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Topic: The traditional Hawaiian tuning for 8 string lap steel |
Wayne D. Clark
From:
Montello Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 5 Aug 2015 7:07 pm |
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| The traditional Hawaiian tuning for 8 string lap steel. Has it changed over the years? I know today c6th seems to be the popular tuning. I started playing 6th string in the mid '40's. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 6 Aug 2015 6:21 am
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I think many people have experimented with various tunings over the years, but C6th remains the most popular.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Paul Honeycutt
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 6 Aug 2015 6:30 am
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| I think it helps to have a "standard" tuning for teaching and ease of playing different instruments. I'm sure there are players using other tunings or variations, but C6 is pretty much the defacto standard. At the least its a starting point for a lot of players. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 6 Aug 2015 7:34 am
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The A tuning was the original "Hawaiian" tuning.
When I went to an 8 string guitar I added F# to the tuning to make it an A6th. I had that on one of the necks on a T-8 Stringmaster. |
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Paul Honeycutt
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 7 Aug 2015 9:06 am
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| Erv, I have some old Hawaiian Guitar books and they are all in A. I forgot about those. I don't know when the 6th came about, but it seems to be the popular tuning at the moment. |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 7 Aug 2015 10:17 am
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I think the C6 sound for Hawaiian music became widely popular through the Hawaii Calls program, and the playing of Jules Ah See, Barney Isaacs, and Jake Keli'ikoa. The influence of Jerry Byrd is probably responsible for a lot of its dissemination as well. The 6th sound became what a lot of casual listeners associate with the Hawaiian sound.
Erv, that is interesting about adding the F# to the A tuning to make it A6. I think there are vestiges of that in Billy Hew Len and Danny Stewart to name a couple of players who played A6. Come to think of it, it's a standard tuning of the Western Swing repertoire--and Leon McAuliffe and Herb Remington started in Hawaiian music, probably using the A maj tuning popular at the time. This could be how the 6th sound first came into the picture in the '40s? |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 7 Aug 2015 11:05 am
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| If I remember right, I believe that Jerry Byrd is credited for coming up with the C6th tuning. |
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Ashoke kumar Das
From:
West Bengal, India
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Posted 11 Aug 2015 3:00 am
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I have learned some tunes on C#m tunning. It low to high E B E G# C# E. Is it old mathod?
Ashoke. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2015 7:30 am
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On my T-8 Stringmaster, the C#m7 tuning was on one of the necks.
I put a B between the C# and G#. |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 11 Aug 2015 12:51 pm
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| Ashoke kumar Das wrote: |
I have learned some tunes on C#m tunning. It low to high E B E G# C# E. Is it old mathod?
Ashoke. |
That tuning is an offshoot of the original A maj that was mentioned above. In the late '20s, and especially along with the advent of electric guitars in the '30s, players found they could get C#m7 and E7 by retuning a few strings on the A maj tuning. Think Sol Hoopii, Andy Iona, Dick McIntire.
It is an "old method" only in the sense that it has been superseded in popularity by C6, though they are still valid and useful. I love them for old Hawaiian steel sounds.
When 8 strings came along, it was common to do what Erv did and tune to E13...which allows for a combination of C#m7 and E7 on the same neck. |
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Jim Myers
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 11 Aug 2015 6:24 pm
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I have a Hawaiian songbook from 1936 for 6 string and the tuning it uses is, low to high E,A,E,A,C#,E
_________________
D8 Hollow neck acoustic.
Raised nut on a Gene Autry Melody Ranch.
ShoBud D10 The Professional.
56 D8 Stringmaster. |
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Ashoke kumar Das
From:
West Bengal, India
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Posted 12 Aug 2015 6:21 am The traditional hawaiin tunning for 8 string lao
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Well, this is straight A Major tunning. I have also an havit to play. Now is not popular for six string? Any member have tab?
Ashoke. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 12 Aug 2015 6:24 am
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Ashoke,
Please start a new discussion with your questions about open A tuning for six string lap steel. This discussion is "The traditional Hawaiian tuning for 8 string lap steel".
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 12 Aug 2015 6:38 am
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There are two different 6 string A tunings, the A high bass and the A low base. The high bass tuning was (hi to low): E C# A E C# A and the low bass was: E C# A E A E.
I play the high bass tuning. That is similiar to the G dobro tuning only one tone higher. I also use that tuning on dobro. There was a dobro player on the Grand Ole Opry who also used that tuning. I wonder if it wasn't Cousin Jody. |
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C. E. Jackson
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Posted 12 Aug 2015 7:40 am My Tuning for 8 String Steel
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I learned on the 6 string high bass tuning:
E C# A E C# A (H-L)
Later, I also added F# to make A6:
6 string: E C# A F# E C# (H-L)
I find it very easy to go from 6 string steels to 7 or 8 string steels with the following tuning of additional strings:
7 string: E C# A F# E C# A (H-L)
8 string: E C# A F# E C# A G (H-L)
I like the G rather than F# on the 8th string for playing certain songs.
I find that I can easily play C6 tab music by playing in the same key of the C6 tab on the A6 tuning, and the A6
gives me some additional lower notes on 7 and 8 string steels.
C. E.
_________________
My Vintage Steel Guitars
My YouTube Steel Guitar Playlists
My YouTube Steel Guitar Songs
A6 tuning for steels |
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