Just had an idea to share some thoughts after watching a lot of beginners having issues with guitar tuning. Aside from form knowing some essatinal rules on how to tune, there is a thing that I constantly experinece while watching other people play - it's a dismatched fingers pressure on the frets.
PRESS ONLY AS HARD AS IT'S NECESSARY...NOT EVEN BIT HARDER
The lighter strings gauge, the more pitch bend we get on fretted note. Some beginners come to my service to get their guitars fixed. At least half ot them get back home without even a single move of screwdriver being a bit more wise after just a few minutes of discussion.
It is hard to get our (even expensive, well crafted) guitar to keep good intonation if we do not learn how to generate possibly constant pressure on each fret. Of course proper guitar set-up is also the key but If we already have this done by a professional, it's wort to seek for invalid intonation issues in the way we press the strings.
There is some point of pressure that is actually unnecessary - even if we play very hard with our left hand.
Grab a tuner and see for Yourself. How many cents difference You can get on the same fret, jus by changing the pressure?
Experiment with different string gauges - Make sure You are not able top play a harder gauge. Maybe the type of playing You prefer does not make much difference with comfort while using thicker strings. They'll always give You less pitch bend while pressing with Your fingers and will improve overall tuning stability and intonation.
Be more sceptical - do not always trust the green light on Your tuner. Check some more positions on Your fretboard and try to find best compromise. Guitar is not a keyboard. Nobody guarantee that green light on the open string means proper intonation all over the neck.
And next to the pressure issues...one of most common for me to experience with beginners
DO NOT READJUST YOUR GUITAR WHILE STRINGS ARE OLD*
Strings to loose the intonation as well. Usually it's not more than 3-4 weeks we can truly trust them. Before You mess up anything with screwdriver, wait and change the strings. You can surprise yourself.
Sorry for being borring for some who already know this but I'm sure some of us still need info like this.
Of course this topic needs much more explanations. Maybe You'll
share some of Your experience as well ?
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