Queen · A Day at the Races · song 6
Somebody to Love tuning.
Somebody to Love (Queen, 1976) is in E Standard, about 21 cents flat (A ≈ 435), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
E Standard −21 ¢
About 21 cents flat (A ≈ 435).
Measured by TuneLit
21 ¢ flat
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string −21 ¢.
Queen · A Day at the Races · 1976
About Somebody to Love
The gospel-influenced single from A Day at the Races (1976), with Mercury, May and Taylor multi-tracking their voices into a choir. It is in A♭ major, and the guitars play it on E Standard with barre shapes; no tab tunes down for the key.
A Day at the Races is the flattest Queen album, and this song is typical of it. TuneLit measured EMI's 1993 CD at about 23 ¢ flat on its own, within 2 ¢ of the album's value, so Tune sets E Standard 21 ¢ flat (A ≈ 434.8). A guitar left at A 440 is a fifth of a semitone sharp against the choir, which is clearly audible on long held chords.
Editions differ a little on this album: the Japanese 2004 remaster reads about 2 ¢ lower than the 1993 CD and the Mobile Fidelity gold CD about 1 ¢ higher. Neither changes the setting. The semitone check stays undecided on the lowest string, because the song's low notes centre on A♭ rather than on the open E; the tabs' E Standard stands.
Tip: Tune String 6 to the button, then check an A♭ barre chord against the choir's first held chord.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string −21 ¢, the notes Somebody to Love was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Somebody to Love sits 21 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Somebody to Love 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 Somebody to Love 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 −21 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Somebody to Love moves up 21 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 Somebody to Love in?
E Standard −21 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.