Hello everybody, I hope your having a happy New Years. I'm wondering, How can I tell when my guitar strings are tuned down a half step? I have some tuners I only use for extreme tunings. My tuners only show flat notes and not sharp notes. When you tune down half a step do you tune it to say,(for example) D# or Db? I'm trying to tune my acoustic down to the Charlie Brown official tuning, but I'm having trouble. Any help is appreciated thanks. :)

Hmm is Charlie Brown indeed 1/2 step down? I never quite figured out exactly what Chris is playing, as in whether it was standard but 1/2 down or with certain strings just doing different things.

 

To answer your question - in case you don't know, every sharp and flat note has an enharmonic equivalent. If you want to go 1/2 step down, it'll show up on your tuner as Eb - Ab - Db - Gb - Bb - eb (enharmonic notes = D# - G# - C# - F# - A# - d#).

 

For Charlie Brown, you SHOULD be operating in flat notes anyways because the song is in the key of Bb (or G minor) such that the notes in the scale are all white except for B flat and E flat.

 

On the other hand, Yellow and Shiver are in the key of B major, which is a sharp key (5 sharps and the rest white); and the tuning is EABDGbd#, though your flats-only tuner will tell you it's EABDGbeb.

 

Hope that helps. :)

I'm sorry I didn't phrase that right. My tuner doesn't show the b flat note sign. It shows the # sharp symbol but not the flat symbol. So I'm wondering how to tell if say my low E string is tuned from a regular E to Eb. I'm not sure if say an Eb is just barely lower than a regular E or nearing the lower note on the scale, which is a D. Thanks for the advice you've given so far. :)

Ah not sure if I'm reading right, but my response should still hold, just backwards - ie, a d# is the same thing as having an Eb, and so on. An Eb is "halfway" between a D and an E in sound, and is the same note as a D#, which is likewise halfway between. [historical digression: there was a time when D# =/= Eb but instruments are now tuned to make them the same]

 

Or are you saying that your tuner doesn't show black keys / in between notes at all? In that case, you should consult a piano/online keyboard/friend.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't show black keys in between. Sorry if I asked the same question twice. Thank you for all your help.

Ohh I see. No worries. It sounds like your tuner just won't do. Consider buying a chromatic tuner.

 

Or using something like this: http://www.fender.com/community/tuner/#/03-half-step-down

 

There are also musical tricks you can do to get yourself to alternate tunings - for example, a D# is the 4th fret of the B string. And you use similar logic to do it without a tuner. Search youtube for such tutorials...they should be plentiful. If not, I'll make one. :p

I use the SNARK tuner and its a GREAT tuner. very accurate, easy-to-use and cheap. I can also use it for intonation.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnyt9IWI1Qg/ToVKUDjh4MI/AAAAAAAAB4I/p_KzZ16Tpv4/s1600/Tuner.JPG

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8s3MWGYO4]Snark Chromatic Tuner Demo - YouTube[/ame]

 

 

BTW Charlie Brown is tuned - Eb A D G Bb d

So its basically a standard tuning with E tuned half down (>Eb), the B Half down (>Bb)

and the hi E one step down to D.

And the chord pattern is pretty much the same through the whole song, starting:

 

D |----------------------------

Bb |----------------------------

G |-3---12---7---4---12---8---|

D |-5---13---8---5---13---10--|

A |-5---13---8---5---13---10--|

Eb |-4---12---7---4---12---9---|

 

 

And this is a list I made for all Coldplay strange tuning songs that I know of:

_________________________________________________

 

Coldplay

STANDART

- Don't Panic

- Parachutes

- In My Place

- Cemeteries of London (cap1 , 6)

- Strawberry Swing (cap1)

- Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

- Don't Let It Break Your Heart (cap4)

- Up With The Birds

 

- Yellow - E A B G B d#

- Shiver - E A B G B d#

- Spies - E A C# G B c#

- Sparks - E A D G B d (cap6)

- We Never Change - E A D G B c#

- High Speed - D G D G B d

- See You Soon - E G D G B d (cap2)

 

- Green Eyes - E A D G B d (cap2)

- The Scientist - E A D G B c

- God Put A Smile - C# G# C# F C# c# / C# F# B E Ab c#

- A Rush Of Blood - E A D G B c

 

- Square One - E A D G C d#

- Fix You (solo electric) - E A D G B/Bb d#

- A Message - E A D G C c

 

- Life In Techicolor II - E A D G(b) C# c#

- Violet Hill - E A D G C# c# /

Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb / C# F# B E Ab c#

- Yes - D A D G B d (cap3)

 

- Hurts Like Heaven - E A D G A D / E B E G# B e

- Charlie Brown - Eb A D G Bb d

- Us Againts The World - E A D F# B e (cap3)

- Major Minus - E A D G G b

- U.F.O. - C G D G B d

 

HALF STEP DOWN

- Charlie Brown

- A Message

- Twisted Logic

- Strawberry Swing

 

-|- Made by Jonathan Revivo (RyonI)

_________________________________________________

 

I hope this help . :)

Thanks for that!

 

I heard if you put a capo on the first fret then tune to standard. When you take off the capo it will be tuned a half step down. Is that correct?

Capos raise the pitch of a guitar a 1/2 step for every fret if I remember correctly, so if you tune the guitar to standard with the capo in place it should work...keep in mind though the capo, depending on which brand you use, will grip the strings pretty hard so there might not be a change in pitch at first. Also I dont recommend tuning like that because it might stretch the strings...

 

You could always tune it with a piano without a capo.

Ex. From standard tuning 1/2 down should be, from lowest to highest:

 

Eb/D#, Ab/G#, Db/C#, Gb/F# Bb/A#, and eb/d#