| Author |
Topic: 1st Tuning on a lap steel |
Ray Kedge
From:
Middlesex, England
|
Posted 30 Sep 2008 8:53 am |
|
Would this tuning be ok to start with. I am New to Lap Steel
High to Low.
E
C#
A
F#
E
A |
|
|
 |
Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
|
Posted 30 Sep 2008 9:13 am
|
|
What style(s) of music do you want to play? Do you have previous musical experience?
It looks like an interesting tuning, but if you're looking for instructional material to help you learn, you're probably out of luck. It's not a common tuning at all.
I always recommend that you figure out what type of music you want to play and then choose a tuning that matches. You can learn to play any kind of music on any tuning, but certain sounds lay out better in different tunings.
If you're brand new to lap steel, I'd suggest either C6th tuning, open G tuning or open E tuning. But it all depends on what you want to play.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
|
|
|
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
|
Posted 30 Sep 2008 9:19 am I'd have to agree with BRAD!
|
|
Before one gets all entangled in picking out or inventing NEW TUNINGS, one should first determine what STYLE of music he/she hopes to play in the future.
Like Brad said, you can play nearly any tune in any tuning but.......you have to have some idea where you're going with it and what YOU WANT IT TO SOUND LIKE.
Spend some time listening to the various recording artists. Don't envision yourself playing JUST LIKE THEM, but rather, are they producing the kind of sound you one day want to be able to play.
Eddy Arnold's early steel player was an excellent stylist. Red Foley had several great steel players, as did Hank Williams,Sr., etc. Pick one out and then pursue it....... GOOD LUCK to YOU! |
|
|
|
Ray Kedge
From:
Middlesex, England
|
Posted 30 Sep 2008 9:25 am Lap Steel Tuning
|
|
| I saw a You Tube demo of Billy Penn on 56 Fender Lap Steel.He used this tuning to demo older Country Stuff which sounded very authentic. So I thought this would be ok to start on. |
|
|
|
Steinar Gregertsen
From:
Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.
|
Posted 30 Sep 2008 9:36 am
|
|
That tuning looks like a straight A6 tuning with an A on the 6th string instead of the more common C#.
Herb Remington and Rick Alexander has a good book/CD for that tuning (with the C# on the 6th string): Tuff Fun Tab
_________________
"Play to express, not to impress"
Website - YouTube |
|
|
|
Stephan Miller
From:
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
|
Posted 30 Sep 2008 12:31 pm
|
|
Yeah, not a new tuning, or even that rare....it's the result of 6-string A6 players getting tired of not having a root on the bottom end. Nice "power-chord" sound in the bass...but taking away the C# on the 6th string also takes away some good forward slants.
Sure, it's a workable tuning-- but you probably will want to learn what to do with the C# down there as well (maybe gauge your 6th string for the B in between, then practice in turn with A or C# on the bottom).
Also, for fun, as long as that A-E combo is on the low end, try tuning the F# up a half step to G, putting you in A7-- rock yourself some blues!
--Steve |
|
|
|
Ray Kedge
From:
Middlesex, England
|
Posted 1 Oct 2008 12:22 am Lap Steel Tuning
|
|
| Thanks for the hints on where to go with this.You can always rely on you guys to put us on the right road to better playing. |
|
|
|
Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
|
Posted 1 Oct 2008 7:31 am
|
|
I have a large set of tabs and sounds files for the 6 string C6 tuning. They use the bottom C string and also the bottom C# which I retune based on the song I am playing. Check out my site to see if any of those sounds interest you. That can quickly help you decide if this tuning does the sorts of things you'd like to play.
6 String Lap Steel Tuning, Tabs and Sounds
Greg |
|
|
|
Billy Tonnesen
From:
R.I.P., Buena Park, California
|
Posted 1 Oct 2008 4:40 pm
|
|
Yes, the tuning is part of the eight string
A6th tuning which in the fourties and early fifties was one of the Western Swing tunings used by Noel Boggs, Herb Remington, Roy Hunnicut and many others. When I graduated from a 6 string lap steel to a 8 string 3-necker I had no idea the best tunings to use. Les Anderson was playing with Red Murrel at the Palace Barn in Glendale, Ca. and I went to visit the band. Les wrote down his two tunings for me (A6th and E13th) and I was off and running. I could now imitate Noel Boggs and Leon McCauliffe and a little later on Herb Remington. The partial A6th tuning you posted would give you more range if you had an eight string guitar. Good luck in learning the steel guitar, it will give you much pleasure from the GetGo. |
|
|
|
