Black Sabbath · Master of Reality · song 1
Sweet Leaf tuning.
Sweet Leaf (Black Sabbath, 1971) is in C♯ Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
Black Sabbath · Master of Reality · 1971
About Sweet Leaf
The opening track of Master of Reality (1971), starting with a tape loop of Tony Iommi coughing. Its riff is tabbed in C♯ Standard (C♯ F♯ B E G♯ C♯), three semitones down, the tuning of the album's heavy songs; Geezer Butler tuned his bass down with Iommi.
TuneLit measured the 1986 Castle CD. The album sits at concert pitch (about 4 ¢ flat, stored as A 440), and Sweet Leaf reads exactly the album value, so Tune gives plain C♯ Standard. TuneLit's check from the audio could not confirm the low string: the riff rarely rests on the open C♯.
Sweet Leaf is also widely tabbed in E Standard. Those versions move the riff into standard tuning for convenience; they sound three semitones higher than the record. Iommi did not name Sweet Leaf among the songs he tuned down, but the detailed tabs put it in C♯ with the rest of the album's heavy songs. Slack strings flap at this pitch, so a heavier set helps. Tune the bass the same three semitones down: in standard tuning its lowest string cannot reach the record's lowest notes.
Tip: Tune String 6 to C♯ and check it against the bass under the first riff, after the coughing loop.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to C♯ Standard, the notes Sweet Leaf was recorded in.
- From E Standard: Every string down 3 half steps. No tuner that knows C♯ Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 3, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to C♯ 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. Sweet Leaf sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Sweet Leaf 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 Sweet Leaf instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in C♯ Standard. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Sweet Leaf moves up 3 half steps and 4 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 Sweet Leaf in?
C♯ Standard: C♯ F♯ B E G♯ C♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.