Queen · Innuendo · song 12
The Show Must Go On tuning.
The Show Must Go On (Queen, 1991) 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 · Innuendo · 1991
About The Show Must Go On
The closing song of Innuendo (1991), the last Queen album released in Mercury's lifetime. It begins in B minor, lifts to C♯ minor and returns, over a repeating chord sequence; May sings many of the backing vocals and plays a Korg M1 synthesiser as well as the guitar. Every tab, the most-viewed one included, plays it in E Standard.
The source is the first CD issue, Parlophone CDP 7 95887 2. The song reads about 5 ¢ sharp and the album about 4 ¢ sharp, both close enough to be listed at concert pitch, so Tune gives E Standard at A 440. The Japanese 2001 remaster reads the same within a cent. TuneLit's check of the lowest open string hears E, as the tabs say.
Unlike the 1970s albums, nothing here needs an offset. The song's difficulty is the arrangement, not the tuning: the B minor sequence and the solo sit on standard shapes, and the key change is played, not retuned. If anything sounds off, check the high strings against the synthesiser, which holds a steady pitch throughout.
Tip: Tune at A 440 and check the B minor chord of the opening bars against the synthesiser.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes The Show Must Go On was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. The Show Must Go On sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play The Show Must Go On 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 The Show Must Go On 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 The Show Must Go On moves down 4 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 The Show Must Go On in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.