How to Tune Bass Guitar Strings

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Part of the video series: Bass Guitar Basics

Summary: Learn how to tune the electric bass guitar in this free music instruction video from our rock and roll guitar expert.

Views: 8,017 | Tags: bass, guitar, jazz, rock, roll, band, instruction, fender, instruments, guitars, bass guitar


About the Expert

Casey Cormier Casey Cormier has been playing both the guitar and bass for ten years, performing in rock and roll clubs along the New Jersey Coast as well as in New York Cit... read more

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Video Transcript

How to Tune Bass Guitar Strings

So we now know that our four strings on our standard electric bass in standard tuning should be E A D and G respectively from the top to the bottom strings. Well this isn't necessarily going to happen when we pick our bass up right away whether it changes tuning, new strings change the tuning, we have to make sure that we are in tune. I recommend if you are starting for your first instrument have you know not developed an ear for pitch yet to use an electric tuner. An electric tuner can tell us our notes so we'll play an open E here and it should show up as such. Now if it doesn't, if the note is flat, meaning too low you go to our first tuning peg and we turn it with our thumb pointing away from ourselves, away from us. And then to lower it the other way using our first finger. So make sure you can tune these strings, this is E if we tune to A, A is in tune now but if it was not we'd go to the second nob. Now your bass for D and G strings your nobs may be underneath and this means you would be spinning them in the opposite direction but just use your ear. If something seems out of place you should be able to hear it after a few times practicing just getting the tuning right. If you know soul fish you can consider E your soul. soul, then a should be doe doe, so say our D is out of tune. Soul doe sould doe sould doe sould doe. Whatever octave you can use, whatever your range is you can use your ear to tune as well though if you have not tuned before I recommend starting with an electric tuner.

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