wound' G help tuning stability?????? I'll wait for your answer

thanks ben affleck

I've been tugging the heck out of my strings, and they still won't stay in tune. As soon as i pull down on my Floyed Rose trem bar, almost all the strings have been going out of tune. Yes, the lock nuts are locked. The very strange thing I have been experiencing, is when i lock the screw on the low E, the pitch goes almost a whole step down. All this has been going on for over 2 weeks and its driving me nuts. I have never been through a tuning situation this bad. This has been going on since I got my guitar back from a service guy at a music store. I dont know if he did something seriously wrong, but my guitar will now not stay in tune! Uhhhh!

I only play with 3 strings on the guitar at any given time - much less work keeping them in tune. A set of 6 lasts twice as long. The chords I play ? Are much simpler too ! And I think I learned in half the time too - makes sense, right ???

I have 2 strings on my pacifica that won't tune, the D string jumps from C to E on the tuner, and the B string jumps from A to C, the other strings tune and play fine. Is this an indication the strings need changing?

so does this string tugging apply to acoustic and classical guitars as well? i have a problem with my D string on my ovation classical guitar. it sounds right if I tune it so that an E-chord sounds correct, but when I play an A-chord on the sixth string, the D-string is out of tune. like wise when I tune it so that the A-chord on the sixth string (down on the 5th fret) sounds correct, when I play the E-chord, the D string is out of tune.

It’s kind of weird. I had a late 70s strat, I used to loosen the strings before I put it away. Never went out of tune. I’ve played some guitars, prs, strats, Gibson that never went out of tune…now many years later I have 2 mij strat and they always go out of tune?? Gonna try this…or go back to loosening the strings after playing.

Just buy the right kind a tuners that will lock the strings in place Even though you go through all this,getting Special tuners makes it work.

I do the same thing but I do a quick bend on each string ...tune it....bend it..see if it's still in tune...if not ...tune it and it stays solid

This is cool but why on my 3x3 guitars, especially gibson, and the G string always out of tune

Wow! You made my problem solve.!

Dude thank you so much I've been having a few tuning problems myself I tried this trick just today and I works like a dream! Thank you

This is also a good procedure for when you put new strings on.

Thanks so much. I'm a super newbie and just bought my first guitar 🎸 *SUBSCRIBED*

My fixed bridge Schecter had a problem, where it would loose tuning by the time I was done tuning it! I was already going to invest into Grovers, but after watching this video, just for the sake of it, gave a good old thumb stretch. Some of them went flat for almost two full tones! I was dumbfounded... These strings are nowhere new. They've been on guitar for 4 months already and I've properly stretched them while stringing. Never thought stretching would be required for tightening and general stability of old strings as well.

2:17 its SLIGHTLY out of tune.... Me: nearly faints

just finished watching a guy at righteous guitars go over a whole list of reasons why a guitar doesn't stay in tune but he didn't show this stretching technique long story short i already stretch my strings while tuning my question is the next time i pick up my guitar 1 or 2 strings are tuned sharp on my acoustic guitar to me it doesn't make sense that after playing my sweet music why the strings will get tighter, so i'm thinking by watching your video it might be temperature change yet i live in cali and there's not much temperature change what gives are there tune deaf gobbles messing with my guitars while i sleep🤔

Fender recommends the opposite with locking tuners. They say to tune above pitch and then come back down. Anyone know why?

Great video....just applied your lesson...wow...Improved my tuning.

Your videos and teaching style are so very good, Erich. Many thanks!!

So why are all my stings to high pitched and I have to down tune every time.

Awesome video. Thanks! Do you have a video on how to keep a guitar from going out of tune for people who use the whammy bar a lot?

thanks for that info my g string is always going out.

Thanks for this - new to electric and recently got a Gretsch 5622 (no Bigsby). Just got it back from a setup that incl new strings (9's) and it won't hold tune - baffled 'til now. One of the odd things is that down the neck on, say, the A string, open and 12th are fine, and every note/tone is good until I hit one that's WAY out of whack, usually 8th or 9th fret, but then the next one is spot on(?) - no idea about that one. Funny, but been playing acoustics for years, knew to stretch the new ones, and never had this issue - always happy to learn though - fingers crossed, and thanks for the help!

This guitar was in tune when I bought it. What happened? A little tug and a slap and tickle made it sound great! It's the way the gears are. Get a lot of mileage out of my guitar strings however they probably sound horrible if I was to record or play live! And yes temperature plays a big factor... take a cold guitar n2a a warm bar! Let it sit while you have a drink.. Leave the guitar case open and let your guitar breathe!! And do exactly what Eric said to do! You should be in tune for your first set! In the words of Guy Clark... I got an old guitar that never stays in tune I like the way it sounds in a dark and empty room!

Thanks, I appreciate all the info you put out. You are my teacher on udemy. The classes are great!

this is my problem right now i bought an expensive guitar that keeps coming out of tune after i keep it and when i use again its out of tune

My Ltd cs-1000 keeps going out of tune. Had an old set of strings on it. Ill have to change them out and see it that might be the issue. I have locking tuners so I know it’s supposed to never go out of tune. While tuning my strings are all over the place.

My G string is awful....lol, it's not what you think. I'm playing Gibson style 335, I've installed Grover locking tuners and a string buttler to better align the strings coming off the nut. I'm using 11-48 medium ga strings with 17 ga, plain 3rd or G string. intonation is dead on. Nut ht set perfectly and tuned with a tuner plugged in. Having said all that when I play up and down the neck everything sounds okay... BUT when I play an open B7th on the first fret, that darn G string sounds terrible. it sounds louder and and out of tune. I hardly use any pressure when playing. Just can't seem to make it sound right no matter what. Any Ideas?

Thank you so much!! I kinda figured the tugging thing by myself but I wasn't sure if it was actually working without damaging my strings or something like that. Now I know.

How can I avoid my guitar strings to slip from the pegs that causes it to bacome out of tune

"Guitarists spend half of their lives tuning and the other half playing out of tune" -Andres Segovia

Pardon my french, but it's driving me literally fucking INSANE that my new guitar (PRS) sounds out of tune when I play certain open chords (like a D Maj). Doesn't matter if I tune completely with a tuner, or by ear with the 5th fret method, or by playing 5ths, or by harmonics. I get the thing in perfect tune-- G Maj sounds great; A Maj sounds _pretty_ good; D Maj sounds AWFUL (usually at the High E string). It's been set up; nut filed; strings stretched; trem blocked... Doesn't matter. My Epihone doesn't do this!

This is me tuning my new pricey Strat copy. I start at the high E and down from there. And by the time I get the low E in tune, the high E, B, G, and D are out of tune. And it is NEVER the same. Sometimes this string is sharp, sometimes flat. Sometimes that string is fast, sometimes sharp. I know how to tune a guitar (50 years believe it or not). I know how to stretch the strings. I know how to intonate. I know how to operate the tuning keys. I have tried 3 different tuners. Korg/TC and Korg. It has been to no less than 3 guitar techs. Even back to the factory. They did a setup (and charged me for it). And although it did NOT go out of tune when I got it back. The setup was not right for me. A super-minimal tightening of the truss rod. I have no fear of truss rods. But this was a SUPER small tweak. Then 1/4 turn on each saddle screw and it was playable. But it would not stay in tune. And has remained that way though two visits to the only guitar tech in my podunk little city. And though me trying every adjustment, every which way I can possibly think of to do. It HAS to be the tremolo. I have successfully setup my own Fender Strats. But this guitar is something else. In all of my years of elec guitars and basses, I have NEVER had an instrument that was so aggravating, frustrating and maddening. I waffle between throwing it our the window and then looking at it as one of life's many challenges. It Certainly sounds good. But I cannot play the thing the way it is, because all I end up doing is tweaking and futzing with it the whole time. So eventually I can get all the strings in tune. I play for 5 seconds, NO tremolo bar even touched. I check the tuning and it's all over the shop already. This is literally making me feel ill.

My problem is that I can get the open strings in tune but then I go to play down the fretboard and all of those notes are either too sharp or too flat. I have an Epiphone special SG model. Please help. Also I just got the guitar from a friend and he hadn’t played it for a few years. I even changed the strings but I got the same problem.

So why would you "stretch the string down into pitch"? Your entire premise at the start of this tutorial was that one should always tune UP rather than DOWN. Isn't being a bit sharp and "stretching DOWN to pitch" the same as tuning down?!?

I bought one of those cheap les Paul special epiphone guitars for $139 at guitar center. Seems to always go out of tune. I’ll try this any other suggestions ?

OMG thank you sooooo much I really needed this!

can someone explain why my gfuitar goes higher evertime i pick up to play?

Here’s my problem. I tune it up to pitch. But a couple of my strings are sharp when chorded around the first few frets. I’ve checked the intonation on the 12th fret and it’s good. Cure????

My g string stays in tune for 3 minutes at most

Great advice thank you! I noticed that my Tronical Tune autotuner (same as Gibson was using for their LP) was always tuning up at the end. But the guitar still went out of tune after 2-3 accords I played. So I started to pull the strings as you showed from time to time but was unsure of the overall effect. So doing it 2-3 times was the trick :D! Finally a tuned guitar for a whole session thanks!

I always give my strings a good yank and then tune up...you are right....BUT>> that is not the no. 1 reason...for me I have a crappy nut and bridge...the saddles on my bridge(les paul knockoff) tend to move when I tune...and they also tend to stick a bit in the (softer than normal) nut....I assume it is kinda soft...I guess it could be that the slots are too narrow...but could you adress these issues...or am I just insane?

Help me my guitar string is supposed to be a D string but it is showing an A or B but went i tune it upward it still the same thing until there a snap sound and make my guitar a lower note...😢

I have an ibanez grx40 and I've recently run into this problem. I've used size 8 strings on it before and it's never gone out of tune on its own until now. I have not changed anything else on the guitar, never touched the intonation or anything. Even just plucking the strings knocks them way out, I've even used the luthier knot to prevent this but it's still happening. Should I take it in to the shop to get looked at?

Looks like Old Bay from Once Upon a Time. I am taking your Udemy class!

Im tuggin as well

My guitar tuner from BCP has a low D4 note but it doesn’t have a higher to match the proper sound it seems.

This really worked! Thanks :)

my g string is completely in tune in the 4 fret but at the 5 fret its flat

Replaced my Strat nut (graphtech), replaced my string trees (graphtech) and been "tugging" and it's 99% of times in tune.

also, locking tuners and nut lube. don't stay or leave home without it.

Thank you

Thanks!! That did the trick!!

i always tune close...not perfect but close...the first time. then play a song or 2....or just go crazy and stick the pick all the way down and strum like mad. ya, tugging does the same thing.... then fine tune it perfectly. new strings...lol...have to do that "cycle" about 3 or 4 times it usually stays in tune for up to a week after that! and ALWAYS tune up....keeps the string tight. no compression and tension....just tension.

I just bought a new tele squier and it’s already not staying in tune should I return it or what ? Please help

great info sir

I can't do this anymore, Everytime the other string is now tuned and I move onto the another string after I damn tuned it the previous string I tuned will be out of damn tune again :((

I tune up AND tug. Strat keeps going out, not much, but either sharp or flat. And if I use my trem, forget about it lol. Pretty much every time I pick it up I have to tune it, whereas my other guitars are fine

Please Someone help me , i have problem with my 5 and 6 strings , they are perfectly intonated but the fretted notes are very out of tune , especially on the first frets , i dont know how is this possible when they are intonated , im really confused