How To String An Guitar Acoustic

Fortunately for the novice guitar enthusiast, learning how to string an acoustic guitar is not extremely difficult. There are certain things you will need to know before you can begin. Be sure you are aware of the parts of the guitar. Have your supplies ready and well within reach.  Look at the top of the guitar’s body. Above the sound hole, you will see a narrow, wide band called the bridge.The guitar strings begin here. Inside the bridge are the holes that the strings run through. Locate the neck of the guitar (this is the long part that comes out of the guitar body.) At the end of the neck, on the headstock, are the tuning pegs. Tuning pegs tighten the strings once they are in place. The strings will run through the bridge, over the length of the body and the neck, over the nut and up to the tuning pegs.

Now that you have a basic idea of the guitar’s form, you can gather your supplies and string the acoustic guitar. Get together each of the following:

• New guitar strings
• Acoustic guitar
• Guitar tuner (preferably electronic)

Steps

1. Unwind the strings from the package. Be careful not to cut your fingers on the strings; they can be sharp. Unwind the strings and carefully lay them out.
2. Grasp the end of one string and thread it carefully through the first hole in the bridge. Make sure you allow enough string at the top before attaching the pin to secure the string in place.
3. Carefully stretch the string down the body of the guitar. Keep tension in the string as you pull it towards the head (end) of the neck.
4. Slip the guitar string through the posthole on the end. You will need to pull the string firmly toward the right. 
5. Lock the string into place by turning the corresponding tuning peg. Turn the peg counterclockwise to lock the string.
6. Turn the pegs counterclockwise. For the (low) E, A, and D chords, turn the pegs three times. For the other chords, (high) E, G, and B, turn the pegs six times.

Use the same procedure for each string separately. Once the strings are in place, tune your acoustic guitar with an electronic tuner.