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Topic: love that 11th string raise! |
Barry Hyman
From:
upstate New York, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2009 7:20 pm |
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I play an E9th twelve-string, so this is for all you twelve-string players out there:
When I got my new Williams in May, I got my old copedant expanded. LKL now raises my 7th string from F# to G, the same as my 1st string, and that's great, but what I am particularly excited about is that I asked to have the B pedal raise the 11th string from G# to A, along with strings 3 and 6. (On my old steel, strings 7 and 11 didn't move.)
So now I can get all these great mellow chords on strings 11, 10 and 8 -- all the same chords that ten-string players get on strings 6, 5, and 4, but an octave lower -- so fat-sounding! Three major inversions, three minor inversions (if I change my grip slightly for one of those minors), plus all the usual sevenths and diminished chords. The tone is fabulous -- it sounds like an entirely different instrument, more like a church organ. Gives me a whole new tonal register to improvise in -- lower in pitch and richer in tone. Then when I go back to more usual grips on the thinner strings, it really jumps out like a different musical instrument. I like that! Yet another crowd-pleasing trick!
(Of course I get a major triad on my three thickest strings, but my twelfth string doesn't move, so I am having more fun finding different chords on strings 11, 10, and 8 because all three of those strings have pulls, so all kinds of musical things are possible. The 11th string can be G# or A, the 10th string can be Bb, B, C, or C#, and the 8th string can be Eb, E, or F. That's a lot of possible chords on just those three strings!)
And since everything is the same theory-wise and copedant-wise as on strings 6, 5, and 4 (except my C pedal doesn't raise my 8th string), I can play fast melodic lead on these thick strings with full chordal harmony at every fret. So it's not just for chords and rhythm parts -- I can play some rippin' lead on those three strings, and it sounds so unusual at that low register. Very happy with this new trick...
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I give music lessons on several different instruments in Cambridge, NY (between Bennington, VT and Albany, NY). But my true love is pedal steel. I've been obsessed with steel since 1972; don't know anything I'd rather talk about... www.barryhyman.com |
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Delvin Morgan
From:
Lindstrom, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 3:21 am
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| And if your 9th string is tuned to D, the first 4 strings is 1dom7. |
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Barry Hyman
From:
upstate New York, USA
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Posted 22 Sep 2009 6:00 pm
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Possible chords, on just strings 11, 10, and 8, in open position:
E, A, Am, partial B7, C#m, G#m, F dim, A aug, C#, C#7, partial Bb7, E sus 4, etc. And of course if I work in the 9th and 7th strings, the possibilities become endless, adding E7, A7, F#m, G, G7, E6, A6, B6, etc. etc. These low chords sound so cool!
I really think, without intending any disrespect at all to the many amazing steel players out there, that the PSG has possibilities that no one has discovered yet! There are just so many different ways to approach the instrument!
_________________
I give music lessons on several different instruments in Cambridge, NY (between Bennington, VT and Albany, NY). But my true love is pedal steel. I've been obsessed with steel since 1972; don't know anything I'd rather talk about... www.barryhyman.com |
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Brian McGaughey
From:
Orcas Island, WA USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2009 6:02 am
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Sounds cool, Barry. I find myself on 10, 8, and 6 doing chordal things or rolls alot.
I'd imagine you you have to roll off the low end to keep the mud at bay on those "low" chords? |
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Barry Hyman
From:
upstate New York, USA
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Posted 23 Sep 2009 8:06 am
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No, I don't have to roll off the low end, because my steel has a George L E-66 pickup (very bright) and I am playing through a Music Man tube amp with ten inch speakers (can be VERY bright). So I tend to pump the low eq on the amp (bass at 6, mids at 2, treble at 4), and I play without picks (I really am a weirdo!), and I generally have an aesthetic preference for the thick strings and the lower frets. It ends up balancing out perfectly...
The other thing about chords on strings 11, 10, and 8 versus strings 10, 8, and 6, is that the former are all wound strings, whereas most steel players have an unwound sixth string. That has a subtle effect on the tone and blend of the chord as well. But don't get me wrong -- I like it all. These low chords are just my current infatuation...
_________________
I give music lessons on several different instruments in Cambridge, NY (between Bennington, VT and Albany, NY). But my true love is pedal steel. I've been obsessed with steel since 1972; don't know anything I'd rather talk about... www.barryhyman.com |
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Brian McGaughey
From:
Orcas Island, WA USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2009 7:53 pm
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10" speakers? No picks? Extended E9? I dunno...  |
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Brian McGaughey
From:
Orcas Island, WA USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2009 10:52 am
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Gosh Barry, I'm afraid my last post was a "thread stopper". So sorry.
I was just ribbin' ya a bit! |
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