The Beatles · Abbey Road · song 7
Here Comes the Sun tuning.
Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles, 1969) is in E Standard, about 35 cents sharp (A ≈ 449), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
35 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +35 ¢.
The Beatles · Abbey Road · 1969
About Here Comes the Sun
Here Comes the Sun opens side two of Abbey Road (1969). Harrison plays it on acoustic guitar in standard tuning with a capo at the 7th fret: open D-shape chords with the picked figure woven around them, sounding in A. A Moog synthesiser, added late in the sessions, doubles the guitar line in places, and the bridge switches between odd bar lengths over the same capoed shapes.
TuneLit measured the 1987 CD. Abbey Road as a whole sits at concert pitch, but this take was sped up by less than a semitone after it was played, and TuneLit reads it about 35 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 449). So Tune opens E Standard 35 ¢ up, with the capo at the 7th fret. Both vinyl copies TuneLit checked read it 36 to 39 ¢ sharp.
35 ¢ is close to halfway between two notes, so the page also offers the other reading, E♭ Standard +35 ¢, as if the record were a sharp A♭. The history says otherwise: the take was sped up from A, and TuneLit's audio check of the low notes agrees, so use the first button. A capo this high pulls the strings a little sharp, so check again after clamping it.
Tip: Tune to +35 ¢ first, clamp the capo at the 7th fret, then check the open D shape against the intro figure.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string +35 ¢, the notes Here Comes the Sun was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Here Comes the Sun sits 35 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Here Comes the Sun 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 Here Comes the Sun 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 +35 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Here Comes the Sun moves down 35 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 Here Comes the Sun in?
E Standard +35 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.