| Author |
Topic: Sacred Steel tunning |
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 10:12 am |
|
Hi
Anyone know what tunning and any string gauge difference for sacred steel?
Thanks Dennis |
|
|
 |
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 10:17 am
|
|
It's E7, low to high B E G# B D E. A C6th set will work in a pinch.
If you have 8 strings, add two low strings E and G#.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
|
|
|
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 1:08 pm
|
|
Thanks Bob
So on a eight string guitar it would be low to high E, G#, B, E, G#, B, D, E. Is that correct.
Dennis |
|
|
|
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
|
|
|
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
|
Posted 27 Dec 2012 9:39 pm WHY a 'special tuning' for sacred steel?
|
|
| I can play many a beautiful sacred tune on the olde standby C6th/A7th.........with ease and no difficulty whatsoever. |
|
|
|
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
|
|
|
|
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 12:26 am
|
|
Thanks Bob,
great clip with some great soulful playing in it. The guy playing what looked like a fender deluxe 8 about halfway thru had a sound I love. Thats going to get more than a couple of plays by me.
Dennis |
|
|
|
HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 7:54 am
|
|
| Darrick Campbell has that touch & tone......beautiful..... |
|
|
|
CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 8:55 am
|
|
that's a great clip b0b
Steel might be dyin' for some - for many, it's alive & well in Church...  |
|
|
|
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
|
Posted 28 Dec 2012 10:12 am
|
|
Thanks Howard I missed the name first time through.
Also on the side video's there's one that has Steel Guitar and is a 12yo boy playing at church and a lady with a gibson br9 on the couch to his right. Both the gibson and the steel have colord frets in 3, 5 etc. this might be part of a class on playing? I would post a link but I don't know how yet.
Dennis |
|
|
|
Steve Hotra
From:
Camas, Washington
|
Posted 22 Jul 2013 3:51 pm
|
|
| b0b wrote: |
It's E7, low to high B E G# B D E. A C6th set will work in a pinch.
If you have 8 strings, add two low strings E and G#. |
Thanks!
Sounds great!
_________________
Guitars: Rittenberry SD S-10, Gretsch Black Falcon. Effects: Wampler Paisley, Strymon Timeline, Sarno Earth Drive.
Fractal FM9
Amps: Mesa Express 5:25, Jazzkat Tomkat & Boss Katana head / various cabs. |
|
|
|
Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
|
Posted 29 Jul 2013 10:03 am
|
|
Howdy,
There is no one sacred steel tuning, but almost all the players use either straight major or 7th tunings.
Darick Campbell, seen playing End of My Journey in the video trailer, usually plays E6th, with a C# on the second string, and I'm quite sure that's what he is using here. He has an instructional video on Homespun. (So does Chuck C.)
Aubrey Ghent and many other 6-string lap players use Dobro tuning, 1-3-5-1-3-5, pitched anywhere from G to B-flat, usually G or A.
As for the bass strings, sacred steelers usually use 1 and 5 on the bottom, very seldom the 3rd.
It's not the tuning, but how you play it...
Best,
Bob |
|
|
|
Steve Hotra
From:
Camas, Washington
|
Posted 4 Aug 2013 4:19 pm
|
|
Great insight, thanks for keeping the thread going!
_________________
Guitars: Rittenberry SD S-10, Gretsch Black Falcon. Effects: Wampler Paisley, Strymon Timeline, Sarno Earth Drive.
Fractal FM9
Amps: Mesa Express 5:25, Jazzkat Tomkat & Boss Katana head / various cabs. |
|
|
|
Steve Green
From:
Gulfport, MS, USA
|
Posted 27 Oct 2015 4:02 pm
|
|
| b0b wrote: |
It's E7, low to high B E G# B D E. A C6th set will work in a pinch.
If you have 8 strings, add two low strings E and G#. |
What if you have a 10 string non-pedal?
_________________
Some songs I've written |
|
|
|
Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 4:18 am
|
|
Nope it is the tuning.
It is designed so you have major pentatonic scale at your fingertips which is nice for that style as then the minor is only a few frets down.
But the problem with that is it just sounds repetitive. They rarely play outside.
Listen to Robert Randolph, who at least plays outside when going at high speed.
or AJ Ghent (Aubrey Ghent's Son)
But to be honest they all sound the same because they literally stick to those scales. At least in Blues when you bend notes and use diminished scales it adds colour. Sacred steel style tends to be very repetitive humming used in Church. No matter what song they always do the SAME scale.
I used to love listening to it but after hearing Roosevelt Coolier, Robert Randolph, Darrick Campbell etc. They sound too similar for me.
Steve Cunningham uses flurries of the sacred steel style but mixes up with loads of different scales so it adds colour. Probably worth a check out.
Sorry to say this if it offends but they could really use some diversity by bending strings or using other scales.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
|
|
|
Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 4:21 am
|
|
Also their Lap Steel Guitar tuning is meant for single note playing and framming(strumming to a their specific gospel chord arrangements)
It is not as complex harmonically as a 6th tuning or others thus falls short when playing solo or in a band situation.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
|
|
|
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 5:46 am
|
|
Everyone's entitled tho their subjective option but for my money, the Sacred Steel players may have a limited musical vocabulary, but they express that vocabulary in a way that reflects the human condition and completely grabs the listener.
There's a reason that African American music is one of the deepest currents in American popular music. Sacred steel players seem to cut across cultural divides and make people of all stripes want to get up and move.
I love more complex, intellectual music too but I think you may be missing the point: it's not the about the complexity of the words used, it's how the vocabulary the have is expressed.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
|
|
|
Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 7:27 am
|
|
| Andy Volk wrote: |
Everyone's entitled tho their subjective option but for my money, the Sacred Steel players may have a limited musical vocabulary, but they express that vocabulary in a way that reflects the human condition and completely grabs the listener.
There's a reason that African American music is one of the deepest currents in American popular music. Sacred steel players seem to cut across cultural divides and make people of all stripes want to get up and move.
I love more complex, intellectual music too but I think you may be missing the point: it's not the about the complexity of the words used, it's how the vocabulary the have is expressed. |
I do love blues music.
and I enjoyed their playing for a spell
As stated before using their tuning isn't necessary if you have a 6th tuning. Its just the scale that use that gives them the sound. And chords are rarely never used so why re-tune your instrument. Why not learn the scale.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
|
|
|
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 8:49 am
|
|
| It's about the feeling I get from music. Most of what they call praise music does nothing for me. With the sacred steel I feel the spirit as they say. Like the blues it's not what you play it the feeling that comes out. All the old blues guys could say more with a few notes than a shred guitarist can with a thousand, IMHO.Same with Jazz I like a melody my brain can follow but some sound like bumble bees on acid. |
|
|
|
Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 12:21 pm
|
|
| Dennis Smith wrote: |
| It's about the feeling I get from music. Most of what they call praise music does nothing for me. With the sacred steel I feel the spirit as they say. Like the blues it's not what you play it the feeling that comes out. All the old blues guys could say more with a few notes than a shred guitarist can with a thousand, IMHO.Same with Jazz I like a melody my brain can follow but some sound like bumble bees on acid. |
I like a blend.
I hear music like communication. Speaking slowly and calmly or aggressive and fast when needed. But that's beside the point.
I tend to get tired after a short while because it is rarely altered was my point. Blues is altered not sacred steel melodic lines.
The feel is nice and variation of speed but its like having a conversation repeating 2 phrases over and over again. In blues BB king and many other use tons of licks and scales to help them express better.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
|
|
|
Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
|
|
|
|
Dennis Smith
From:
Covington, Georgia, USA
|
Posted 28 Oct 2015 1:33 pm
|
|
| Stefan check out the Ted Green clinic I posted in the music section if you haven't seen it. The way he explains what's going on in his head and how it come out as he's talking. Also there is a pro guitar clinic of Ted's on youtube that's very good. |
|
|
|
Michael James
From:
La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
|
Posted 1 Nov 2015 4:16 pm
|
|
I've had a few conversations with Steve Cunningham on the topic of sacred steel. Even though Steve and I use use different tunings we never once talked about tuning.
I hear sacred steel players playing a lot of single string Pentatonic based lickes which makes the tuning a bit less important.
Also the vibrato is something us white guys that haven't been raised in southern gospel churches will most likely never get.This isn't a bad thing. I believe us white guys can find our way to something that speaks to everyone. But it will just be different.
I wish Steve would chime in on this. He has a deep understanding of sacred steel music.
mj
I love this video by Steve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcuxTVBVepI
Check out the lick at 1:29 |
|
|
|
