Green Day · Insomniac · song 10
Brain Stew tuning.
Brain Stew (Green Day, 1995) is in E♭ Standard, about 18 cents sharp (A ≈ 445), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
18 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +18 ¢.
Green Day · Insomniac · 1995
About Brain Stew
Brain Stew, from Insomniac (1995), is built on a slow, heavy riff of power chords sliding down one fret at a time and ringing out between hits. Like the whole album it is played a half step down, E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, and the guitar Billie Joe still played it on in 2013 was kept in E♭ for exactly this kind of song.
Insomniac is the sharpest Green Day album TuneLit measured, about 18 cents above E♭ Standard (A ≈ 444.7), and Tune uses that value for Brain Stew. The song's own reading is higher, about 29 cents, like several songs on the album, but its confidence is too low to set it apart; if the riff sounds a little flat against the record, try about A 447. TuneLit's audio check confirms the E♭ low string.
Tabs disagree here more than on any other Green Day hit. The most-viewed Songsterr version is in E♭ Standard; a popular second one is written in C♯ Standard, with the riff moved to other frets, and a third in E Standard. All of them aim at the same sounds, so pick one and tune to match it. The E♭ version keeps the riff where Billie Joe plays it.
Tip: Tune down to E♭ about 18 cents sharp, let the first power chord ring with the record, and raise the reference toward A 447 if it still sounds flat.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +18 ¢, the notes Brain Stew 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. Brain Stew sits 18 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Brain Stew 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 Brain Stew 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 +18 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Brain Stew moves up 82 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 Brain Stew in?
E♭ Standard +18 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.