Tuning your acoustic guitar is the first step in your guitar playing career. Whether by skill, talent or technology, you must be able to get your guitar into tune.

One common obstacle to learning to tune a guitar is a certain natural resistance to aquiring new knowledge. This reluctance is present in everybody to some degree. The prospect of learning to tune a guitar by ear can fill some people with a sense of dread.

Before we start to tackle the job of tuning, we need to get straight which string is which. The first string is the narrow string nearest your knee as you sit with the guitar in playing position. The sixth string is the widest string, and it is closest to your chin.

And the tuning goes like this:

1st string is “E”

2nd string is “B”

3rd string is “G”

4th string is “D”

5th string is “A”

6th string is “E”

The guitar pitch pipe plays the notes when you blow into it so you can compare the sounds with your guitar.

A tuning fork, when you bang it on your knee and hold it on the body of your guitar, sounds the note you get when you play the harmonic at the fifth fret of the fifth string. Once you get this note right, you tune the rest of the strings to the fifth string.

If you have tried the methods of tuning guitars using a pitch pipe or tuning fork, and still feel less than confident in your guitar tuning abilities, then you could reckon about acquiring a guitar tuner that has a visual aid to tuning. You can always test your skill from time to time by tuning your guitar without the tuner, and seeing how accurate you have become.

You can also use a keyboard instrument to tune your guitar to. Start by finding on the keyboard the E note below Middle C. Then GO DOWN ANOTHER OCTAVE to tune the sixth string on the guitar. This is because the guitar\’s music is written an octave higher than it really sounds compared to a piano!

The electronic guitar tuner is the simplest way of tuning your acoustic guitar. You pluck your guitar string and watch the indicator on the tuner to see how close you are to the right note. There are also guitar tuners you can get for free on the internet that work the same way.

Online Guitar Tuners often play the notes to you, and you use your ear to see if your guitar is in tune.

When we wonder what guitar tab we need to get to start to make up our repertoire, we usually reckon only about songs we like. We know that our choice in music does not suck in the slightest but if we are going to be playing our guitar and singing for audiences we need to get used to the thought that our taste in music will not match what our listeners want to hear. We may even take a look at well loved choices in songs and get the uncomfortable feeling that we might have to play songs that we do not like. One thing guitar players are well-known for is standing on their principles and not compromising on what they are going to play. The other thing they are well-known for is giving the audience what they want. So a mixture of these two attitudes is probably going to form in your psyche as you peruse your list of guitar tabs on the internet. While we are on the subject of lists of guitar tabs remember to pay a visit to your local music store or online merchant for ready-made collections of simple guitar tabs. You can find titles like “Well loved Songs for Acoustic Guitar” or “CMT\’s 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music”.

One fact that has emerged from field tests conducted by buskers, night club performers and covers bands is that you should look for your repertoire in the songs of years gone by. Oldies are goodies. Another thing you should reckon about is whether or not you are an audience participation kind of performer. If you are still wondering about it one second after the thought enters your head, then you probably aren\’t. So stay away from songs that require you to yell, “Everybody now!!” or “Just the girls this time!”. Likewise if you play solo acoustic guitar and have a voice like Johnny Cash you might want to stay away from Led Zeppelin\’s “Whole Lotta Like”. But do not walk away from songs you delight in just because they might not seem immediately doable.Remember Jose Feliciano\’s “Light My Fire” and Eric Clapton\’s unplugged “Layla”.

Of course what songs you choose is not going to matter much if you do not pay attention to how you sing and play the guitar. People pay to see performers who are better at something than they are. Which is where playing material that you like comes in. If you are playing a song that you consider to be a crowd pleaser but you personally reckon is a load of stomach chunks you give attention to the part the audience likes. You already know what that is. That is why you do not bellow, “Hello darkness my ancient friend” or shirk on the enthusiasm when you sing the line, “Welcome to the Hotel California”.

Okay so what we get out of all this is first, there are songs that crowds of people like and second, you can sing and play these songs in a way that highlights your particular talents. Now for a basic list of songs that have been known to please a crowd or two over a period of years:

Wild World by Cat Stevens

Imagine – by John Lennon

Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin

Catch the Wind by Donovan

Can\’t Help Falling In Like by Elvis Presley

Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks

Angie by the Rolling Stones

Everybody Hurts by REM

50 ways to leave your lover by Paul Simon

The 59th Street Bridge Song by Simon And Garfunkel

American Pie by Don Maclean

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

California Dreamin\’ by The Mamas and Papas

Knockin\’ on Heaven\’s Door by Bob Dylan

Mrs Robinson by Simon And Garfunkel

You\’re so vain by Carly Simon

Blowin\’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash

Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton

Gloria by Van Morrison (or Them)

Hotel California by The Eagles

Behind Blue Eyes by The Who

White Room by Cream

Sex And Candy by Marcy Playground

Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers

What Its Like by Everlast

Alison by Elvis Costello

Life By The Drop by Stevie Ray Vaughn

Melissa by Allman Brothers

Dead Flowers by The Rolling Stones

Seagull by Terrible Company

Mediterranean Sundance by Al DiMeola and Paco De Lucia

Classical Gas by Mason Williams

This list could be much, much longer, but you probably already see songs here that you would never play in a million years so all I can say now is I hope this guide to essential guitar tab has been helpful.