Alice in Chains · Dirt · song 1
Them Bones tuning.
Them Bones (Alice in Chains, 1992) is in Drop C♯, about 10 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
10 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +10 ¢.
Alice in Chains · Dirt · 1992
About Them Bones
The opener of Dirt (1992), two and a half minutes long, with a main riff in 7/8 that gives way to a chorus in 4/4. It is one of the two songs MusicRadar's Dirt lesson names in Drop C♯: E♭ Standard with String 6 taken down another whole step, C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯. The riff moves chromatically up from the open low string, and on the record the dropped C♯ and the D a fret above it carry most of the low end. Mike Starr's bass drops with the guitar.
TuneLit measured the original 1992 Columbia CD of Dirt (an Austrian pressing) about 10 ¢ sharp, A ≈ 442.4, and this song reads the same. Ten cents is enough for a guitar at A 440 to sound a little flat against the record, so the Tune button sets Drop C♯ +10 ¢. The check from the audio hears C♯ as the lowest string.
Beware the most popular alternative: Songsterr's Drop C version of Them Bones has hundreds of thousands of views and sits a half step below the record. If you learn from it, keep the frets and tune to Drop C♯ instead. Switching from the album's E♭ Standard songs is quick, because only String 6 moves, by a whole step.
Tip: Set Drop C♯ +10 ¢ and check String 6 against the opening riff before you start counting the 7/8.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop C♯, every string +10 ¢, the notes Them Bones was recorded in.
- From the album's E♭ Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E♭ → C♯); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Them Bones sits 10 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Them Bones along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 6 should ring together without a wobble.
Or the other way round
Move the record into your tuning
Rather keep your guitar as it is? Let Play along move Them Bones instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop C♯ +10 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Them Bones moves up 90 cents, at its own speed. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is Them Bones in?
Drop C♯ +10 ¢: C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.