Alice in Chains · Jar of Flies · song 3
I Stay Away tuning.
I Stay Away (Alice in Chains, 1994) is in Drop C♯, about 13 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
13 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +13 ¢.
Alice in Chains · Jar of Flies · 1994
About I Stay Away
The second single from Jar of Flies (1994), nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, and the EP's one song in Drop C♯. Songsterr's tab puts every part there: Cantrell's two 12-string acoustic parts, his Rampage parts and Mike Inez's bass, each with the low string on C♯ (C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯ on the guitars).
TuneLit measured the CD of Jar of Flies (the 2011 Original Album Classics reissue) about 13 ¢ sharp, A ≈ 443.3, and I Stay Away sits with the rest, so the Tune button sets Drop C♯ +13 ¢. The check from the audio hears C♯ as the lowest string, and in the record's low range a C♯ is the most-heard note, which fits the drop.
On a 12-string the drop is fiddly: both strings of the lowest course go down a whole step from E♭, the thick one to C♯2 and the thin octave string to C♯3, while the other courses stay a half step down. Coming straight from Nutshell or No Excuses, only that course changes. A six-string in Drop C♯ covers the song well on its own, and only String 6 moves.
Tip: Retune only the lowest course from E♭ to C♯; its thin octave string should then match the thick string of the fourth course, C♯3.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop C♯, every string +13 ¢, the notes I Stay Away 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. I Stay Away sits 13 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play I Stay Away 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 I Stay Away 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♯ +13 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and I Stay Away moves up 87 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 I Stay Away in?
Drop C♯ +13 ¢: C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.