Deep Purple · Deep Purple in Rock · song 1
Speed King tuning.
Speed King (Deep Purple, 1970) is in E 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.
Deep Purple · Deep Purple in Rock · 1970
About Speed King
Speed King opens Deep Purple in Rock (1970), the first album with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, and is often named as an early influence on speed metal. It grew from a bass riff Glover based on Jimi Hendrix's Fire, and it was the first Deep Purple song Gillan wrote words for. The album version starts with a burst of guitar and then organ before the band lands on the riff. Blackmore plays it in E Standard and keeps coming back to an open E power chord, with fast single-note runs on String 4 and String 3 between the stabs.
TuneLit measured EMI's CD of In Rock at concert pitch, and Speed King sits right on it, at +0.5 ¢. The Tune button is E Standard at A 440. That makes it one of the best songs to check a guitar against: the open E power chord returns again and again, a clear reference for String 6.
The fast runs sit around the 7th to 9th frets of String 4 and String 3 in the main tab; they are the part to slow down and practise. And play along with the original album version: the 25th anniversary edition of In Rock adds a piano version and a Roger Glover remix of the song, which TuneLit did not measure.
Tip: Strum the open E chord with the record's first clean riff stab; if it beats, fix String 6 before anything else.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Speed King was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Speed King sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Speed King 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 Speed King 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. Speed King is already in E Standard at A 440, so nothing moves. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is Speed King in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.