How to know what key a guitar is in?

blackstar

Hello all,

I am hoping someone can help who is an expert in guitars?!

I have a guitar and had to take it to a guitar shop and the guy there tuned the guitar and I really like what key its tuned into as now its going out of tune a little and want to put it back into the key he put it in. So hoping someone can help. I used the tuner and this is what the tuner said

From the top string (the thinnest string) to the bottom string (the lowest and thickest string)

B#, G FLAT, D#, B FLAT, E SHARP OR F FLAT, B SHARP

Its a touch out a tune now as has been a few days but hoping someone can figure out what key its tuned into ie Drop C, Drop C Sharp, Drop B etc etc....and if someone knows please tell me what I should tune my guitar too to keep it in the key its in now?

Thanks all for your help!!

googler

Standard tuning is E A D G B E from low to high

You appear to have stumbled upon

B# (C), E/F, B flat, D#, G flat (F#), B# (C)
or
C E/F A# D# F# C low to high

I suggest E/F for your fifth string since an E sharp is an F, and an F flat is an E.

To keep it as it is now, just use the tuner to retune it to the notes that you've found, surely?

Whilst it might give an interesting, novel sound, it won't be any use for playing standard stuff anymore.....

zenmaster

Congratulations. You have discovered the lost chord!

Try it here and see for yourself.

Traditionally you go from bottom (fat string) to top (thin string). Also, you don't mix sharps and flats (unless you have to) so it's

C, E/F - I'm going F, Bb, Eb, Gb, C

Bb, Eb, Gb form an Eb minor chord. Add the C and it's Ebm6. Then the F and it's Ebm6sus9.

If you think that sounds good then I'd like some of what you're smoking

Or there could be some kind of Bmaj7 thing going on. Too late now - I'll think about it tomorrow.

zenmaster

You have to be careful with guitars - it's the oldest trick in the book.

Shop guy plays it and it sounds fantastic so you hand over the cash and he gives you one that looks just the same but, when you get it home and start to play, it sounds cr4p.

blackstar

Thanks all, the thing I don't understand is the "E/F" - "B# (C), E/F, B flat, D#, G flat (F#), B# (C)"


As that comes up as an e sharp on my tuner?

spacey2012

Probably been detuned as when its tuned to concert pitch, the strings will be 6 inches off the fretboard...

googler

blackstar wrote: »

Thanks all, the thing I don't understand is the "E/F" - "B# (C), E/F, B flat, D#, G flat (F#), B# (C)"


As that comes up as an e sharp on my tuner?

You said E sharp OR F flat, but those are two different notes, and one string can't be tuned to both.

An E sharp is an F. Sharpen an E by one semitone and you get an F.

An F flat is an E, flatten an F by one semitone and you get an E.

So, I don't know what you're tuned to, but that note is apparently either an E or an F, which is why I wrote E/F .

12 notes in a basic chromatic scale;

C
C sharp (C#) or D flat (Db)
D
D# or Eb
E
F
F# or Gb
G
G# or Ab
A
A# or Bb
B
C

In some keys, it may be appropriate and convenient to write, for instance, a B as a C flat, but not in the context of tuning a guitar.

You're clearly a beginner. I suggest you learn how to tune to a standard tuning before experimenting with off-beat ones like this..... There's guides all over the Internet, YouTube etc.

Another_username_2

Looked at sensibly, low pitch to high, that tuning is most simply spelled as C-F-Bb-Eb-Gb-C, which apart from the Gb (which would normally be G) amounts to standard tuning dropped by a major third.

Now, if you drop the tuning of an ordinary guitar by a major third, all the strings become rather floppy, and the tension is taken off the neck causing it to bow backward. The strings buzz like mad - if the guitar is playable at all.

The fact that someone in a guitar shop tuned it that way suggests that the guitar was playable in that condition, so this is most likely NOT AN ORDINARY GUITAR.

I strongly suspect this is a baritone guitar. These come in various scale lengths (natural pitches), including a major third below standard, as here. These are most commonly (but not exclusively) used in (very) heavy metal bands.

If this is indeed a baritone guitar, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TUNE IT UP TO STANDARD PITCH. That will put excessive strain on the neck, and may break it. Some of the strings may well break anyway.

It is perfectly possible to tune such a baritone guitar (low-to-high) C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C and then play chords and lines as indicated on a standard guitar. You can even put a "capo" between the third and fourth fret and if you play from that fourth fret as if that were a standard guitar it will sound at standard pitch.

Overall, it is probably worth checking with the shop that it is a baritone guitar, and if so, what pitch it is intended to be tuned at. The folk in the shop will be able to work this out from the "scale length" (the distance between the "bridge" and the "nut").

jobbingmusician

^^^^^ What s/he said - sounds extremely sensible to me. So as a first step I would suggest tuning it to C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C. Another username and googler didn't make it totally transparent, if you have no background in music, but for all the purposes you are likely to use, B# is exactly the same note as C.

All notes on the piano have three names except for Ab/G#, which has only two.

12 notes in a basic chromatic scale;

C = B# = Dbb (D double flat)
C sharp (C#) = D flat (Db) = Bx (B double sharp)
D = Cx = Ebb
D# = Eb = Fbb
E = Fb = Dx
F = E# = Gbb
F# = Gb = Ex
G = Fx = Abb
G# = Ab
A = Bbb = Gx
A# = Bb = Cbb
B = Cb = Ax, which brings us back to
C

googler

You gotta be kidding - you added double sharps and double flats to 'clarify' .... .??

blackstar

Thanks all,

Does anyone know where I would put a capo to play in drop C rather than having to retune the guitar?

I was also wondering, is a correct way to tune a guitar to drop C? if I make the thinnest string (top string) a C, then put my finger on the 2nd top string on the 5th bar down and also make that a C, then put my finger on the 4th top string and 4th bar down and make that a G, the put my finger on the 4th bottom string and make that a E flat and so on?