Nirvana · In Utero · song 12
All Apologies tuning.
All Apologies (Nirvana, 1993) is in Drop C♯ 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 · In Utero · 1993
About All Apologies
All Apologies closes In Utero (1993) and is just as well known from MTV Unplugged in New York, taped in November that year. Both versions are in Drop C♯ (C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯): every string half a step down, with String 6 dropped a further whole step to C♯.
TuneLit has not measured In Utero or the Unplugged show, so the tuning comes from the tabs, at concert pitch (A 440). The studio and Unplugged tabs agree, which is unusual for Nirvana: several older songs changed pitch between their studio recording and that show, but this one did not, so one setting covers both.
The trap here is chord charts. Many sites write the chords for standard tuning, and played that way they do not match the pitch of either recording. Use a tab written for Drop C♯. If your guitar is already in E♭ Standard for the rest of In Utero, the only change is String 6, down a whole step from E♭ to C♯.
Tip: Use Drop C♯ for both the In Utero and the Unplugged version; a chord chart written for standard tuning will not match either.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop C♯, the notes All Apologies was recorded in.
- From the album's E♭ Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E♭ → C♯); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. All Apologies sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play All Apologies 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 All Apologies instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop C♯. Choose Drop D at A 440 and All Apologies moves up a half step, 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 All Apologies in?
Drop C♯: C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯, low to high.