Learn How to Change Guitar Strings

So you’ve hit that point after buying your first guitar when it is no longer playable, whether because you have broken one or more strings or because the strings sound unpleasantly dull and/or come out of tune easily.  It’s time to learn how to change guitar strings!  With so many different types of guitars and so many different kinds of strings out there, this can be an intimidating task when doing it for your first couple of times.  However, it quickly becomes second nature after completing the task a few times, and the advice below will help you get through the process. 

The first step is deciding on the type of strings that are right for you.  Before doing this, you need to be certain of what kind of guitar you are re-stringing.  Classical guitar strings are different from electric guitar strings and regular acoustic guitar strings, and putting the wrong kind of strings on your guitar could damage it, or at least decrease the quality of your guitar’s sound. 

After you have determined what kind of guitar you are buying strings for, you are ready to learn how to change guitar strings.  You should decide what gauge of strings you want.  The lighter the gauge, or the smaller the number, the thinner the strings will be.  Beginners should usually start off with a medium gauge, which they should later adjust to better suit their personal styles and techniques as they develop. 

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Once you have your next set of strings picked out and purchased, begin by removing a single string from your guitar, starting at either end.  Holding the guitar in playing position, turn the tuning keys that face up clockwise (those that face down counterclockwise) until the string is loose enough for you to pull it off of the tuning peg.  If you are working with an electric guitar or acoustic guitar, remove the string from the bridge.  For the acoustic guitar, this usually requires that you remove the bridge pin.  If you are working with a classical guitar, untie the string from the bridge. 

Once the first old string is removed, put the new one on right away before taking any more off, to maintain the proper tension on your guitar’s neck.  Find the right-size string and attach it to the bridge, either by threading it through, for electric and acoustic guitars (and inserting the bridge pin for the latter), or by tying it to the bridge with classical guitars.  Once the end of the string is secured, insert the other end into the tuning peg and begin winding it using the tuning key. Ultimately, to help your guitar stay in tune better, the string should be wound around the tuning peg several times, over itself the first time and under itself every successive time.  Make sure the string is in its proper groove on the guitar’s nut and then tune it using a tuner—your other strings will likely have come out of tune from the variation in tension on the guitars neck that results from changing a string.  Then stretch the string by gently pulling on it and repeat the whole process for each string.  You will soon see that anyone can learn how to change guitar strings.

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