The Rolling Stones · Aftermath · song 4
Under My Thumb tuning.
Under My Thumb (The Rolling Stones, 1966) is in E Standard at A 426, about 55 cents flat, measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
55 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune sets the reference A to 426.
The Rolling Stones · Aftermath · 1966
About Under My Thumb
A 1966 song from the British edition of Aftermath, carried by Brian Jones's marimba riff rather than by a big guitar part. Keith Richards plays the guitar in standard tuning and adds a fuzz bass; the guitar part is built from plain chord shapes, so any guitar in E Standard has what it needs.
The catch is pitch. TuneLit measured this recording about 56 ¢ flat (A ≈ 426), one of the lowest songs on Aftermath and further than half a semitone from A 440. A guitar tuned to the usual E sounds closer to the wrong note than to the right one, so the song has its own value: Tune sets E Standard with the reference at A 426. TuneLit's check of the record's low notes confirms the strings sit on E, flattened, not on E♭.
Because the marimba and the bass carry the riff, many players never notice the offset until they strum along and everything sounds sour. Aftermath's songs range from concert pitch to about 60 ¢ flat, so if you play the album in order, change the reference between songs rather than using one setting for the whole record.
Tip: Use the song's own A 426 setting and confirm it against the marimba riff in the intro, not against the vocal.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard at A 426, the notes Under My Thumb was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Under My Thumb sits 55 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Under My Thumb 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 Under My Thumb 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 at A 426. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Under My Thumb moves up 55 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 Under My Thumb in?
E Standard at A 426: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.