Nirvana · Bleach · song 3
About a Girl tuning.
About a Girl (Nirvana, 1989) is in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440).
Not measured yet
TuneLit has not measured this record. The tuning comes from community sources, at concert pitch unless they say otherwise.
Nirvana · Bleach · 1989
About About a Girl
About a Girl is the melodic, Beatles-flavored song on Bleach (1989), Nirvana's debut, recorded with producer Jack Endino at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle. The Bleach take is in E Standard (E A D G B E), like most of the album on Songsterr's main tabs.
TuneLit has not measured Bleach, since the album is not in its library, so the tuning here comes from the tabs, at concert pitch (A 440). A regular tuner set to E Standard is the starting point, and Fine-tune is there if the record sounds a hair off to your ears.
Most players know the song from MTV Unplugged in New York (1994), where it is a half step lower, in E♭ Standard. Tabs and videos of that version are everywhere, and they will sound a half step low against Bleach. The reverse is true as well: the Bleach tuning is a half step too high for Unplugged. The other Bleach songs are not all in E either: Blew is in Drop C, Negative Creep and Swap Meet in Drop D, so check before moving on.
Tip: Decide which version you are playing along with first: E Standard for Bleach, E♭ Standard for MTV Unplugged.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes About a Girl was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. About a Girl sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play About a Girl 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 About a Girl 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. About a Girl is already in E Standard at A 440, so nothing moves. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is About a Girl in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high.