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Here are a couple ways to tune short scale-length guitars with regular light gauge strings 9s or 10s:
3/4 scale guitars can often be tuned to standard E tuning
but it is usually better to tune to :
G-C-F-Bb-D-C or G-D-G-B-D-G (Open G Tuning)
1/2 size guitars should be tuned up to:
A-D-G-C-E-A or G-C-F-Bb-D-C or G-D-G-B-D-G (Open G Tuning)
1/4 size guitars should be tuned up to:
A-D-G-C-E-A or G-D-G-B-D-G (Open G Tuning)
read more for a full explanation
Many people, including myself, usually tune any guitar they pick up before they play it.
This is true for any guitar, whether it be a classical nylon-string, acoustic steel-string, or
electric guitar. However, what many do not know is that when the scale length of the guitar
changes, so should the tuning. This can be difficult to get comfortable with, though there are
certain basics you can keep in mind.
If a guitar's scale length is shorter, the strings require less tension to arrive to the
desired pitch. Also, when there is less tension on the strings, they respond more in terms of
pitch change to any slight increase in tension. When a string is held down, it is in effect being
bent slightly which in turn slightly increases the pitch. This is true for any guitar with any scale
length, but the change in pitch that results is more negligable when you have a longer scale
and the strings are tighter with more tension.
One might encounter this problem a couple different ways. Quite commonly when
you're fretting chords in the first open position. This is because when you fret a bar chord, you
hold down all of the strings that are being played just about as hard, and even though they
will all shift slightly higher in pitch, it will still sound decent because they are harmonizing.
However, when playing an open chord, you're hitting strings that are held down, and some are
not. The strings being held down will have a slightly highter pitch, and the open strings will not
have that corresponding change in pitch. This may result in a poor sounding chord, due to the
dissonance. To alleviate this problem, don't hold down the strings so hard, or use high gauged
strings.
When you tune a shorter-scale guitar using the common method of comparing 5th
position, what happens is that the 5th position you fret is shifted slightly higher in pitch, so
you tune the next string to match the sound of the one you just heard. As a result, that string
is slightly higher in pitch than it should be. If you continue to do this, your two E strings could
be as much as a half-step higher or more. This ends up with a poorly tuned guitar. How to
alleviate this problem is to use the harmonics method, or to use an electric tuner. You can find
decent ones for just around $20, and for a novice this would be highly recommended for tuning.
Electric guitars that are very short in scale length (under 21") can be possible to play
in standard tuning, though it requires skill and very gentle fretting of the strings. Most of the
time, you would need to tune those up to get a strong tuning and pitch, or use thicker strings.
The most common way of tuning up a very short scale guitar is up a fourth. That means the E
string goes up to A, and you tune the rest accordingly (You end up with A-D-G-C-E-G). For
smaller kids who are not going to be pressing down the strings any time soon, you can simply
tune the guitar to a G chord (G-D-G-B-D-G) which would enable the child to simply strum openly,
and still maintain decent sound quality and pitch.
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