Stevie Ray Vaughan · Couldn't Stand the Weather · song 6
Tin Pan Alley tuning.
Tin Pan Alley (Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1984) is in E♭ Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
E♭ Standard
At concert pitch (A 440).
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
Measured on this song itself.
Stevie Ray Vaughan · Couldn't Stand the Weather · 1984
About Tin Pan Alley
Vaughan's long, quiet slow blues from Couldn't Stand the Weather, a cover of Bob Geddins's song, cut while the engineers were still setting levels; John Hammond told the band it was the best the song would ever sound. The record sounds in B minor. Vaughan tuned a half step down, which puts the song in C-minor shapes, while the most-viewed tab plays it in E Standard with B-minor shapes.
Both give exactly the notes on the record, and TuneLit cannot tell them apart: the low E♭ never sounds, so the audio check stays unsure. TuneLit lists the song in E♭ Standard, Vaughan's documented habit, and marks it disputed. The track reads about 3 ¢ sharp, like its album, which sits at concert pitch, so the button opens E♭ Standard at A 440.
Pick one setup and match the tab to it. With a tab in E Standard, tune to E Standard and play its B-minor shapes; with a guitar tuned down, move every shape up a fret. Mixing them, an E Standard tab on a guitar tuned down, leaves you a half step flat for nine minutes.
Tip: Decide first whether your tab is in E or E♭ Standard, then tune to match the tab, not the album.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, the notes Tin Pan Alley was recorded in.
- From E Standard: Every string down a half step. No tuner that knows E♭ Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 1, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to E♭ Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Tin Pan Alley sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Tin Pan Alley 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 Tin Pan Alley instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in E♭ Standard. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Tin Pan Alley moves up 98 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 Tin Pan Alley in?
E♭ Standard: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.