Guns N' Roses · G N' R Lies · song 5
Patience tuning.
Patience (Guns N' Roses, 1988) is in E♭ Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
Measured on this song itself.
Guns N' Roses · G N' R Lies · 1988
About Patience
The acoustic ballad from G N' R Lies (1988): three acoustic guitars and no drums, with Slash on the lead lines while Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan strum. The acoustics are tuned down a half step like the band's electrics, so the C, G, A and D shapes of the chord sheets sound as B, G♭, A♭ and D♭ on the record.
TuneLit measured the Mobile Fidelity gold CD of Lies (UDCD 748, a 1999 remaster) about 8 ¢ sharp overall (A ≈ 442), but Patience sits apart, about 3 ¢ flat, some 11 ¢ below the rest of the album. So it has its own setting: plain E♭ Standard at A 440.
Two things catch players. Many chord sheets are written for E Standard, which puts you a half step above the record. And the album's +8 ¢ setting does not apply here, so use the song's own button.
Tip: Tune the acoustic down a half step at plain A 440, not at the album's +8 ¢, and check a C shape against the record: it should sound as B.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, the notes Patience 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. Patience sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Patience 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 Patience 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 Patience moves up a half step and 3 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 Patience in?
E♭ Standard: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.