Why the recording does not match your guitar

A song recorded with the guitars tuned a half step down sounds one semitone lower than the same chords played in standard tuning. Play along in standard tuning and every chord clashes by a semitone, even though your fingers are on the right frets.

The fix: raise the recording

Raise the recording by 1 semitone: press + beside Key once. The recording is now at standard-tuning pitch, and the chord shapes in the lesson or the tab fit your guitar again. For a recording tuned a whole step down, which players call D standard, press + twice.

The other direction

You can fix it from your side instead: tune your guitar down a half step and leave the recording alone. That is fine for one song. If you are playing several songs in different tunings, or moving between a guitar and a keyboard, raising the recording saves retuning every time.

How to tell how a recording is tuned

Play the first chord of the song along with it. If your chord rings a semitone higher than the recording’s, the song is probably tuned down half a step: press + once and play it again. If it still clashes, try +2.

Raise it, do not lower it

The direction trips people up. The recording is the thing that is too low, so it is the recording that goes up. Pressing − would move it further from your guitar, to two semitones away.

Whole step down, and lower

Some bands tune down further than a half step. A whole step down means pressing + twice, and a step and a half down needs +3. When you are not sure how far down a recording is, add one semitone at a time until your chord shapes sit inside the song without clashing.