Stevie Ray Vaughan · In Step · song 2
Crossfire tuning.
Crossfire (Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1989) is in E♭ Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
Stevie Ray Vaughan · In Step · 1989
About Crossfire
A single from In Step (1989) and Vaughan's only number-one hit on the rock chart, written by Double Trouble with Bill Carter and Ruth Ellsworth, with horns from the Texacali Horns. The riff is played in E-minor shapes on a guitar tuned a half step down, so the song sounds in E♭ minor.
TuneLit reads Crossfire about 3 ¢ sharp, on an album that is the steadiest of Vaughan's records, every song within a few cents of A 440. The Tune button opens E♭ Standard at A 440, and TuneLit's audio check hears E♭ as the lowest open string with near certainty.
The song leans on a tight, syncopated groove with the bass, so tuning errors turn into a rub rather than an obvious wrong note. Tabs sometimes call the key E♭ minor and sometimes E minor: both are right, one names the sound and the other the shapes on a tuned-down guitar. If you play in E Standard instead, use a tab written for that tuning or the shapes will land a half step high.
Tip: Tune down a half step and check the open low string against the bass on the riff's first downbeat.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, the notes Crossfire 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. Crossfire sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Crossfire 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 Crossfire 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 Crossfire 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 Crossfire in?
E♭ Standard: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.