Radiohead · OK Computer · song 10
No Surprises tuning.
No Surprises (Radiohead, 1997) is in E Standard, about 17 cents flat (A ≈ 436), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
17 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −17 ¢.
Radiohead · OK Computer · 1997
About No Surprises
The fourth single from OK Computer (1997), in F major, with glockenspiel and an electric guitar part inspired by the Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice (Wikipedia). The guitars are in standard tuning with capos: Thom Yorke's acoustic at the 3rd fret and Ed O'Brien's electric at the 15th, so both play D shapes that sound in F, as The King of Gear and the Songsterr tab show.
TuneLit measured the album sides of the OKNOTOK LP: OK Computer sits about 10 ¢ sharp, but No Surprises reads about 17 ¢ flat (A ≈ 435.8), 27 ¢ below the songs around it. Tune sets standard tuning 17 ¢ down with the capo at the 3rd fret. Wikipedia says Nigel Godrich had the band record it at a faster tempo and slowed the playback for the vocal; a slowed tape pulls the pitch down like this, though the measurement cannot prove the cause.
TuneLit's semitone check from the audio points to F rather than E here. That is its known mistake on a song that never plays its open low E: with the capo at the 3rd fret the lowest guitar note is G and the bass sits on F, so the database keeps standard tuning. Tune the open strings first, then add the capo and check again; on Ed's high capo, small tuning errors are easy to hear.
Tip: Tune 17 ¢ down on the open strings, then add the capo at the 3rd fret and check against the glockenspiel.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string −17 ¢, the notes No Surprises was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. No Surprises sits 17 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play No Surprises 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 No Surprises 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 −17 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and No Surprises moves up 17 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 No Surprises in?
E Standard −17 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.