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Topic: Calling Mike Idhe |
Jim Hoke
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 23 May 2011 9:44 am |
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Hi Mike.
I just acquired a beautiful '54 Fender D-8 Dual Pro. Great instrument! So I'm in tuning-experimentation mode and Mike Perlowin said I should check out the "Leavett" tuning. So what's the deal? Is that where you pack up the guitar, "Leave-itt" under the bed, grow up and get a job? |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 23 May 2011 11:26 am
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Hey Jim,
Until Mike comes along here, I'll just pop in and mention that the Leavitt tuning was developed by Bill Leavitt, who was the head of the guitar dept at Berklee College of Music. It's a 6-string lap tuning that allows for playing basically every chord (including diminished, aug, etc.) without ever having to slant your bar (good for lazy people like me who don't want to master the technique). The trade-off, of course, is that you have to move your bar more often and can't just grab a bunch of consecutive strings and have them sound good together; you have to learn new grips.
Mike has put out 2 CDs using this tuning, and a companion book of tab and tracks for one of them. You can find all that at his website www.mikeihde.com
Now wait right here until Mike comes along and tells you that everything I just wrote is wrong... 
Hope you're keeping well,
Jimbeaux
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Jim Hoke
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 23 May 2011 7:13 pm
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| Hey Jim, good to hear from ya. Perlowin told me what the tuning is. I'd already heard about sticking the C# under everything, whether a sixth-ish sound or the dominant seventh sound. That's brilliant. Yeah, you gotta be careful what you grab, but it's a beautiful thing, what all you can get out of that no-pedal. I'm working on a variation that'll allow also for major seventh chords but you know, unless you're playing solo, you just play the upper parts of chords and leave roots to the other instruments anyway. Hey, I've got it! What if you put PEDALS on those things to change certain strings? Naaah, that'd never work...... |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Mike Ihde
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 23 May 2011 9:04 pm
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Jim,
Did Mike tell you the tuning is (from low to high) C#, E, G, Bb, C and D? It's not "just put a C# under everything.
Go here and listen to some excerpts from my CD's. It's really amazing what you can get from it. Also search "Leavitt" on the forum and see what others have done with it.
And for the record, it's Lev - it" not "leave - it"
http://mikeihde.com/pubs.htm |
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Jim Hoke
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 24 May 2011 5:53 am
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| Wow Mike - this is incredible! Well I'm totally sold. So, for the benefit of me and all the no-pedalers out there, please tell the folks w/ 8-string guitars what 2 strings you would add to that tuning. An E and G above? Maybe G and C so you could play around w/ stacks of 4ths? Or maybe go lower.... |
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Mike Ihde
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 24 May 2011 5:38 pm
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Some have added an Eb on 7 and a G on 8, some have added a G# above and an Eb above that (new strings 2 and 1)
I continue to play the 6 string tuning. |
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