Stevie Ray Vaughan · Texas Flood · song 7
Mary Had a Little Lamb tuning.
Mary Had a Little Lamb (Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1983) 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 · Texas Flood · 1983
About Mary Had a Little Lamb
Vaughan's short, punchy cover of a Buddy Guy song from Texas Flood. The riff is a single-note figure in E shapes that keeps landing on the open low string. On Vaughan's guitar, tuned a half step down, that string is E♭, and the whole song sounds in E♭.
TuneLit reads this track about 2 ¢ flat, right in line with the album, which sits at concert pitch, so the Tune button opens E♭ Standard at A 440. The low E♭ is one of the most frequent notes in the recording, and TuneLit's audio check hears it clearly as the lowest open string.
Because the riff keeps returning to the open low string, this song is an easy tuning test: if the guitar is still in E Standard, the very first lick clashes with the bass. The riff moves quickly around the lower strings, and with a light set tuned down those notes go sharp if you press too hard. Let the fretting hand relax and keep the attack in the picking hand, the way the record sounds.
Tip: Play the open low string with the record's first bass note: it should be a clean E♭, with no beating.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, the notes Mary Had a Little Lamb 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. Mary Had a Little Lamb sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Mary Had a Little Lamb 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 Mary Had a Little Lamb 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 Mary Had a Little Lamb moves up 99 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 Mary Had a Little Lamb in?
E♭ Standard: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.