Slipknot · Iowa · song 8
Left Behind tuning.
Left Behind (Slipknot, 2001) is in Drop B, about 9 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
9 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +9 ¢.
Slipknot · Iowa · 2001
About Left Behind
Left Behind was the first single from Iowa (2001), Jim Root's first full album with the band, earned a Grammy nomination, and is one of the album's more melodic songs. Its main Songsterr tab is among the site's most-viewed Slipknot tabs, and it puts both guitars in Drop B (B F♯ B E G♯ C♯) with Paul Gray's bass at B F♯ B E.
Mick Thomson remembered all of Iowa as a Drop A record, but this song is not one: TuneLit's comparison of the lowest notes finds the bass on a low B, with the A a whole step below never sounding, just as the tab has it. The song reads about 15 ¢ sharp and the album about 9 ¢ (A ≈ 442.2), both with low confidence, so the Tune button sets Drop B +9 ¢.
A smaller Songsterr tab re-writes the song in Drop A to match Thomson's account; against the CD it is a whole step too low. If you play through the whole album you will need a second guitar or a retune anyway, because six of its songs, including My Plague and The Heretic Anthem, really are in Drop A. Keep the Drop B guitar for this one.
Tip: Tune to Drop B +9 ¢ and confirm String 6 against the bass's open B before you play along.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop B, every string +9 ¢, the notes Left Behind was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 6 down 5 half steps (E → B), String 5 down 3 half steps (A → F♯), String 4 down 3 half steps (D → B), String 3 down 3 half steps (G → E), String 2 down 3 half steps (B → G♯), String 1 down 3 half steps (E → C♯).
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Left Behind sits 9 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Left Behind 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 Left Behind instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop B +9 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Left Behind moves up 2 half steps and 91 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 Left Behind in?
Drop B +9 ¢: B F♯ B E G♯ C♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.