Sonic Youth · Bad Moon Rising · song 8
Death Valley '69 tuning.
Death Valley '69 (Sonic Youth, 1985) is in F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3, about 10 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 −10 ¢
About 10 cents flat (A ≈ 437).
Measured by TuneLit
10 ¢ flat
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string −10 ¢.
Sonic Youth · Bad Moon Rising · 1985
About Death Valley '69
The closing track of Bad Moon Rising (1985), a duet between Thurston Moore and Lydia Lunch. Both guitars use F♯ F♯ F♯ F♯ E B, low to high, and Thurston has named this song as one of the first two he wrote in that tuning. Four strings on one note, in two octaves, make a thick drone, and the E and B on top turn any open strum into a ringing chord.
TuneLit measured the Blast First CD about 10 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.4), and this song agrees with its album almost exactly. A guitar tuned to the F♯ tuning at A 440 will sound slightly sharp against the record, so Tune takes the 10 ¢ off for you; Play along can instead raise the record to a guitar at concert pitch.
The tuning moves every string: the low E goes up a whole step, the A string drops to the same F♯, the D and G strings meet on the F♯ an octave higher, and the top two strings come down to E and B. The A string ends up very slack, so a heavier string there keeps the low unison from flapping.
Tip: Tune the two low F♯ strings first and check them against each other until the beating stops; the whole riff depends on that unison.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3, every string −10 ¢, the notes Death Valley '69 was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 6 up a whole step (E → F♯), String 5 down 3 half steps (A → F♯), String 4 up 4 half steps (D → F♯), String 3 down a half step (G → F♯), String 2 down 7 half steps (B → E), String 1 down 5 half steps (E → B).
- String 2 sits 7 half steps below its standard B3. On a normal set (.013) it keeps only about 45 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .020 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Death Valley '69 sits 10 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Death Valley '69 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 Death Valley '69 instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 −10 ¢. Choose F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 at A 440 and Death Valley '69 moves up 10 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 Death Valley '69 in?
F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 −10 ¢: F♯ F♯ F♯ F♯ E B, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.