Queens of the Stone Age · 2005 · Studio album
Lullabies to Paralyze tuning.
E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. 5 of 14 songs are tuned differently.
Album tuning
E Standard
At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.
MeasuredFrom tabs
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
| Source | Offset | Equivalent A | Songs | Spread | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD, Interscope 0602498844434 (2005 Limited Tour Edition, disc 1) | +1.3 ¢ | A 440.3 | 14 | +0.4 to +4.2 ¢ | High |
Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (community).
The first album after Nick Oliveri left, recorded at Sound City in 2004 by Homme with Troy Van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo and Alain Johannes; Billy Gibbons plays on Burn the Witch. It is the album where QOTSA’s tunings split: the three heavy songs after the opening lullaby stay in the old C Standard, most of the rest moves up to E Standard, and Little Sister sits in between in C♯ Standard.
14 songs · 5 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
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1. This Lullaby
E StandardMeasured
Notes
A short acoustic opener sung by Mark Lanegan.
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2. Medication
Different tuning
C StandardMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string down 4 half steps.
Tabbed in C Standard on Songsterr and UG.
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3. Everybody Knows That You Are Insane
Different tuning
C StandardMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string down 4 half steps.
Songsterr tabs both guitars, the lap steel and the bass in C Standard.
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4. Tangled Up in Plaid
Different tuning
C Standard +18 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string down 4 half steps.
Tabbed in C Standard; the UG transcriber calls it a C-tuning song.
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5. Burn the Witch
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Billy Gibbons plays guitar; Homme plays bass.
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6. In My Head
E StandardMeasured
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Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: Every string down 3 half steps.
The first UG transcription tunes a step and a half down to C♯ Standard and says so; the most-voted UG tab is the same tab moved to E Standard for players who do not want to tune down, and Songsterr is in E Standard too. The record’s low C♯ fits the step-and-a-half-down tuning.
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8. I Never Came
E StandardMeasured
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9. Someone's in the Wolf
Different tuning
E2 G2 D3 G3 B3 E4Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 5 down a whole step (A → G); the other strings stay.
Songsterr’s tab lowers the A string to G (E G D G B E); a UG tab argues for Open G (D G D G B D) instead. Both put a G on the fifth string, the note the record’s bass holds most of the time.
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10. The Blood Is Love
E StandardMeasured
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11. Skin on Skin
E StandardMeasured
Notes
On its own, this song measures flatter: CD −20.9 ¢ (medium confidence). Tune uses the album's A 440.
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12. Broken Box
E StandardMeasured
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13. You Got a Killer Scene There, Man...
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Shirley Manson and Brody Dalle sing backing vocals.
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14. Long Slow Goodbye
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Ends with a hidden outro whose riff later became Running Joke.
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.
- From tabs
- 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 Lullabies to Paralyze in?
Queens of the Stone Age recorded Lullabies to Paralyze (2005) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. 5 songs use other tunings or pitches, listed song by song on this page.
Why does Lullabies to Paralyze sound out of tune with my guitar?
Tangled Up in Plaid sits about 18 cents sharp (A ≈ 445), so a guitar tuned to A 440 clashes with it. The Tune buttons on this page set the tuner's reference to match the record, so you only tune the strings.