Tuning the instrument
- Tune the instrument independently, with greater refinement, e.g. use of harmonic tuning, recognising when it is necessary to retune
- Have a knowledge of alternate tunings (e.g. dropped D, lute tuning)
Show learners how to adjust the tuning of the guitar to the key of the piece being played. Discuss with them which chords might present intonation problems in that key.
Select appropriate repertoire to expand learners’ knowledge of alternate tunings.
Ask learners to respond to bad intonation during performance by quickly adjusting an individual string’s tuning at a convenient point in the music, e.g. at a double bar or during a rest.
It is helpful if learners understand that the equal temperament provided by the frets on an individual string can clash with the natural (and therefore ‘unequal’) temperament of overtones on other simultaneously sounding strings. For example, in the first-position E major chord, the G sharp on the third string sounds much sharper than the G sharp an octave higher, heard as the fourth partial on the sixth string (i.e. the fourth-fret harmonic, a ‘natural’ major third). Flattening the third string will make the E chord sound a little more in tune, but at the same time make other chords requiring the third string sound out of tune.
Explore the progression of this Learning Objective
Continue exploring the current Programme of Study
