Korn · Follow the Leader · song 14
Freak on a Leash tuning.
Freak on a Leash (Korn, 1998) is in A Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
A Standard +4 ¢
At concert pitch (A 440).
Tune like thisPlay alongFollow the Leader
Bass: 5-string bass A Standard +4 ¢ Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +4 ¢.
Korn · Follow the Leader · 1998
About Freak on a Leash
Freak on a Leash, from Follow the Leader (1998), is Korn's best-known song: eerie harmonics, a stop-start groove and Jonathan Davis's scat break in the middle. Both guitars are 7-strings tuned A D G C F A D. Munky's part in the Songsterr tab is full of harmonics, 45 of them, and most of its notes sit on String 5 and String 6 (the G and D), with the low A used for the heavy hits.
TuneLit measured Follow the Leader about 4 ¢ sharp on the CD (A ≈ 441.1), and this song about 3 ¢ high, so it is practically at concert pitch: Tune opens A Standard +4 ¢, a difference most ears will not notice. On the record, TuneLit's audio check hears the open A as the lowest string, as the tabs say.
Harmonics show tuning errors more than fretted notes do, so the intro is where a slightly sharp or flat string gives you away. If you are playing it on a 6-string, D Standard (D G C F A D) gets the harmonics and most of the riff right, but the deepest hits on the low A need to move up an octave.
Tip: Tune to A Standard +4 ¢ and check the natural harmonics at the 12th fret of String 5 and String 6 before you start.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to A Standard, every string +4 ¢, the notes Freak on a Leash was recorded in.
- From B Standard: Every string down a whole step. No tuner that knows A Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 2, tune to B Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to A Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 7 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Freak on a Leash sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Freak on a Leash along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 7 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 Freak on a Leash instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in A Standard +4 ¢. Choose B Standard at A 440 and Freak on a Leash moves up a half step and 96 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 Freak on a Leash in?
A Standard +4 ¢: A D G C F A D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.