Rammstein · Sehnsucht · song 2
Engel tuning.
Engel (Rammstein, 1997) is in Drop D, about 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
5 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +5 ¢.
Rammstein · Sehnsucht · 1997
About Engel
Engel, the second track on Sehnsucht (1997), is a Drop D song: String 6 goes down a whole step to D and the other five strings stay in standard tuning. Songsterr has separate parts for Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers, and both use the dropped string, so the low D is the floor of every heavy section. A whistled melody and a guest voice in the chorus sit above a slow, heavy beat.
TuneLit measured the album about 5 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.3); Engel itself reads about 3 ¢ sharp, close enough to follow the album setting, so Tune opens Drop D 5 ¢ up. TuneLit's semitone check from the audio agrees that D is the lowest open string, and it is by far the note heard most in the bass.
The trap with Engel is the running order. The title track before it is in E Standard, so if you play along from the start you have to drop String 6 in the short gap between the two songs. Check the low D against open String 4, an octave higher: when the two ring together without a slow wobble, the string is in tune. Pick the low D evenly, because a slack string bends sharp when it is hit hard.
Tip: Drop String 6 to D and compare it with open String 4 before the first heavy section comes in.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop D, every string +5 ¢, the notes Engel was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Engel sits 5 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Engel 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 Engel instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop D +5 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Engel moves down 5 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 Engel in?
Drop D +5 ¢: D A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.