Sonic Youth · Daydream Nation · song 1
Teen Age Riot tuning.
Teen Age Riot (Sonic Youth, 1988) is in G2 A2 B2 D3 E3 G3 at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
Measured on this song itself.
Sonic Youth · Daydream Nation · 1988
About Teen Age Riot
The opening track and single of Daydream Nation (1988), with Kim Gordon singing the quiet intro before Thurston Moore takes over. Thurston's guitar is tuned G A B D E G, low to high: no two strings alike, a G major pentatonic scale across the open strings, so any open strum sounds consonant. Lee Ranaldo doubles and drones on G G D D G G.
Daydream Nation measures at concert pitch, so Tune uses A 440. Teen Age Riot on its own reads a touch higher, about 11 ¢, not far enough from the album to get a setting of its own; if you want it exact, raise the reference by a hertz or so.
Both tunings were printed in Guitar Player in 1989 and 1991, and Wikipedia repeats them. To reach G A B D E G, raise the low E three half steps to G, leave the A string, drop the D string to B, the G string to D, the B string to E and the top string all the way down to G. The top string ends up very loose; a heavier gauge helps.
Tip: Play the open strings from low to high before the song: they should sound like a G major pentatonic scale, G A B D E G.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to G2 A2 B2 D3 E3 G3, the notes Teen Age Riot was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 6 up 3 half steps (E → G), String 4 down 3 half steps (D → B), String 3 down 5 half steps (G → D), String 2 down 7 half steps (B → E), String 1 down 9 half steps (E → G); the other strings stay.
- String 1 sits 9 half steps below its standard E4. On a normal set (.010) it keeps only about 35 % of its usual tension and flaps. For the usual feel use about a .017 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Teen Age Riot sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Teen Age Riot 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 Teen Age Riot instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in G2 A2 B2 D3 E3 G3. Choose G2 A2 B2 D3 E3 G3 at A 440 and Teen Age Riot moves down 3 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 Teen Age Riot in?
G2 A2 B2 D3 E3 G3: G A B D E G, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.