ZZ Top · Fandango! · song 5
Blue Jean Blues tuning.
Blue Jean Blues (ZZ Top, 1975) is in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
ZZ Top · Fandango! · 1975
About Blue Jean Blues
Blue Jean Blues is the slow blues on the studio side of Fandango! (1975), a showcase for Billy Gibbons's tone and phrasing, with long, singing lead lines over a quiet backing. The tabs put every part, rhythm and the harmonized leads, in E Standard.
TuneLit measured the song about 4 ¢ flat on the early German CD, which carries the 1987 remix of the studio side, and about 5 ¢ flat on the 2006 remaster of the original mix. Both readings are confident and close to the album (−1.6 ¢, A ≈ 439.6), so the song shares the album value and the Tune button sets E Standard at A 440.
A few cents flat is below what most ears notice, but this is a song of held notes and slow vibrato, where it can show. If your bends sound a hair sharp against the record, lower the reference by 4 or 5 ¢ (A ≈ 438.8). TuneLit's check from the audio agrees that the lowest string is E, and the remix and the original mix run at the same speed.
Tip: Tune to E Standard at A 440, then compare a held note in the first solo; lower the reference a few cents if it sounds sharp.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Blue Jean Blues was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Blue Jean Blues sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Blue Jean Blues 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 Blue Jean Blues 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. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Blue Jean Blues moves up 2 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 Blue Jean Blues in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.