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Is it a bad practice to not tune your guitar as long as it sounds decent? (self.guitars)

submitted 11 months ago by Chonk to c/guitars

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Hi, I'm a beginner learning guitar. I noticed that after a month or so my guitar doesn't sound the same but it's not too bad. And I am hesitant to tune my guitar frequently because I'm afraid that some strings might snap.

Is it fine to not tune guitar until it sounds garbage (unrecognizable)?

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Don't worry about the strings - they're meant to be played, tuned, bent, wailed upon. If they break (eventually), replace them. They are a consumable.

It is a good practice, however, to try to check/keep in tune before and as you play (if it sounds off) because you gradually get to lock in mentally wrt what is in tune vs not. It trains your ears/brain over time and you may as well train accurately as it'll really accelerate your learning.

You do you, though - playing is meant to be fun. Don't sweat it too much! A slightly out of tune moment of inspiration (when it comes) beats a well-tuned boring exercise. (A moment of inspiration that is tuned as intended is even better though.). Lots of famous performances are out of tune (though the band is almost certainly in tune with each other).

TLDR - have fun! It's ok.