Queen · The Game · song 3
Another One Bites the Dust tuning.
Another One Bites the Dust (Queen, 1980) is in F Standard, about 43 cents flat (A ≈ 429), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
43 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −43 ¢.
Queen · The Game · 1980
About Another One Bites the Dust
John Deacon's funk hit from The Game (1980), built on his bass riff, with Deacon also adding guitar and piano. Every Songsterr tab, bass and guitar, writes it in E Standard with the riff on the open E string, and that is how the song is played everywhere.
The record is different. TuneLit measured EMI's 1994 CD about 43 ¢ away from the A 440 grid, steady from start to end, and the riff's three notes land on F, G♯ and B♭ of that grid instead of E, G and A. So the bass's open string sounds about 57 ¢ above E, close to F. Two Ultimate Guitar tabs say the same thing in their own words: the recording is a half step up. TuneLit therefore lists F Standard 43 ¢ flat (A ≈ 429.3), which is the same pitch as E Standard 57 ¢ sharp. The Japanese and Mobile Fidelity CDs read about 4 ¢ higher than this one.
Because the record sits between two notes, the page offers a second button, E Standard 43 ¢ flat. Start with the F Standard button; if your open string sounds a half step low against the riff, you are on the wrong one. Bass players get F, B♭, E♭ and A♭ on their four strings.
Tip: Play the riff's open-string note along with the first bars of the record: it should lock with the F Standard button, not with E.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F Standard, every string −43 ¢, the notes Another One Bites the Dust was recorded in.
- From the album's E Standard: Every string up a half step.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Another One Bites the Dust sits 43 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Another One Bites the Dust 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 Another One Bites the Dust instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in F Standard −43 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Another One Bites the Dust moves down 57 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 Another One Bites the Dust in?
F Standard −43 ¢: F B♭ E♭ A♭ C F, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.