Black Sabbath · Paranoid · song 1
War Pigs tuning.
War Pigs (Black Sabbath, 1970) is in E Standard, about 25 cents sharp (A ≈ 446), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
25 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +25 ¢.
Black Sabbath · Paranoid · 1970
About War Pigs
The opening track of Paranoid (1970), almost eight minutes long: a slow intro with an air-raid siren, the stop-start verse riff, Tony Iommi's solo and a long instrumental ending. It was recorded in E Standard, before Iommi started tuning down, and the whole song stays there.
TuneLit measured the 1986 Castle CD. Most of Paranoid sits about 25 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 446.3), and War Pigs reads exactly that in the stretch we measured, the riff and verse. Tune sets E Standard 25 ¢ up. The producer and engineer sped up the end of the song, so the last minute climbs above even that; if you play the coda, raise the reference again by ear.
Many War Pigs tabs online are in E♭ Standard. They follow live versions: the band played a half step down on stage before Master of Reality, and some later tours went lower still. On the studio record the open low E is real, sharp but E. A 1987 German Vertigo CD plays the album about 5 ¢ sharper than the other editions, so if your copy is that one, nudge the reference up a little.
Tip: Check your tuning on the first sustained chord after the siren, before the drums enter, and remember the ending runs faster and higher.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string +25 ¢, the notes War Pigs was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. War Pigs sits 25 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play War Pigs 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 War Pigs 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 +25 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and War Pigs moves down 24 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 War Pigs in?
E Standard +25 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.