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Topic: respect the bar.. |
Jason Schofield
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Posted 11 Dec 2011 4:41 am |
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| Hey gang, I've been playing acoustic and electric 6-strings for 27 years now.. been messing around with pedal-steel and lap-steel for several years now. I don't take it lightly.. I feel there is a massive amount of respect you have to give the bar..? I sound like a dying cat most of the time..haha,.. but I'm getting there.. Question is.. after 27 years of the same tuning on the 6 string.. how do you cats adapt to the different tunings of steel guitar? A hundred different scale patterns..I'm just focusing on c6 at the moment.. but I notice that most cats learn about a half a dozen tunings.. holy moly..not to mention chord structures..is every new tuning like learing a new instrument? If I can't play Mary had a little lamb clean with the bar then.. no need to go any further, right?.. haha.. Thanks.. |
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Bob Russell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2011 6:28 am
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Since you've been playing guitar for a long time, you probably already know that there's a lot of mileage to be gotten out of double-stops and triads. For example, a simple A minor triad played in the right setting could be heard as part of a Dm9, a G9sus, an F#m7b5, a B7sus(b9), a Bbma9(#11)... and the list could go on.
You can imply a lot more than is actually under your bar.
Throw in slants and there's an awful lot you can do with C6. Tune the 6th string up to C# and the fun increases; now you have major 6th, minor 7th and dominant 7th chords under the bar. You also have three out of the four triad types (you'll have to slant for augmented triads.) There's much fun to be had here... 
It's easy to get sucked into the whirlpool of more tunings, more strings, more gear, more guitars, etc. (And you'll hear about it all right here on SGF!) But I think your instinct is correct: best to focus on the basics. If you still feel insecure about your bar handling, changing tunings won't mean much. This dang instrument has got many, many ways in which to kick your butt - fight your battles mindfully. And I say this as someone who is very much still fighting a lot of battles!  |
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Jason Schofield
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Posted 11 Dec 2011 6:12 pm
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| haha, thanks Bob, for the words of wisdom. Yes, implied chords are endless. I really want to stick to the C6 and "master" it before I fire up the E9 pedal steel again..I'll have to try tuning the 6th string up to C# again..tried it a long time ago but it didn't stick at the time. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 11 Dec 2011 7:52 pm
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Once you get the basic foundation with regard to good technique (bar and right hand) you spend more time getting inside a tuning (or two). The more you become acquainted with one tuning and the deeper you can see it, the more you see the parallels in other tunings. I really like to think a lot in terms of intervals and I spend a lot of time just practicing playing intervallic stuff, such as major and minor 7ths, or 4ths or 10ths, etc., all the way up and down the neck, in and out of keys, and through changes. I do a lot of this with a Freeze pedal and a Boss Loop Station.
I still think the best way of learning is to pick out some challenging material, since there is a really good chance that a lot of real estate is going to be covered in that tuning.
My thing is, I'm always changing the tunings or deconstructing them a little to get closer to what I need. I have about 10 different variations on C6, some very interesting, although only slightly different. At some point you figure out what you need and you go for it.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Jerome Hawkes
From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2011 9:27 am
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i've heard MANY guitar turned steel players say this, and i had to learn it for myself, but the best thing you can do is not try to "think" like a guitar player on the steel - that, and the C6 has nothing in common with std guitar tuning, so dont spend months frustrated over trying to find the "connection" - just learn it as its own unique instrument and you begin to find it makes way more sense than thinking from a guitar tuning approach.
i spent the first 6 months trying to use what i knew on gtr and apply it to steel, i think thats only natural for a beginner, but if you have been at it for over a year, you need to let go and see it as Mike says, a stack of intervals that make up a certain chord and REALLY get in there and sharpen your EAR to those intervals. thats the key to being able to navigate different tunings - 90% of gtr players are locked into pattern / shapes - that thinking is the sure way to failure on the steel...IMO (cause tunings change and there goes your "system") - at least you will lock yourself into 1 tuning and not see the larger palette. not saying you dont use patterns and shapes, of course you do, but they are secondary to the intervallic sounds.
the only bar advice i can give is to carry it around with you and twirl it around in your hands - while you're driving, watching tv, reading, etc - i remember doing this as a kid with a pencil - soon, the bar is just another finger, you dont think about it at all - you MUST have the sound in your head though, a clear tone - not a weak tone - goes back to ear training again. dont play with any effects or distortion - makes it painfully clear.
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'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II |
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J Hill
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2011 12:40 pm
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| Is there any guidance here on the Forum that shows the C6 intervals? |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Jerome Hawkes
From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2011 1:06 pm
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i think Mike's link sums up about every guitar players frustration with the C6 - and the solution to the problem
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'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II |
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J Hill
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2011 2:04 pm
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| Thanks so much, Mike! Now there's hope for me! |
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Jason Schofield
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Posted 12 Dec 2011 5:39 pm
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| thanks for the great info Mike.. I gotta get practicing now.. |
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