The Beatles · Magical Mystery Tour · song 8
Strawberry Fields Forever tuning.
Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles, 1967) is in E Standard, about 9 cents flat (A ≈ 438), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
E Standard −9 ¢
About 9 cents flat (A ≈ 438).
Measured by TuneLit
9 ¢ flat
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string −9 ¢.
The Beatles · Magical Mystery Tour · 1967
About Strawberry Fields Forever
Released as a single in February 1967 and on the Magical Mystery Tour album that year, Strawberry Fields Forever began as a Lennon song written on acoustic guitar in C. The record joins two very different takes: a dreamy first one built on Mellotron, and a heavier later one with brass and cellos. The tabs disagree on the guitars: the main Songsterr tab has two parts in standard tuning and a third in D Standard, while an acoustic arrangement uses Drop D.
The two takes were in different keys and tempos, so George Martin and Geoff Emerick sped the first one up and slowed the second down until they met. The record therefore sits between notes: the opening minute between A and B♭, the rest nearer B♭. TuneLit reads the main part of the 1987 CD about 14 ¢ below the A 440 grid, but weakly, so Tune uses the album value, E Standard −9 ¢. The vinyl copy TuneLit checked reads it about 41 ¢ flat.
So this is one to tune by ear. Start from the button, play along with the second half and move the reference until the chords stop beating, then expect the first minute to sound different, because it comes from the other take at another speed. Once the reference is right, B♭ shapes in standard tuning and A shapes with a capo at the 1st fret both work.
Tip: Tune by ear against the second half of the song, after the edit at about one minute, where the pitch holds steadier.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string −9 ¢, the notes Strawberry Fields Forever was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Strawberry Fields Forever sits 9 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Strawberry Fields Forever 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 Strawberry Fields Forever 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 −9 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Strawberry Fields Forever moves up 9 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 Strawberry Fields Forever in?
E Standard −9 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.