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Post new topic Thoughts on tackling C6
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Author Topic:  Thoughts on tackling C6
Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 5 Nov 2015 3:40 am    
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From time to time someone posts who has decided that they've put off for long enough exploring the rear neck, so although I'm still a relative beginner, here are a couple of thoughts which might help (and others may disagree):-

1. The biggest difference I found is that on the E9 most of the chords you play contain the root, but on the C6 they mostly don't. This is because of the way chord substitution works, and each bunch of three or four strings you grab can have several meanings. Simplest example is the C6 chord that gives the tuning its name and is also Am7, but it can represent Fmaj7/9 too. Added ninths are so commonplace that they're barely mentioned, so although this tuning does have an inner beauty it takes longer to unravel than the E9. On E9 the pedals offer you notes within the scale - on C6 they often take you out of it.

2. Tune to B6. I stayed with C to get off the ground, as that is how all the books are written. But I began to think if I ever wanted to play a universal, it would be less confusing if I already had the geography. I soon got used to reading instructional material up a fret, and when I did try a universal at least I knew where I was! (In fact I've become a convert, but I can easily go back to my D10 which is still parked on B)
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Lane Gray


From:
Topeka, KS
Post  Posted 5 Nov 2015 6:30 am    
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Point 1 is all too often overlooked, and might even be a couple points in one.
The last sentence is one of the keys to getting it. The changes are NOT diatonic, so the neck requires a different flavor of thinking.
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Pete Burak

 

From:
Portland, OR USA
Post  Posted 5 Nov 2015 8:53 am    
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My main thought on the 6th tuning is, it's way easier than E9th.
Have someone show you how to get around on San Antone Rose and a few others, and you can play 100's of Swing songs.
It's fun as hell! Smile
Put on some ol' Commander Cody or Asleep at the Wheel, and play along!
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Jim Bloomfield

 

From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 5 Nov 2015 2:02 pm    
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I'm hoping to take the plunge to C6 within the next year. It's interesting to hear the different philosophies and concepts of the more mysterious neck. I've played with one briefly and thought it seemed easier to get around on than when I first learned E9. Maybe that's just me though...
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Russell Adkins

 

From:
Louisiana, USA
Post  Posted 5 Nov 2015 2:33 pm    
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In learning both necks I don't think either is any harder than the other just different. Of course being a beginner myself I might see things differently down the road as I become more of a player and begin to understand both necks better.
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