Green Day · Dookie · song 10
When I Come Around tuning.
When I Come Around (Green Day, 1994) is in E♭ Standard, about 29 cents sharp (A ≈ 447), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
29 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +29 ¢.
Green Day · Dookie · 1994
About When I Come Around
When I Come Around, a mid-tempo single from Dookie, rides a loop of four chords in G♭ major from start to finish. On a guitar tuned down a half step those are G-family shapes, the same chords a beginner learns first, which is why the tabs write them as G, D, Em and C with the strings at E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭.
It is the sharpest song on Dookie. TuneLit measured it about 29 cents above E♭ Standard, 14 cents higher than the rest of the album, clearly enough to give it its own setting: Tune sets E♭ Standard 29 cents up, which is the same as an A of about 447. A guitar in plain E♭ at A 440 would sound almost a third of a semitone flat against the record. TuneLit's audio check confirms the E♭ tuning.
Do not let the shapes fool you into standard tuning: in E Standard the same G, D, Em and C sound a half step too high. If you would rather not retune, play the chords as G♭, D♭, E♭m and C♭ (B) with barre shapes, and nudge your tuner up toward A 447 for the record's pitch.
Tip: Set E♭ Standard 29 cents sharp before playing along, and check the first G-shaped chord of the loop against the record.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +29 ¢, the notes When I Come Around 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. When I Come Around sits 29 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play When I Come Around 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 When I Come Around 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 +29 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and When I Come Around moves up 71 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 When I Come Around in?
E♭ Standard +29 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.