Korn · Untouchables · song 9
Alone I Break tuning.
Alone I Break (Korn, 2002) is in G♯ Standard, about 11 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
G♯ Standard −11 ¢
About 11 cents flat (A ≈ 437).
Tune like thisPlay alongUntouchables
Bass: 5-string bass G♯ Standard −11 ¢ Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
11 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −11 ¢.
Korn · Untouchables · 2002
About Alone I Break
Alone I Break is the slow, brooding single from Untouchables (2002), and the one song on the album that leaves Korn's usual tuning. Songsterr and three Ultimate Guitar tabs agree that both 7-strings go a step and a half down, G♯ C♯ F♯ B E G♯ C♯, half a step below the rest of the record, with the 5-string bass down to G♯ C♯ F♯ B E. Munky's part sits mostly on the middle strings, with the open low G♯ for the heavy accents.
TuneLit's check from the audio backs the tabs: G♯ is by far the most common low note, and nothing is heard under it. On top of the lower tuning, the song measures about 11 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.3), some 19 ¢ below most of Untouchables. Tune sets G♯ Standard −11 ¢, so you do not have to work it out.
The trap is playing it straight after another Untouchables song: if your guitar is still in A, every note is half a step off, and the riff shapes look right while sounding wrong. Retune all seven strings, not just the lowest, and the bass with them.
Tip: Tap Tune for G♯ Standard −11 ¢ and retune every string; check the open low G♯ against the first heavy accent.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to G♯ Standard, every string −11 ¢, the notes Alone I Break was recorded in.
- From the album's A Standard: Every string down a half step. No tuner that knows G♯ Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 3, tune to B Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to G♯ 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. Alone I Break sits 11 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Alone I Break 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 Alone I Break instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in G♯ Standard −11 ¢. Choose B Standard at A 440 and Alone I Break moves up 3 half steps and 11 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 Alone I Break in?
G♯ Standard −11 ¢: G♯ C♯ F♯ B E G♯ C♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.