Get It Right With The Pitch Pipe

Have you seen a pitch pipe?

Here's how it looks like:

An example of a pitch pipe. Photo Credits.

Yes. You can use that weird little thing to tune your guitar.

The first time I saw a pitch pipe, I never knew what it was meant for. I just stared at it for quite some time and I thought that maybe some kid must have left it there since its shape resembled a puzzle or lego piece. Out of curiosity, I grabbed it and took a closer look. When I saw the labels written on the pipes, I realized that it was some sort of a musical tool or something like a tuner.


But, how do I use this thing?

When I saw the hole at the tip of the pipe, there was nothing else that I can think of doing but to put in my mouth and blow it. And I simply did (without even thinking whether it was clean). At this point, I remembered that the open strings of the guitar were E-A-D-G-B-E. So i immediately took it off from my mouth and read the labels again - "E6 - A5 - D4 - G3 - B2 - E1". Aha! So this is a guitar tuner but, at that time, I didn't know what it was called.

A pitch pipe is a good tool to use in tuning your guitar. Although it's not the best tool out there but still nothing beats its size. It can simply fit into your pocket. It's small and very handy and perhaps a more practical device to use when you are having outdoor activities like camping which limits your access to a piano.

The six pipes of the pitch pipe supplies standard tuning reference pitches that play only the notes of the open strings of the guitar. It doesn't have in-between notes and sound at a higher range.The advantage of a pitch pipe is that you can hold it firmly in your mouth while blowing, keeping your hands free for
tuning. The disadvantage to a pitch pipe is that you sometimes take a while getting used to hearing a wind-produced pitch against a struck-string pitch. But with practice, you can tune with a pitch pipe as easily as you can with a piano.