Nirvana · 1989 · Studio album
Bleach tuning.
E Standard at concert pitch (A 440). 6 of 11 songs are tuned differently.
Not measured yet
TuneLit has not measured this record. The tuning comes from community sources, at concert pitch unless they say otherwise.
A mixed record. Most songs are in E Standard, Negative Creep and Swap Meet drop the low string to D, Blew sits a whole step lower still in Drop C, and the two songs kept from the January 1988 demo with Dale Crover (Floyd the Barber, Paper Cuts) are a half step down. Love Buzz is the odd one: its main tab is written a half step above standard. TuneLit has not measured Bleach, so every value here comes from tabs and sources.
11 songs · 6 tuned differently
Every song, ready to tune
Tune opens the tuner in that song's tuning, pitch included. Play along opens the song player set to that tuning, so the track plays in yours. What the labels mean
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1. Blew
Different tuning
Drop CWidely reported
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down 4 half steps (E → C), String 5 down a whole step (A → G), String 4 down a whole step (D → C), String 3 down a whole step (G → F), String 2 down a whole step (B → A), String 1 down a whole step (E → D).
The lowest tuning on Bleach. Live it moved back up: Drop D in 1991, Drop C♯ by 1993.
Drop C, a whole step below Drop D. Krist Novoselic recalled in 2009 that the band tuned down once more than they meant to on the first day of the sessions, then re-recorded that day's other songs higher and kept only Blew. The main tab is in Drop C, a second one in C Standard.
Bass: Bass C Standard Tune bass
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2. Floyd the Barber
Different tuning
E♭ StandardCommunity
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string down a half step.
One of the two Bleach songs from the 1988 demo session.
From the January 1988 demo session with Dale Crover on drums, remixed for Bleach rather than re-recorded. The main tab is in E♭ Standard, like the other songs from that session; a little-used tab has it in E.
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3. About a Girl
E StandardCommunity
Notes
E Standard here. The well-known MTV Unplugged version is a half step lower, in E♭ Standard.
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4. School
E StandardCommunity
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5. Love Buzz
Different tuning
F StandardDisputed
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string up a half step.
Disputed and not measured. Listed as the main tab has it, F Standard. E Standard with a capo at the 1st fret gives exactly the same notes without raising your strings. If the record sounds a half step low against you, use the E Standard tab instead.
The main tab, kept by a Songsterr moderator, is in F Standard, a half step above normal tuning. A less-viewed tab plays the same frets in E Standard, a half step lower, so the two disagree about the pitch of the record.
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6. Paper Cuts
Different tuning
E♭ StandardCommunity
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string down a half step.
The second Bleach song from the January 1988 demo with Dale Crover. Tabbed in E♭ Standard, like Floyd the Barber.
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7. Negative Creep
Different tuning
Drop DCommunity
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
Drop D: the riff hammers the dropped low string. The 1991 live version at the Paramount is tabbed in Drop D too.
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8. Scoff
E StandardCommunity
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9. Swap Meet
Different tuning
Drop DCommunity
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
Tabbed in Drop D, like Negative Creep.
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10. Mr. Moustache
E StandardCommunity
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11. Sifting
E StandardCommunity
What the labels mean
- Measured
- TuneLit measured the pitch on an original CD or LP. The tuning name still comes from the sources.
- Official
- The band, a member, their producer or their guitar tech said it.
- Widely reported
- Trusted outlets, guides and tabs agree, but the band did not say it directly.
- Community
- From community tabs, or from players who tune along with the record.
- Disputed
- Sources disagree. The likeliest setting is shown; the notes name the other one.
Each song shows one label, the strongest it has, in this order. How we measure recordings →
Questions
What tuning is Bleach in?
Nirvana recorded Bleach (1989) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), from community sources. 6 songs use other tunings or pitches, listed song by song on this page.