Sonic Youth · Sister · song 1
Schizophrenia tuning.
Schizophrenia (Sonic Youth, 1987) is in F♯2 F♯2 G3 G3 A3 A3, about 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
6 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +6 ¢.
Sonic Youth · Sister · 1987
About Schizophrenia
The opening track of Sister (1987), sung by Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. It is the clearest case of two guitars built for one song: Thurston plays F♯ F♯ G G A A and Lee Ranaldo plays D D D D A A. Lee's guitar is the lead part in the Songsterr tab; Thurston's tuning puts a half step and a whole step between his three unison pairs, so his open chords rub against Lee's drone.
TuneLit measured the Sister CD about 6 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.6), and the song sits close to that, so Tune sets Thurston's tuning 6 ¢ up. Lee's tuning takes the same offset if a second guitarist joins you.
Most people learn Lee's part first: it is the most-viewed track of the Songsterr tab, which gives both parts in these tunings. For D D D D A A, the low E and A strings both go down to D, the D string stays, the G string drops to the same D, and the top two strings fall to A. The low strings go very slack in both tunings, so expect to retune more than once before they settle.
Tip: Decide which part you are playing before you tune: the page lists Thurston's F♯ F♯ G G A A, and Lee's intro needs D D D D A A instead.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F♯2 F♯2 G3 G3 A3 A3, every string +6 ¢, the notes Schizophrenia was recorded in.
- From the album's F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3: String 4 up a half step (F♯ → G), String 3 up a half step (F♯ → G), String 2 up 5 half steps (E → A), String 1 down a whole step (B → A); the other strings stay.
- String 1 sits 7 half steps below its standard E4. On a normal set (.010) it keeps only about 45 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .015 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Schizophrenia sits 6 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Schizophrenia 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 Schizophrenia 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 G3 G3 A3 A3 +6 ¢. Choose F♯2 F♯2 G3 G3 A3 A3 at A 440 and Schizophrenia moves down 6 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 Schizophrenia in?
F♯2 F♯2 G3 G3 A3 A3 +6 ¢: F♯ F♯ G G A A, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.