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Post new topic C6 Tuning on 6 String, Bar Slants?
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Author Topic:  C6 Tuning on 6 String, Bar Slants?
W. Johnson


From:
Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 9:01 am    
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Lately, (as in the last week or so), I've been playing my 6 string lap steel in the C6 tuning. The more I use this tuning, the more I like it. I'm kind of baffled as to why anyone would think this tuning is 'dated'? Maybe there is a better tuning?

(Prior to using the C6 tuning, I have been playing my lap steel that has several palm levers to obtain various chords.)

I'm using the tuning: C - E - G - A - C - E. Because my fingers have arthritis in them, I have to play with a flat pick.

Anyway, I'm wondering about bar slants, and the various chords that can be obtained. In particular, what is a good way to get a dominant 7th chord, or M7 chord?

W. Johnson
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Dave Broyles


From:
Olympia,WA USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 9:45 am    
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A very common variation of the C6 tuning is C6/A7, achieved by tuning your low C to C# (C#,E,G,A,C,E). This gives you the dominate chords on the lower 4 strings.
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W. Johnson


From:
Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 9:48 am    
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Dave Broyles wrote:
A very common variation of the C6 tuning is C6/A7, achieved by tuning your low C to C# (C#,E,G,A,C,E). This gives you the dominate chords on the lower 4 strings.
This looks interesting, I'll try it out.

Thanks,
Wayne
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Greg Moynihan


From:
Bremerton, Washington, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 12:31 pm    
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I like the sound of playing the third on the low E string and the minor 7th on the A string with a forward slant, for example, as a partial C7:

x
x
13
x
12
x

Then, you can do this nifty harmonic shortcut by shifting both notes one fret lower, which gives you an inversion of F7:

x
x
12
x
11
x

Also, if you have a round-nose bar, you can wedge the curve between the A and the high C string. If the size of the bar agrees with your string spacing, then, with practice, this will sound three notes in an F7:

x
12
12
x
11
x

And, finally, G7 can be obtained by moving this chord two frets higher:

x
14
14
x
13
x

Hope this helps!
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Edward Meisse

 

From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 1:24 pm    
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There are several books for 6 string C6 lap steel for sale here on the forum. Any one of them would be very helpful. I'm familiar with the De Witt Scott book. So I can recommend that outright.
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Joe Burke

 

From:
Toronto, Canada
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 6:41 pm    
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Thanks Greg! I've recently started playing C6 (moving from G). Playing slant chords is what makes playing steel great.
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W. Johnson


From:
Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 8:00 pm    
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Thanks guys for the help. I'll try some of the bar slants out. I'll also check out the book(s).

Wayne
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Michael James


From:
La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jun 2014 10:42 pm    
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I use the Cma11 tuning. CEGBDF - Low to High. This tuning has a lot of slant options.

Last edited by Michael James on 19 Nov 2014 10:11 am; edited 1 time in total
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Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 12 Jun 2014 4:27 am    
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Some super cool and useful slants for a Dom 7 chord with the 7th and root on the 1st string:

Tab:

---6-------------8-----------
---------------------------
---7-------------7---------
---------------------------
---8-------------6---------
----------------------------


These are both C7 chords. They are also very easy to play.
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Greg Moynihan


From:
Bremerton, Washington, USA
Post  Posted 12 Jun 2014 4:13 pm    
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Mr. Neer -- Those slants are so completely awesome, thank you sir!
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W. Johnson


From:
Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 12 Jun 2014 7:45 pm    
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Michael James wrote:
I use the Cma11 tuning. CEGBDF - Low to High. This tuning has a lot of slant options.

Here are a couple of videos I made showing the slants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eju9ZaBpOm8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAmm9LXOudM

Here's some pdf

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4pX2am-1ifyYlRHb283LXRJZkE

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4pX2am-1ifyYlRHb283LXRJZkE


I watched your videos, very informative and you explain it well. I also am looking at the PDF files. All good stuff. I will have to tune one of my guitars to this tuning and experiment with it.
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Michael James


From:
La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
Post  Posted 12 Jun 2014 8:54 pm    
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Thanks for looking into it. I hope you find what your looking for. Smile
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