Alice in Chains · Jar of Flies · song 2
Nutshell tuning.
Nutshell (Alice in Chains, 1994) is in E♭ Standard, about 13 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
13 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +13 ¢.
Alice in Chains · Jar of Flies · 1994
About Nutshell
The quiet second track of Jar of Flies (1994): an acoustic song on a repeating chord pattern, with an electric lead line laid over it. It is in E♭ Standard, the acoustic, the electric and Mike Inez's bass all a half step down. Nutshell later opened the band's MTV Unplugged show in the same tuning, but many lessons teach it in E Standard because it is easier to read.
Here the measurement matters. TuneLit measured the CD of Jar of Flies (the 2011 Original Album Classics reissue, the only copy in the library) about 13 ¢ sharp, A ≈ 443.3, and Nutshell reads exactly the album value. Against an acoustic tuned at A 440 the record sounds slightly higher, and on long open chords that rub is audible. The Tune button sets E♭ Standard +13 ¢, and the check from the audio confirms E♭ as the lowest string.
Tabs disagree a lot on this one. One of Songsterr's most-viewed versions is written in C Standard, three half steps below the record, and E Standard copies are common; even the main E♭ tab writes the acoustic's low string an octave too low. Whatever you learn from, keep the chord shapes and tune to E♭ with the +13 ¢ offset.
Tip: Strum the opening chord with the record and listen for beating; the Tune button's +13 ¢ should make it disappear.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +13 ¢, the notes Nutshell was recorded in.
- From E Standard: Every string down a half step. No tuner that knows E♭ Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 1, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to E♭ Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Nutshell 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 Nutshell 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 Nutshell instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in E♭ Standard +13 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Nutshell 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 Nutshell in?
E♭ Standard +13 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.