for relative tuning:

a guitar that stays in tune (don't underestimate the importance of that; otherwise you'll perform an exercise in frustration)

for concert tuning:

a tone source: e.g., a tuning fork, another guitar already in tune, a piano, a pitchpipe

Optional:

an electronic tuner (unnecessary for all but professional musicians who need to tune in a noisy environment)

10-15 minutes for a beginner, less than 5 minutes for intermediate player, a minute or less for an advanced player (allow more time for a guitar that's completely out of tune, or being strung with new strings)

2torial #0853: Learn2 Tune a Guitar Tune it again, Sam--before I wrap that guitar around your neck! It's true--you can play a lot of great music without knowing how to tune a guitar. But guitars naturally go out of tune as you play them for a while. And if your guitar-tuning friend isn't around when your guitar starts to go sour, you're stuck! It doesn't matter how much great music you've mastered--it'll sound like madness and confusion on an out-of-tune guitar.   Fortunately for beginning guitar players, guitar tuning is a pretty easy skill to master. And it'll improve your ear (your listening skills) which will become increasingly important as you progress with the guitar.   Note: This 2torial is for acoustic and electric guitars, except those electrics with Floyd Rose whammy bars, in which case you're on your own.   What are notes in tune? No notes are actually wrong--they just might not work together for a particular instrument or style of music. Classical Indian musicians play notes that are bizzarely out of tune compared to Western music; yet those notes are entirely correct within that tradition.   With the guitar, in tune means that all strings have the proper tension in relation to one another. The proper tension produces the correct pitches, or sounds. These pitches sound good when the relationships are correct, and they sound dissonant (noisy and disorderly) when they're not. Step 1