Thanks, that really helps! 
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I have a free tuner app for my electrical guitar that I downloaded a year ago.
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I’ve read that it is better to start tuning with the 6th string first. https://www.fender.com/articles/play/7-tuning-tips
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This is a really useful lesson. I just tune my guitar using spark tuner today. Now, my guitar is in tune and I can go on with my practise.
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A lesson it took me a while to learn: Don’t be surprised if you break a string (Especially the thinnest “E” string) the first few times you start tuning your guitar. When you are new, you have no idea if you need to tune up , or tune down, to “find” the proper note. The high “E” string, being so thin, breaks easier than the rest. Strings are not tht expensive, and you’re going to be replacing them eventually, so don’t panic when you break one. Justin has an excellent video on how to restring your guitar, and it gets easier with practice. If money is an issue, most of the larger guitar shops will even sell you individual strings. Tip: Always try to keep a sealed, unopened string pack available, as you never know when a string might break. (Opening the pack exposes the strings to moisture, which could cause them to rust.
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Hi there! New to the community and thus far I’m loving it. I have a question about tuning and starting anew with guitar. Long story short, some neurological issues made me cease playing about a decade ago, but I have gotten the clearance to play again. I’m a huge metalhead and when I played previously, I was always tuned down a full step. I was self-taught then, but now that I’m older I want to do this right. Should I tune to standard while I am being taught the fundamentals here? If so that’s fine, my only concern would be that the strings I put on the guitar are made for down-tuning. Given they’re thicker will they hold up to standard, or do I need to look at restringing already? Again, for me it’s about doing this right, this time through, as I am no longer a petulant teenager! =)
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Hi Bryan and welcome to the Community! 
If those are special strings, I think the easiest solution would be to put a capo at the 2nd fret. As the lessons over on the website are in standard tuning, you would be able to follow them without having to change strings or retuning all the time.
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Hello @jedimasterhunter and welcome to the community.
How old are the strings? Ones you put on years ago for your metal days?
Definitely learn in standard tuning.
Thicker strings at standard tuning will create additional tension on the guitar neck and prove more difficult and painful to hold when forming chords.
For electric guitars you want gauge 9 or 10.
I hope that helps.
Cheers 
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator
My acoustic guitar came from the shop tuned a step down. I could get one of those clamps and just follow the lessons one fret further towards the body, and I do really like the lower D on the sixth string, it sounds fantastic. As an absolute beginner, do you think this is a viable option? I have a pretty good ear and am sure I can tune it a step up, as I had to retune it after it sat unused for a decade anyway, but I would love input on whether this is necessary.
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Hi Constance, @ConstanceClaire
Welcome here and I hope you have a lot of fun… 
It’s good when you start practice (and often even desirable) to tune it (or check if it’s in tune) every time you pick up your guitar… and at the beginning of your guitar journey I think it’s best to put your guitar in to have the standard tuning (EADGBE) to get used to this… Do you have a tuner, otherwise you can use your phone in the beginning …(or do I misunderstand you?)
Greetings,Rogier
Edit: I forget this put in between EADGBE what @jacksprat say`s
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Oh, thank you for the swift reply, Roger!
I do not have a tuner yet, I just did it by ear using a video on youtube. I will buy one but for the time being I’m pretty decent at matching pitch so I feel confident I can change the tuning. (Plus, if I leave it for too long waiting to get to a music shop, I’ll lose confidence and pack it away again, knowing me.) I saw that the step-down tuning was very popular, enough that it was tuned that way in the shop, so I thought I’d better check in about it.
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If I understand you correctly, you want to tune your guitar to drop-D tuning and use a capo to allow you to use the open chord shapes in the lessons? If so, I think that is a recipe for disaster.
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It’s already in drop-D, I just wanted to check in with folks who have more experience as to whether I should learn with it like that, or tune it to standard. You’re the second person to say it’s probably not a good idea, so I’ll be tuning it to standard for sure!
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Interesting thread.
Much has been said already, but I want to throw my 2 cent in here.
I’ve tuned many different ways, to a piano, to a record, to other instruments.
Now adays, with the new high tech. I use a snark clip on.
What I’ve found is.
Even when the tuner says I’m zeroed out, and right on pitch, for any string. I’ll play a few different chords behind the tuning. In my experience, many times the guitar still seems out of tune. So I’ll go back to ea. string and play a few fretted notes of that string. Most of the time I find the fretted note to be sharp. Doing this helps keep in my mind that as I fret said note, I can make it sharp just by pushing down hard on the string. So when playing, I’ll try to keep in mind not to press to hard. Many times, I also will go back and tune that string, usually towards going flat. I find that many times putting my tuner just at the point where to open string goes flat is my best place for being in tune when I play.
I find that a open C chord is very enlightening as to whether I’m in tune or not. If C chord sounds in tune, many times I am in tune.
One last observation.
When I tune, I play a bit prior to tuning. I find cold strings, that have sat for a bit of time, stings that have not be vibrating. These cold strings will tune a bit different than strings that have been played, stings that have been vibrating for a few min., strings that have warmed up a bit by vibrating will generally be flat compared to a cold string that’s sat stagnate for a few hours.
I’m thinking cold strings contract and get tighter, thus go sharp. Warm strings that have been vibrating loosen and then go flat as they get looser do to being warm and more flexible.
Don’t know for a fact about what I say, but I find it to be pretty consistent for when I’m tuning up.
As for using a capo. I seem to generally have to retune after I put the capo on if I want to be in tune. Granted I just got a cheapo capo.
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Constance, these statements about tuning refer to two different tunings. Drop D means that the low E string is tuned a full tone, or two steps, down while the other strings remain in standard tuning ie ADGBE. Tuned a step down implies to me that each string is tuned a semi-tone lower ie E to Eb, A to Ab, etc.
From a beginner’s perspective, the advantage of tuning a step (semi-tone) down reduces the tension on the strings, making it easier to fret notes. Nothing else changes and as suggested you can place a capo on at the first fret to play open chords at the same pitch as standard tuning in order to play along with an original recording or the Musopia App.
Later this can also help with learning how to play the F barre chord.
I think it is OK in the early stages but once you have developed your callouses, dexterity, and necessary strength (which is not extraordinary if playing with good technique on a well setup guitar) I’d suggest tuning up to standard tuning.
Drop D requires specific understanding of how to play certain chords from a bass note perspective. Probably not something to be exploring in the really early days.
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Oh, yes, I got them mixed up but basically it was tuned to DGCFAD. I’ve tuned it to standard, and found using the app tuner that my tuning was always a tiny bit flat, according to that. Within the lines around the note, but still.
I’m not sure I trust it fully as my phone is a little old lol. (Also, the app always thinks my second string isn’t ringing true during chord practice, but it’s fine when tuning, even though it sounds fine to me during practice as well.)
But, I did find it interesting that it was consistently flat, because often when I hear people sing live, and sometimes when I pay attention to myself when I’m singing, I hear notes ring a little flat as well. I’m wondering if my perception of sound is slightly off. At some point further in the grades I’m sure I’ll get that down pat.
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I once had to restring my G string and when I started the tuning process… it snapped off scaring the beejezus out of me.
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Welcome to the community, Phil! If you have a few minutes, do pop over here and tell us more about yourself.
I’ve not had a string break yet…I sometimes wonder if I’m missing a rite of passage for guitar players! 
One piece of luck for me - I wear eyeglasses, so hopefully that reduces my risk of injury when a string does inevitably snap. 
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Hey there! as an absolute beginner I am starting the program by following the basics module, but seem be in a rut as i’m unable to get my low E tuned, and so, I can’t even go past the Em practice since the app doesn’t even recognize the E string played right.
It shows tuned on a clip on tuner I have, also on another tuner app, and it really does sound ok to me. I even restringed that one string and removed the case from my phone. Also tried to restart the app, regranting the mic permissions, etc.
I have an old epiphone amped with a mini Marshall.
It’d make sense if I couldn’t be able to tune the low E anywhere, but it’s ok on the clip on and the other tuner app, so I really don’t know how to move forward.
Any ideas?
PS. Also note that while on Automatic mode, all of the strings tune ok but when it comes to low E, it’s picked as a perfect B, then I play B and it tunes ok ?
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