Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin IV · song 7
Going to California tuning.
Going to California (Led Zeppelin, 1971) is in Double Drop D, about 11 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
Double Drop D −11 ¢
About 11 cents flat (A ≈ 437).
Measured by TuneLit
11 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −11 ¢.
Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin IV · 1971
About Going to California
The quiet acoustic song of Led Zeppelin IV (1971), with Page's acoustic in double drop D (D A D G B D) and John Paul Jones on mandolin. Both outer strings tuned to D give the fingerpicked part its ringing, open sound.
TuneLit measured an original 1980s Atlantic CD. The song reads about 6 ¢ flat with a clear reading, close enough to the album's 11 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.2) to share the album's setting: Tune opens double drop D −11 ¢. A 5 ¢ difference is hard to hear, and plain A 440 sits only about 6 ¢ from the record. TuneLit's audio check hears the low D where the tuning puts it.
From E Standard only two strings move: String 6 down a whole step (E → D) and String 1 down a whole step (E → D). For the mandolin part, tune a mandolin G D A E against the same reference.
Tip: Lower Strings 6 and 1 to D and check both against the open String 4 before the first verse; a slightly flat outer D sounds sour against the mandolin.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Double Drop D, every string −11 ¢, the notes Going to California was recorded in.
- From the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D), String 1 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Going to California 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 Going to California 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 Going to California instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Double Drop D −11 ¢. Choose Double Drop D at A 440 and Going to California 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 Going to California in?
Double Drop D −11 ¢: D A D G B D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.