Songs tuned half step down

[ssbass]

I just learned Say It Ain't So and Got Me Wrong. Those two songs were recorded a half step down I think.(Eb,Ab,Db,Gb). I spoke to the band leader of the band I'm auditioning for and he said they play those two songs in standard.

The question I have is, can I just tune to standard and use the same fingerings as I did in half step down tuning. Or do I need to relearn the songs in standard?

[Hutch1]

It depends. If the band uses standard tuning and the pitch is identical to the original, then you'll have to transpose everything half a step down. If they're tuned to standard and play the song a half-pitch above the original, then you can use the same fingering.

[rockstarbassist]

Originally Posted by Hutch1

It depends. If the band uses standard tuning and the pitch is identical to the original, then you'll have to transpose everything half a step down. If they're tuned to standard and play the song a half-pitch above the original, then you can use the same fingering.

Correct.

In my cover days, we did songs as recorded and split up the sets for different tunings. I don't like doing every song in E or drop D. Feels weak and lazy and most tunes run together that way.

[BassMaster4s]

Tuning to standard and using the same fingerings is almost definitely what you need to do.

[warnergt]

Originally Posted by ssbass

I just learned Say It Ain't So and Got Me Wrong. Those two songs were recorded a half step down I think.(Eb,Ab,Db,Gb). I spoke to the band leader of the band I'm auditioning for and he said they play those two songs in standard.

The question I have is, can I just tune to standard and use the same fingerings as I did in half step down tuning. Or do I need to relearn the songs in standard?

I would interpret his comment to mean that they play the song a half
a step up. The good news is that you will use the same fingering with
standard tuning. The bad news is that you can no longer practice with
the original recording as it will be a half-step down. I solve this problem
by using pitch-shifting software to shift the original tune up 1/2 step so
I can still practice along.