Green Day · American Idiot · song 4
Boulevard of Broken Dreams tuning.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day, 2004) 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.
Green Day · American Idiot · 2004
About Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Boulevard of Broken Dreams, recorded at Ocean Way Recording and the biggest hit from American Idiot, opens with a tremolo-heavy guitar loop and builds to a full-band chorus. It sits in F minor on a four-chord progression that Wikipedia notes is the same as Oasis's Wonderwall. Songsterr's main tabs, two versions each viewed more than 170,000 times, are both in E Standard.
TuneLit measured the CD at concert pitch: the album at +1.7 cents, this song at the same value. Tune gives E Standard at A 440. TuneLit's audio check cannot decide between E and E♭ for this song, since its low notes sit on F, A♭ and E♭ and the open E never sounds, so the tabs' E Standard stands.
The song works in either tuning. In E Standard the loop is Fm, A♭, E♭ and B♭, mostly barre or power chords around the first fret. A guitar tuned down a half step plays the same sounds as F♯m, A, E and B, shapes many players find friendlier. On stage in 2024 the band played it on a red semi-hollow guitar with a piezo pickup, so live versions can sound cleaner than the record.
Tip: In E Standard, play the loop with F minor at the first fret and check it against the opening guitar before the vocal comes in.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Boulevard of Broken Dreams was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Boulevard of Broken Dreams sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Boulevard of Broken Dreams 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 Boulevard of Broken Dreams 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. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Boulevard of Broken Dreams moves down 2 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 Boulevard of Broken Dreams in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.