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How to Increase Tension in a Guitar String

A guitar string's tension can be increased easily, but getting it to the desired tension can be difficult to gauge for the untrained ear. Strings can snap, leaving you with a bigger project on your hands -- you'll have to buy an additional string and then wind the entire unit onto your guitar, which is a much longer process than a quick tightening. A well-tuned guitar always has the perfect string tension.

Things You'll Need

Electric tuner

Instructions

- 1
  Turn the tuning peg clockwise if you are tuning the bottom three stings while using a guitar that has three tuning pegs on the bottom and three on the top. Turn the tuning pegs counterclockwise if you are using the same style of guitar but you are tightening the three top strings.
- 2
  Turn the tuning pegs counterclockwise when using a guitar that has all the tuning pegs on the top. Play the string with your opposite hand to the one that is tuning and listen to the pitch.
- 3
  Turn the tuning pegs clockwise when tightening strings on a guitar that has all turning pegs at the bottom.
- 4
  Do not turn the string too much because it will break. Use a tuner or a keen ear to listen for when the string is tuned.
- 5
  Play the fifth fret of the string above the string that you are tuning to gauge when the string is tight enough. The top string either needs to be tuned to another guitar or with an electric tuner.

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