System of a Down · Mezmerize · song 8
Question! tuning.
Question! (System of a Down, 2005) is in Drop C, about 8 cents flat (A ≈ 438), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
Drop C −8 ¢
About 8 cents flat (A ≈ 438).
Tune like thisPlay alongMezmerize
Bass: Bass Drop C −8 ¢ Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
8 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −8 ¢.
System of a Down · Mezmerize · 2005
About Question!
Question! is the restless, metre-shifting single from Mezmerize (2005), with an acoustic guitar that Wikipedia credits to Serj Tankian. It is also the album's exception: while the rest of Mezmerize is in Drop C♯, the tabs put Malakian's electric part in Drop C, a half step lower, and the acoustic part in plain E Standard. The main tab moves through 9/8, 5/4, 3/4 and 4/4, and the electric part plays E and A at frets 4 and 9 of String 6 much more than the open C.
TuneLit measured the song about 8 ¢ flat (A ≈ 438), below the album's concert pitch, so it has its own setting: Drop C −8 ¢. The check from the audio confirms that the low string sits on C, not on the C♯ of the rest of the album.
If you play through Mezmerize, retune down a half step before this song and back up for Sad Statue. If you prefer the acoustic part, use E Standard at the same −8 ¢: both guitars must share the record's reference to blend.
Tip: Tap Tune for Drop C −8 ¢; for the acoustic part, tune to E Standard and set Fine-tune to −8 ¢ as well.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop C, every string −8 ¢, the notes Question! was recorded in.
- From the album's Drop C♯: Every string down a half step.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Question! sits 8 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Question! 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 Question! instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop C −8 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Question! moves up 2 half steps and 8 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 Question! in?
Drop C −8 ¢: C G C F A D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.