Slipknot · Iowa · song 4
My Plague tuning.
My Plague (Slipknot, 2001) is in Drop A, about 9 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
9 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +9 ¢.
Slipknot · Iowa · 2001
About My Plague
My Plague, Iowa's second single and another Grammy nominee, is one of the album's songs that really are in Drop A: A E A D F♯ B, a whole step under the band's usual Drop B, with Paul Gray's bass at A E A D. The single used Terry Date's New Abuse mix, made for the soundtrack of the film Resident Evil.
All three Songsterr transcriptions agree on Drop A, and so does the audio. TuneLit hears the bass return again and again to its open low A, and the semitone check confirms that A. The record reads about 11 ¢ sharp, close to Iowa's album value, so the Tune button sets Drop A +9 ¢ (A ≈ 442.2).
Going from Drop B to Drop A means lowering all six strings another whole step, and the strings get slack: a heavier set helps hold the pitch, which is one reason the band keeps separate guitars for the two tunings on stage. A Drop B guitar cannot reach the song's lowest note at all, so this one needs the retune. A small tab in Drop B exists, but it moves the whole song up a whole step.
Tip: Lower every string of a Drop B guitar by a whole step, then check the open low A against the bass in the opening riff.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop A, every string +9 ¢, the notes My Plague was recorded in.
- From the album's Drop B: Every string down a whole step.
- String 6 sits 7 half steps below its standard E2. On a normal set (.046) it keeps only about 45 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .069 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. My Plague 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 My Plague 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 My Plague instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop A +9 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and My Plague moves up 4 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 My Plague in?
Drop A +9 ¢: A E A D F♯ B, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.