Alice in Chains · Facelift · song 1
We Die Young tuning.
We Die Young (Alice in Chains, 1990) is in Drop C♯ at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +4 ¢.
Alice in Chains · Facelift · 1990
About We Die Young
We Die Young opens Facelift (1990) and was the band's first single, released that summer on a promotional EP of the same name: two and a half minutes of fast, heavy riffing. Jerry Cantrell plays it in Drop C♯, the heavier of his two tunings: E♭ Standard with String 6 lowered another whole step, C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯. Mike Starr's bass drops its low string to C♯ with the guitar, and on the record that open C♯ dominates: it makes up about 70 % of the low notes TuneLit hears.
TuneLit measured the original 1990 Columbia CD of Facelift about 4 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.1). Its fast, distorted parts are hard to read on their own, so it takes the album's value: the Tune button sets Drop C♯ +4 ¢. Four cents is too small for most ears; a guitar at plain A 440 will sound in tune. The check from the audio hears C♯ as the lowest string, which confirms the drop.
Getting there is quick: from E♭ Standard, lower only String 6 by a whole step, until its open note matches String 4 an octave lower. From normal tuning, drop String 6 to D, then lower all six strings a half step. Watch out for versions labelled Drop D or Drop C: Songsterr has both, one a half step above the record and one a half step below.
Tip: Tune String 6 to C♯ first and check it against the riff; if the open string clashes by a half step, your tab is in Drop D or Drop C.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop C♯, every string +4 ¢, the notes We Die Young 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. We Die Young sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play We Die Young 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 We Die Young 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♯ +4 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and We Die Young moves up 96 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 We Die Young in?
Drop C♯ +4 ¢: C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.