Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin IV · song 1
Black Dog tuning.
Black Dog (Led Zeppelin, 1971) is in E Standard, about 11 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
11 ¢ flat
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string −11 ¢.
Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin IV · 1971
About Black Dog
The opening track of Led Zeppelin IV (1971), with the band's riff answering Robert Plant's unaccompanied vocal lines. John Paul Jones wrote the riff, and he and Page play it together; it is in plain E Standard.
TuneLit measured an original 1980s Atlantic CD. Black Dog reads about 10 ¢ flat, and together with Four Sticks it sets the album value of about 11 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.2). Tune keeps E Standard and sets the tuner 11 ¢ down. At A 440 a guitar sounds a touch sharp against the record, a sour edge you notice most when the guitar and bass play the riff in unison.
Led Zeppelin IV spreads more than any other Led Zeppelin album: Stairway to Heaven sits about 8 ¢ sharp and Misty Mountain Hop about 25 ¢ flat. Use each song's own button rather than one setting for the whole album.
Tip: Check your tuning on the band's riff, not during the unaccompanied vocal lines between the riffs.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string −11 ¢, the notes Black Dog was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Black Dog 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 Black Dog 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 Black Dog 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 −11 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Black Dog moves up 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 Black Dog in?
E Standard −11 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.