TUNELIT

Pink Floyd · 1975 · Studio album

Wish You Were Here tuning.

E Standard, about 10 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured on the CD. 1 of 5 songs are tuned differently.

Wish You Were Here album cover

Album tuning

E Standard −10 ¢

About 10 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured on the CD.

MeasuredWidely reported

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 5 songs

Measured by TuneLit

10 ¢ flat

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
CD, Toshiba-EMI TOCP-65560 (Japan)−9.6 ¢A 437.65−9.6 to −6.1 ¢High
 Offset from concert pitch (A 440). Spread: the middle half of the songs, when four or more share the album's pitch. Confidence: how well the notes agree with one grid.

Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (widely reported).

Standard tuning for every guitar part; only the steel parts use open G tunings. The CD (TOCP-65560) sits about 10 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.6), except the title song, which is at concert pitch.

5 songs · 1 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

  1. 1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)

    E Standard −10 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Standard tuning, in G minor.

  2. 2. Welcome to the Machine

    E Standard −10 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Acoustic 6- and 12-string guitars in standard tuning. Gilmour said the tape was slowed by half a semitone to record one vocal line and then set back, so the released track is not affected.

  3. 3. Have a Cigar

    E Standard −10 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along

  4. 4. Wish You Were Here

    Different pitch

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    The intro is a 12-string made to sound like a radio, the solo and the strumming a Martin six-string, all in standard tuning without a capo. The pedal steel in the background is tabbed in open G (D G D G B D). At concert pitch, unlike the rest of the album.

    Tabbed in standard tuning like the rest of the album; TuneLit measured this song on its own because its pitch differs from the album's.

  5. 5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI–IX)

    E Standard −10 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Part VI opens with Gilmour's steel in open G6 (D G D G B E), per Wikipedia and gilmourish.com (one tab keeps it in standard); the Strat parts that follow are in standard tuning.

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 Wish You Were Here in?

Pink Floyd recorded Wish You Were Here (1975) in E Standard, about 10 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Wish You Were Here uses E Standard.