The Rolling Stones · Sticky Fingers · song 3
Wild Horses tuning.
Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones, 1971) is in Open G, about 11 cents flat (A ≈ 437), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
11 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −11 ¢.
The Rolling Stones · Sticky Fingers · 1971
About Wild Horses
A ballad in G from Sticky Fingers (1971). Keith Richards wrote that he took the five-string idea to a 12-string: an open-tuned 12-string with the lowest pair left off, ten strings in all. Mick Taylor's acoustic is in Nashville tuning, with the four lower strings replaced by thinner ones an octave higher, which gives the high shimmer. Premier Guitar's lesson also describes an open G acoustic.
TuneLit measured Sticky Fingers about 11 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.1). Wild Horses reads about 17 ¢ flat on its own, close enough to share the album value, so Tune sets open G on a 12-string with the reference 11 ¢ down. TuneLit's check of the record's low notes agrees with a low D under the open G chord.
Most community tabs play Wild Horses in standard tuning on a six-string, and that works for strumming along, since the song is in G. To get Keith's sound, tune open G (D G D G B D) and play the chords as one-finger barres; on a six-string, leaving String 6 out comes closest to the ten-string sound.
Tip: If you use standard tuning, still lower the reference 11 ¢ so your G chord matches the record's.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Open G, every string −11 ¢, the notes Wild Horses was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 12 down a whole step (E → D), String 11 down a whole step (E → D), String 10 down a whole step (A → G), String 9 down a whole step (A → G), String 2 down a whole step (E → D), String 1 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 12 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Wild Horses sits 11 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Wild Horses along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 12 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 Wild Horses instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Open G −11 ¢. Choose Open G at A 440 and Wild Horses moves up 11 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 Wild Horses in?
Open G −11 ¢: D D G G D D G G B B D D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.