Eyes Of The World/Contents
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TUNING YOUR TAPES
by Bill Giles
"Hey, wait a minute, watch
what you're doin' with your time"
"Rock your baby to and
fro, not too fast and not too slow"
Great show! - but how come Weir
sang castrato that night? Or why did
Garcia slow this song down to yawning
speed and Lesh's bass disappear below
aural threshold? Seems so long
I felt this way, time sure passin' slow.
Possibly - but the likeliest answer
is that your tape is travelling at the
wrong speed.
The problem may be in the master
tape: it seems that even the speed of good
masters can vary within one show.
More likely, your cassette wheels don't
turn at the same speed as your trading
partner's. More likely still, your
tape has travelled at different speeds
in its recording history, and the
fickle finger of fate has not cancelled
them out. Unsurprisingly, tapes are
rarely dead accurate and in my experience
more play fast than slow. While
small variances are easily tolerated,
it's not that unusual to find tapes up
to one semitone out of tune (approx
+/-6%), occasionally more, which can
present a greater aesthetic and toe-tapping
challenge than mere sonic
imperfection. Lord! The band
kept us so busy we forgot about the time.
The solution is easy, but requires
that you have one cassette deck with
variable speed (pitch) control on playback.
So, if you're upgrading your
system, look for a deck with variable
pitch control, and low wow and flutter
in the specification: a few manufacturers
make them though they cost a few
euros more. (You should not need
more than around +/-6% variation. Beyond
that I would query whether the motor
will run reliably at a consistent basic
speed.)
Once armed with pitch control,
anyone with access to a musical instrument
and able to bend their ear can play
the tuning game. An electronic
keyboard, or piano or guitar tuned
against a pitch-fork or other objective
source, are best since they permit
the construction of chords which makes
tuning slightly more easy than against
a single note. But string, woodwind
or brass instruments will do the job.
Once the music on tape is in tune
with the instrument, you can be confident
that the tape speed is correct.
(Even in the early years, the band's
guitars will have been tuned to the
organ.) You can then listen to
the music at the right tempo and pitch, and
make tempo-accurate copies for trades.
If you're re-recording into the
digital domain, you need to get the
speed right first time since commercial
digital equipment does not provide
for subsequent playback pitch adjustment.
And, of course, if you're a musician,
once in tune it's even more fun
filling in behind the songs and stretching
out into the improvisations.
Excuse me while I just help Keith out
on this one......
What you have to know, however,
are the keys in which the Dead played their
songs. A selection is listed
below, with emphasis on those which do not
have complex or rapid key changes in
the intros. The key given is the root
chord - for this purpose, that in which
the first line of each verse begins.
Normally the intro will start in the
same chord too. (The comments show
where these rules of thumb are not
a reliable guide.) If you do not have a
piano, guitar or other multi-note instrument,
just work on the tonic, ie.
the underlying note for each chord
(A for A major or A minor, etc). All
chords below are major unless shown
as minor. (Incidentally, beware of wind
instruments - sax, clarinet - which
are tuned to different keys - Eb, Bb.
And make sure than an electric keyboard's
pitch is not adjusted or
transposed.)
Few songs have changed key over
time. An exception is Bird Song, which
originated in D. It was abandoned
from August 71 to July 72. My first tape
of it after the break (12 Aug, Sacramento)
has it playing in E, where it has
stayed ever since. Maybe Garcia
felt more comfortable singing it a tone
higher or was happier with the guitar
chord structure around E (though since
it was then ditched for 7 years from
1973, perhaps he was plain
uncomfortable performing the song).
Meantime, Cassidy featured on Ace in
F#, was scored on sheet music in F,
yet has always been played live in E.
Alabama Getaway
A Intro runs: |E...|D...|D...|C-A C-A|
Alligator
C
Around and Around A
Transposes to C for finale
Bertha
G
BIODTL
C
Big River
A
Big Railroad Blues A
Bird Song
E Sheet music, 'Garcia' & 1971 versions
in D.
Black Muddy River A
Black Peter
A
Black-Throated Wind E
Candyman
C Intro runs |Bb . F . |C . . . |
Casey Jones
C
Cassidy
E
C.C. Rider
A
China Cat Sunflower G
3rd verse (instrumental)in E. Rider segue in D.
Cold Rain and Snow E
First line of each verse in D. A 2 chord song.
Cryptical/Other One E
Cumberland Blues G
Dark Star
A Main riff and verse
Days Between
G (G7 in fact)
Deal
A Chorus and final jam runs |A . .
.|G . D .|
Death Don't
Emin
Don't Ease Me In E
El Paso
D
Eyes of the World E
(Emaj7 to be precise)
Fire on the Mountain B
Franklin's Tower A
Another two chord job: |A . . .|D . . .|
Friend of the Devil G
GDTRFB
E
Good Lovin'
C
G.M. Li'l Schoolgirl A
Greatest Story C
Help on the Way Fmin
Sheet music in E min.
Here Comes Sunshine C
Lead guitar riff and 1st line of verse
He's Gone
E Sheet Music, Eur 72 in F, probably
vari-speeded
I Know You Rider D
Iko Iko
D
It Must Have Been the Roses A
I Need a Miracle E
Jack-a-Roe
Amin
Jack Straw
E
Lazy River Road G
Liberty
E
Looks Like Rain E
Loser
Amin Chorus starts on G maj
Mama Tried
D
Man Smart,Woman Smarter E
Me and My Uncle Emin
G on the word "Uncle"
Morning Dew
D
New Speedway Boogie E
Not Fade Away
E The other chord is A!
One More Saturday Night C
Peggy-O
A
Playing in the Band D
Jam usually takes off in D min
Promised Land
C
Ramble on Rose D
Samson and Delilah G
Scarlet Begonias Intro &
riff in B; first line of verse in E
Shakedown Street Introductory
riff in D minor; verse starts in G
Ship of Fools
Bb Intro: .|Cm...|F...|Eb...|Bb...|
Standing on the Moon D
Intro: |G...|..C.|D...|..C.|
Stella Blue
E Intro in different chords
Sugar Magnolia A
Sunshine Daydream in B
Sugaree
B Sheet music in C
Tennessee Jed
C
They Love Each Other G
Touch of Grey
B Intro in E and F#
Truckin'
E
Turn on Your Lovelight E
U.S. Blues
A
Uncle John's Band G
Viola Lee's Blues G
West L.A. Fadeaway Amin
Wharf Rat
A
When Push Comes to Shove D
(Developed from an article originally published
in Spiral Light magazine,
issue 35, May 1996, U.K. )
(Bill Giles plays keyboards with the French GD band Deadicace)
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billpannifer@easynet.co.uk