Slipknot · Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) · song 10
Before I Forget tuning.
Before I Forget (Slipknot, 2004) is in Drop B, about 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
Drop B +5 ¢
About 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441).
Tune like thisPlay alongVol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Bass: Bass Drop B +5 ¢ Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
5 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +5 ¢.
Slipknot · Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) · 2004
About Before I Forget
Before I Forget won Slipknot the Grammy for Best Metal Performance, and it is a favourite of guitarists. It is in the album's Drop B (B F♯ B E G♯ C♯), with the bass at B F♯ B E, and the main Songsterr tab gives Mick Thomson's pinch harmonics a track of their own.
TuneLit reads the song about 5 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.2), right at the album value, with one of the album's steadier readings, and the semitone check from the audio confirms the low B. The Tune button sets Drop B +5 ¢, and a Drop B guitar at A 440 is only a shade below the record.
Two simplified versions circulate. Ultimate Guitar's most-viewed chord sheet is written for standard tuning, which lets you strum along but loses the open low B that drives the heavy parts, and Songsterr has a standard-tuning tab with thousands of views. The bass part also circulates as 5-string tabs in standard tuning (B E A D G), which reach the same low B. If you want the record's sound on a 6-string, Drop B is the only way: String 6 goes down five half steps from E, the other strings three.
Tip: Tune to Drop B +5 ¢ and check String 6 against the open low B of the main riff before you work on the pinch harmonics.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop B, every string +5 ¢, the notes Before I Forget 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♯).
- String 6 sits 5 half steps below its standard E2. On a normal set (.046) it keeps only about 55 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .061 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Before I Forget 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 Before I Forget 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 Before I Forget 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 +5 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Before I Forget moves up 2 half steps and 95 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 Before I Forget in?
Drop B +5 ¢: B F♯ B E G♯ C♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.