Queen · Hot Space · song 11
Under Pressure tuning.
Under Pressure (Queen, 1982) is in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
Queen · Hot Space · 1982
About Under Pressure
Queen's collaboration with David Bowie, released as a single in 1981 and placed at the end of Hot Space (1982). The song rests on its bass riff, which Wikipedia credits to John Deacon, with piano and May's guitar around it. The guitar parts are in E Standard on every tab.
TuneLit measured EMI's 1994 CD at concert pitch for this song, and the album as a whole sits within a cent of A 440, so Tune gives plain E Standard at A 440. That is unusual on Hot Space: Staying Power on the same album sits about 35 ¢ sharp, Back Chat and Body Language 14 and 19 ¢ flat, so do not take this song's setting to the dance songs on side one. Toshiba-EMI's Japanese CD of 2004 gives the same reading within a cent.
The audio check agrees that the lowest string is E. If you play the bass riff, a standard four-string bass at A 440 is all you need; guitarists can tune to the riff itself, since it repeats through almost the whole song.
Tip: Tune at A 440 and check it against the repeating bass riff at the start, before the voices come in.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Under Pressure was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Under Pressure sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Under Pressure 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 Under Pressure 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. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Under Pressure moves down 1 cent, 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 Under Pressure in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.