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An overview of the most commonly used 6 string tunings for lap steel & dobro guitars.
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Steel Guitar
Six String Tunings
Hawaii – Joseph Kekuku – 1900….
raised strings
steel bar instead of fingers
multiple string layouts
multiple tunings
Steel Guitar History
1 lump of wood (hollow or solid body)
another long bit of wood (neck)
bits of wire or markings across the neck (frets)
6, 7, 8, 10 or 12 strings (bits of wire)
things to hold & tension the strings (bridge & tuners)
1 lump of metal, stone or glass (bar)
finger picks on thumb & selected fingers (optional)
The Instrument
changing lengths of pre-tensioned bits of wire by using a “bar”
playing one or more strings at the same time
keeping the “bar” straight or slanting the bar backwards or forwards when playing multiple strings
playing open strings on the guitar (no bar)
bending strings before the bar
using pedals and/or levers to change string tensions up or down
notes can be generated acoustically &/or electrically
How Does It Work?
easier to learn
easier to play
non conventional
beautiful sounds
multiple tunings
all styles of music
develop yourself & your view of the “musical landscape”
Why Steel Guitar?
multiple tunings exist
some tunings are better suited to specific styles
some tunings are better suited to different keys
some tunings are better suited to the number of strings
some tunings are better suited to different songs
you will develop a favourite – but never get trapped in a single tuning…..
Tunings
the tunings presented in this course identify open strings from
the highest pitched string (narrowest string) to the lowest pitched (widest) string
all 6 string tunings will move continually from a highest to lowest string pitch
a single set of strings can be re-tuned to support multiple tunings
this approach supports both right & left-handed players
invest in a quality tuner!
6 String Tunings
main dobro tuning, also used in early
Hawaiian styles
the 3 notes of G major chord (5 3 1) repeated
easy to play up or down an octave
great for “hammer-on” styles
switch between lap, dobro & banjo
Open G Tuning
D
B
G
D
B
G
D B G D B G
Open G Tuning (cont)
same as Open G but a tone higher, very
common in early Hawaiian styles
the 3 notes of A major chord (5 3 1) repeated
easy to play up or down an octave
still great for “hammer-on” styles
Open A Tuning
E
C#
A
E
C#
A
E C# A E C# A
Open A Tuning (cont)
firstly we will use “inversions” of a C Chord at
the fifth fret (G Open Tuning)
chords introduced here at the fifth fret also relate to A Open Tuning (the fifth fret would be a D chord)
never underestimate the melodic power of inverted chords
strive for clean picking, barring & damping…
G Open Major Chords
1. C chord (C bass) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 4
5 & 6 together…… (C G E)
2. C chord (E bass) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 3 4 & 5 together…… (E G C)
3. C chord (G bass) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 2 3 & 4 together…… (G C E)
4. C chord (C bass – up an octave ) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 1 2 & 3 together……(C G E)
Chord Exercise 1
practise these inversions by playing 2 beats on
each chord shape over a repeating 4 bar pattern as below…
Inversion Exercise
1. C chord (G bass) – bar across fret 5 play strings
2 3 & 4 together…… (G C E)
2. C chord (C bass – up an octave ) – bar across fret 5 play strings 1 2 & 3 together……(C G E)
Chord Exercise 1 practise these inversions by playing 2 beats on
each one over a repeating 2 bar pattern…
Chord Exercise 1
also known as “Hawaiian A” tuning & once again, common in early Hawaiian styles (the A is not low, the E is!!!)
supports easy fingerpicking using the bottom 3 strings alternating between the root & fifth
also used for G, D & E tunings
strings 1 & 3 create a country “sixth”
Low Bass A Tuning
E
C#
A
E
A
E
E C# A E A E
Low Bass A Tuning (cont)
D B G D G D
Low Bass G Tuning
B G# E B E B
Low Bass E Tuning
A F# D A D A
Low Bass D Tuning
E major – all strings
E minor (partial) – strings 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6
G# minor (partial) – strings 2, 3 & 5
bottom 3 strings for fingerpicking
E Major Tuning
E
B
G#
E
B
E
E B G# E B E
E Major Tuning
almost all chords can be played without bar slanting
also very common in 8 & 10 string versions
unless competent – makes all songs sound very, very Hawaiian
each fret has a seventh & sixth
each fret has a major & minor 7th
C6/A7 - 6 String Tuning
E
C
A
G
E
C#
E C A G E C#
C6/A7 Tuning
almost all chords can be played without bar slanting
also very common in 8 & 10 string versions
unless competent – makes all songs sound very, very Hawaiian – Jerry Byrd invention
each fret has a major, 6th & minor 7th
can play maj7ths & 9ths
C6 - 6 String Tuning
E
C
A
G
E
C
E C A G E C
C6 Tuning – 6 String
C6 Alternate tuning 1
C6 - Alt TuningsE
C
A
G
C
G
C6 Alternate tuning 2 E
C
A
G
C
E
great for normal guit players (use parts of 8 string C6 set) – as top 3 strings are almost conventional
can achieve an E9 pedal steel sound
each fret has a major & 7th
G# minor (partial) – strings 2,3 & 6
neat for blues (G# down to G)
E7 - 6 String Tuning
E
B
G#
E
D
B
E B G# E D B
E7 Tuning – 6 String
great for “Sleepwalk”
G major
G sixth
E minor 7th
G6 - Tuning 1
D
B
G
E
B
G
G6 - Tuning 2
Alternate 2 – sixth is now in a higher pitch (3rd string)
G major & G6th
E minor 7thB
G
E
D
B
G
Alternate 3 – great for conventional
guitarists as only 1 string (string 5) varies from standard tuning
Also known as Em (sic) or Em7 tuning
G major – strings 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
G6 – all strings
Em7 – all strings (E minor 1,2,3,5,6)
G6 - Tuning 3
E
B
G
D
B
G
G major - bottom 3 strings
G9 - top 3 strings
partial 4th chord (D) available (1,2,4)
easier for E9 steel players
G9 - Tuning
D
A
G
D
B
G
C major chord - top 3 strings,
C7th chord - top 4 strings
C9th chord - top 5 strings
C13th chord - all strings
Bb augmented – strings 3, 4 & 5
D7th chord – strings 2, 5 & 6
C13 - Tuning
E
C
G
Bb
D
A
sixth (C#) & 7 (D) give a 13 chord (sic)
E major – strings 1, 3, 4 & 5
E 7th - strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
E 6th – strings 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
E 13th – all strings
E13 - Tuning
E
C#
B
G#
E
D
as with open G tuning the chord (minor) is
repeated over 2 octaves (appeared 1937 as first minor tuning)
C#minor – all strings
E6th tuning – all strings
C# major – strings 2, 3, 5 & 6
C# Minor Tuning 1
E
C#
G#
E
C#
G#
C#minor – all strings
E6th tuning – all strings
E major - strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
fingerpicking on bottom strings
Jerry Byrd favourite
C# Minor Tuning 2
E
C#
G#
E
B
E
C#minor – strings 1, 2, 3 & 5 – an Hawaiian
tuning
E6th tuning (partial) – strings 1, 2, 3 & 5
E major - strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
C#minor 9th – all strings
E9 (partial) – strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
C# Minor 9 Tuning
E
C#
G#
F#
E
D
F#9th – all strings
F# major – strings 2, 5 & 6
E 6th chord - on top 4 strings
C# minor – on top 4 strings
G#9 – strings 3, 5 & 6
F#9 - Tuning
E
C#
G#
E
A#
F#
B major chord - on bottom 3 strings
B 11th chord - all strings
A major chord - top 3 strings
C# minor - strings 1, 2 & 4
C#minor 7th - strings 1, 2, 4 & 6
C# often substituted on string 6 (Byrd)
B11 - Tuning
E
C#
A
F#
D#
B
multiple tunings exist
some tunings are better suited to specific styles
some tunings are better suited to different keys
some tunings are better suited to the number of strings
some tunings are better suited to different songs
you will develop a favourite – but never get trapped in a single tuning…..
Closing