He's human after all!!!

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Robbie
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He's human after all!!!

Post by Robbie » Thu Aug 11, 2016 4:58 pm

After the thread about Elected and the disgraceful incident in Huntsville I wanted to see how the Trump Clinton fight looked and came across this clip

:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDDyrf6vE28

It interested me for two reasons. First I have noticed in the past that Alice usually lets the audience sing the chorus because its a high note. This time actually he sings it himself but by playing along with my guitar I noticed that the guitars are tuned down half a tone (Ab) rather than played in the original key of A. Nothing unusual about that lots of bands do it (U2, Bryan Adams, Guns n Roses etc.) but I think its the first time I have heard Alice do it. It sounds great with the chorus in my opinion!!.....and second check out Alice missing the cue to come in at the end of the spoken part and the band and his bemusement- but they carry on like true pros-brilliant!!!
With guitars tuned down and a mistake it just goes to show Alice is human after all!!

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Si
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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by Si » Thu Aug 11, 2016 5:14 pm

Don`t they use down tuned guitars for any BP tracks that have been in the set over the years? Maybe even Dirty Diamonds?
I could probably find out if you are really interested (and if Roxie remembers haha).

Robbie
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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by Robbie » Thu Aug 11, 2016 5:26 pm

Am not sure Si. I noticed this because of the singing on the chorus. Perhaps he uses a lower tuning more now as his voice changes with age.
Don't they use a tuning with the bottom string tuned to D instead of the E for that more industrial rock sound?

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Si
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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by Si » Thu Aug 11, 2016 5:33 pm

Robbie wrote:Am not sure Si. I noticed this because of the singing on the chorus. Perhaps he uses a lower tuning more now as his voice changes with age.
Don't they use a tuning with the bottom string tuned to D instead of the E for that more industrial rock sound?
Honestly don`t know. Only way to find out is ask

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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by Devon » Fri Aug 12, 2016 3:24 am

The guitars have been down tuned since I think the late 1990s. Although a couple of songs were actually down tuned a whole step since 1986 like No More Mr Nice Guy before going back to the original tuning in the mid 1990s. Then everything went down a half step I think by the Brutal Planet tour.

Robbie
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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by Robbie » Fri Aug 12, 2016 1:26 pm

Thanks for info Devon-this clip was the first time I noticed.

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steven_crayn
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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by steven_crayn » Wed Aug 17, 2016 11:39 am

On the Brutal Planet album the E string was tuned down one and a half tones or steps so the E string was pitching at C# instead of E and the other strings down a semi tone.
Have a listen to Wicked Young Man on that album and if you play the guitar tune the whole thing down a semi tone except the E which is a tone and a half or 'dropped C# (or D flat) tuning' and you will see what I mean.
Also when you shape and hear that open E power chord with no 3rd (often called E5) now pitching as a C#5 even though as Pete Townshend once said "it's a 2 note chord but the distortion throws another note in" which is a major 3rd, which relates to the Harmonic Series (music theory term).

The term dropped D tunings often get confused, as some bands just drop the E to D to facilitate easy one fingered power chords as opposed to de tuning the whole guitar by a tone, like for example Motley Crue did on Looks That Kill or a semi tone like Guns n Roses did on Sweet Child Of Mine.
You also have the likes of Led Zeps Kashmir where Page used a DADGAD tuning.

On the Theatre Of Death Tour to further add confusion most of the time the band are tuned down a semi tone so listen to Eighteen where it's pitching a step lower in E flat than the studio version in E which was recorded with the band tuned in concert pitch. Wicked Young Man however is still played with the band tuning down the E a tone and a half like on the Brutal Planet album version pitching at C# instead of E and the other strings down a semi tone.

You can look at it in another way as the lowered note now becomes an octave below the higher note in the chord so an A4 harmonic interval (The notes A and D) when played with another D relates to a D5 power chord (DAD) but played with one finger.

But in the case of most of the Brutal Planet album the starting point was from the guitar being tuned down a semi tone in the first instance before the E string was further adjusted but strictly speaking not a dropped D tuning in terms of pitch only in mechanics.
Lead guitar on Social Debris. Album on iTunes, Amazon & Spotify, title track featured on TV

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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by While Heaven Wept » Wed Aug 17, 2016 2:28 pm

steven_crayn wrote: The term dropped D tunings often get confused, as some bands just drop the E to D to facilitate easy one fingered power chords
That's exactly what dropped D tuning means. It doesn't mean de-tuning all the other strings.

Basically, the Brutal Planet songs live are played in drop C#.

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Re: He's human after all!!!

Post by Robbie » Thu Aug 18, 2016 9:58 am

Thanks for the detailed info Steve. Very interesting-will give it a try!

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