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Author Topic:  E13th Tuning
John Kalament

 

From:
South Carolina
Post  Posted 12 Feb 2020 11:42 am    
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I just purchased the Don Helms book"Your Cheating Heart" and have a few questions. I need to change to a E13th tuning to be able to play the songs in his book but I am using a Six String Lap and he plays everything on an 8 String but he doesn't use strings 7 & 8. What is the E13th Tuning on a Six String and also do I have to change the string Gauges or can I just change from C6th to E13th using the same Gauge Strings.
Thanks for suggestions.
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Jack Hanson


From:
San Luis Valley, USA
Post  Posted 12 Feb 2020 12:14 pm     Re: E13th Tuning
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John Kalament wrote:
What is the E13th Tuning on a Six String and also do I have to change the string Gauges or can I just change from C6th to E13th using the same Gauge Strings.
Thanks for suggestions.

What is the E13th Tuning on a Six String... On a 6-string it would be E6 (E-G#-B-C#-E-G#, low to high).

...do I have to change the string Gauges... Yes. You should use considerably lighter strings to tune from C6 up to E6.

You could also mentally transpose the written tab four frets higher -- play what's written for the 12th fret on the 16th fret, etc. -- to achieve the same results.

I have that book, and I set up a separate 6-string instrument in E6 to play along with the CD.
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John Kalament

 

From:
South Carolina
Post  Posted 12 Feb 2020 12:37 pm     E13th Tuning
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Thank you so much Jack ! Do you have any suggestions on the string gauges I should use for the E6 Tuning ?
Thanks again Jack !
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Jack Hanson


From:
San Luis Valley, USA
Post  Posted 12 Feb 2020 12:52 pm     Re: E13th Tuning
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John Kalament wrote:
Do you have any suggestions on the string gauges I should use for the E6 Tuning ?

String gauges are dependent on the scale length and the desired pitch. This is what I installed on my rescued BR-9 with a 22.5" scale that I set up for E6:

G#: .012
E: .015
C#: .017
B: .020p
G#: .026w
E: .032

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John Kalament

 

From:
South Carolina
Post  Posted 12 Feb 2020 1:44 pm     E13th Tuning
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Thanks again Jack ! I will try them !
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Brian Evans

 

From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Post  Posted 14 Feb 2020 4:50 am    
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Late to the party, but if you are learning songs on your own, not played with a band or a singer, why not learn them from the tab in the C6 tuning you already have? Sure you would be playing transposed a few notes down, but the point of the tune would still be there... Edit - just noticed there is a CD involved, sorry...

What is the difference between E6 and E13 tuning, anyway? For me, a 13th chord is a major chord with a flat 7, and a 13 (aka 6) note. Does a 13 tuning have a flat 7 in there?
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Bo Parker

 

From:
Alabama, USA
Post  Posted 14 Feb 2020 4:58 am    
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Brian Evans wrote:


What is the difference between E6 and E13 tuning, anyway? For me, a 13th chord is a major chord with a flat 7, and a 13 (aka 6) note. Does a 13 tuning have a flat 7 in there?


Yes. E.g., the Leon McAuliffe E13 tuning is

E G# D F# G# B C# E

low to high.

-Bo Parker
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Brian Evans

 

From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Post  Posted 14 Feb 2020 6:53 am    
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E G# D F# G# B C# E

So you have a lot going on there. 1 - 3 - b7 - 9(2) - 3 - 13(6) - 1 You have two minor third intervals, also. I can see why a real musician would choose that, but I would be so over my head with those choices...
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Allan Revich


From:
Victoria, BC
Post  Posted 23 Feb 2020 9:38 am    
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Bo Parker wrote:
Brian Evans wrote:


What is the difference between E6 and E13 tuning, anyway? For me, a 13th chord is a major chord with a flat 7, and a 13 (aka 6) note. Does a 13 tuning have a flat 7 in there?


Yes. E.g., the Leon McAuliffe E13 tuning is

E G# D F# G# B C# E

low to high.

-Bo Parker


So if you wanted the full E13 on a six string you’d lose the duplicated E and G# strings?
E G# D F# B C# ?
_________________
Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)

https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database
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Joe Scherzi


From:
New York, USA
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2020 7:03 am    
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A "full" 13th chord would actually be 7 notes.
Without getting into what key if you stack a 3rd on top of a 7th chord (4 notes) it's a 9th(5 notes). Add another 3rd on top of that and it's an 11th chord(6 notes). Add another 3rd and it's a 13th chord(7 notes).
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Allan Revich


From:
Victoria, BC
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2020 8:17 am    
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Joe Scherzi wrote:
A "full" 13th chord would actually be 7 notes.
Without getting into what key if you stack a 3rd on top of a 7th chord (4 notes) it's a 9th(5 notes). Add another 3rd on top of that and it's an 11th chord(6 notes). Add another 3rd and it's a 13th chord(7 notes).


Right, I should have been more precise. I was wondering if the tuning I proposed above would be considered as the best E13 possible on a 6 string? Or is it an E11?

Either way, someone earlier suggested that one would have to settle for an E7 or E6 tuning if they only had a 6 string, the tuning above would seem to make sense if one wanted to get closer to E13 tuning.

I’m currently adjusting to the advantages of a 9 tuning (D9)... I’m not ready to move on to more complicated tunings yet.
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Bo Parker

 

From:
Alabama, USA
Post  Posted 24 Feb 2020 12:43 pm    
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Allan Revich wrote:

So if you wanted the full E13 on a six string you’d lose the duplicated E and G# strings?
E G# D F# B C# ?



IMO, if I wanted to keep the essence of Leon McAuliffe E13 on a 6 string, I'd drop the lower duplicated E and G#, meaning the original strings 7 and 8, leaving

D F# G# B C# E

low-to-high.

One of the IMO really strong harmonic "chunks" in the Leon E13 is the quartal triad on strings 6, 4, and 2. Also having the root on string 1 is one of the nice "strummy" features of the E13 tuning.

-Bo Parker
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