Transcribing Dick McIntire's Twilight Blues

Jesse Pearson · From: San Diego , CA

After spending a couple of days of really working on Dick McIntire's "Twilight Blues" once again using the the amazing slow downer, I am struck with some interesting observation's of what I'm hearing Dick do with his bar. I compared my hand written notes with Guy Cundell's great looking transcription of "Twilight Blues" and noticed a number of different notes between the two of us? I read all the comments about the reverse slant that Guy tabbed out for Dick's chord solo and this is what I'm thinking might be going on. Here's a link to Guy's tab: https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=313711&sid=ec4a85e6ac22ddde49eed97fd6d4c80e

Here's the audio on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExrJCvglgBE

1. Dick's own personal off set tuning and long scale neck is going to effect his bar placement and technique. If you have a different off set tuning on your lap steel and a short scale neck i.e. tuned all Equal Temperament as opposed to the same off set tuning Dick is using, then your bar placement will have a subtle difference than Dick's bar placement at times compared to the fret lines of your lap steel. That's an extreme comparison but you get my drift.

2. There are 4 different little phrases where Dick's bar is clearly not on the bar lines intonation wise. It's like the way a sitar player has more notes between the octave then say a piano. These are usually at .5 of some fret marker (the half way middle point between two side by side frets) on my fender steel with legs (short scale neck).

3. If your always putting your bar right on the bar line of your lap steel for chords and the person your transcribing sometimes doesn't, is this going to trick your ear into thinking there is i.e. a reverse slant instead of something like a bar placement of 12.5 instead?

4. Dick was the king of quick palm/finger mutes. He seems to have a very practical way of playing and I don't think he would of tried to use very subtle reverse or forward slant's of one or two notes with a three note chord on his long scale neck during a very quick line if he could help it. It just doesn't seem practical to me and it's also very hard to stay in tune even on a short scale neck when it's uptempo. I'm not referring to his use of the top three strings forward slant that he used frequently with speed, used for a forward slant ninth chord voicing: from low to high i.e. G9 = frets 15, 16, 17 = Strings G#, C#, E = intervals 3rd, b7th , 9th.

5. Don Helms had a similar style using straight bars to great effect and had great intonation.

6. Nowhere am I aware of Dick teaching subtle reverse bar slants in his instruction books. Mike Near posted a few years ago that someone had given him hand written music lessons from Dick, so Mike would have a deeper insight on this then me. Mike also agreed with Guys reverse slant from Guys transcription.

7. Dick used a long scale Fry Pan and I'm using a short scale as probably most of us are. How would this effect quick reverse slants? The Dickerson student lap steels were all short scale necks and would have been easier to do slants on compared to a long scale neck. This should be taken into consideration as well.

I don't see these subtle reverse slants having to be performed quickly as being practical for C#m7, when you can get pretty much the same effect by using an offset tuning and a bar placement with the added .5 placement between frets. Which approach is fudging the notes compared to what Dick actually was doing? Well, that's what I'm trying to understand. I'm sure others who have tried to transcribe Dick McItire have run into similiar questions over the years. I would like to hear your thoughts on these observations. Thanks

Jesse Pearson · From: San Diego , CA

In analyzing Guys first two measures of his transcription of Dick's "Twilight Blues" compared to what I came up with, I think maybe what I'm hearing is Dick kinda fudging the notes in the second measure for a quasi F+5 triad effect (the + stands for augmented). These are the first two measures that I'm hearing (listen to the audio to hear the phrasing):

|-12-13-----|--------------|
|-12-13-13-|-12.5-12.5--|
|-12-13-13-|-12.5-12.5--|
|---------13-|-12.5-12.5--|
|-------------|--------------|

Guys triad is a correctly spelled augmented triad, but it's impossible to get the middle note right on fret 13. That middle note using a reverse slant like Guy is using is a 12.5 position, the same position as what I'm hearing and using. The top note of Guys triad is C# right at the 12th fret, but that sounds lower to me then what Dick was using. You can hear that the top note is not at the 12th fret and it's not at the 13th fret either, it's right in the middle at 12.5 as are the middle and bottom notes, ergo, a quasi F+5 chord that's very easy to make and mute quickly if needed.

If you want to try a single string experiment, play a note at the 12th fret of your high E string (doesn't matter what your tuning is), then the 12.5 fret location and then the 13th fret location. You can clearly hear three distinctly different pitches. This is why we are able to use forward and reverse slants on a steel guitar even though the voicing's aren't perfect. Vibrato helps to fudge any imperfections from being too obvious.

I wonder if this was intentionally done by Dick so he could stay somewhat in tune easy as well as damp quickly or he was just running on auto pilot and intuitively using his ear and was just being familiar with the augmented sound he was easily creating, so he went with it?

I think this is a bonafied C#min7 tuning technique/voicing in order to get a quasi augmented chord effect when your playing at some kind of uptempo speed. Guys voicing is of course a correct voicing for steel theoretically, but harder to make in tune and damp at faster speeds.

An analysis of Dick McIntire's "Twilight Blues" has him playing in between fret markers with his phrases in four different locations in this song and with some on different sets of strings. For my off set tuning, I'm getting (4.3,5.3,6.3), (3.7,4.7), (13.5,12.5), (12.5). Was Dick just fudging the cents of the notes because you can and it's no big deal, probable yes and no. The rest of Dicks bar placements are dead on the frets best that I can tell.

Marc Bell · From: Surat Thani, TH

Appreciate your analysis on this version of this song. I have spent much time over the past couple of years trying to emulate Dick's playing here. I believe the reverse slant sounds closer to the original than the 12.5 suggestion, and as well as sounding (to my ears) more authentic it is certainly more fun, and to an observer looks much cooler. I mean this is swing lap steel - drive it like you stole it!
My problem with playing this version is all in the first 4 chords, that descending run I just can not get to sound right. I mean the triad sliding down 3rd fret to 1st fret and then the first fret with open C# string ringing. Best I can do is pull back the bar and not pick the open string but let it sound out. Very difficult I have no idea why it does not sound right. After fudging the first bar of the song it is hard to regain poise and mood for the rest:)

Jesse Pearson · From: San Diego , CA

Hi Marc, nice to meet you. This song has stumped me for years to be honest with you. I ask myself if Dick was just off the fret markers a little in those places that I can really hear it when slowing the audio down, but yet, the steel still sounds good anyways in those places. Is Dick just a little off in those places because they couldn't do over-dubs back in those days or did he really intend to do that? When I play those places in question right on the frets, they still sound great. That is, all but that second measure. That reverse slant is nice, but I can't do it well on a consistent basis's when I'm going fast. If you can Marc, you have some great technique going on there. If we only had some other live recordings of Dick doing "Twilight Blues", we could compare what he's doing with this recording that we have, and maybe that would answer a few things. All I know is Dick recorded with a long scale neck, which would make a reverse slant doubly hard to do uptempo.

Dicks note damping is a lesson in itself and this song is great for developing that technique with both your hands. I don't have a problem Marc with the chords you mentioned from the first couple of measures because I've been working on blocking this song on and off for years now. This song has helped me with quick blocking probable more then most. Marc, have you tried completely muting the first three chords after you play each one? The 3rd and 4th chords are pretty nice to practice your vibrato with.

I plan on recording myself playing uke, arch-top guitar and upright bass for a backing track to practice over and record myself against on steel so I can try different positions to listen to for this song. I guess we all hear and do different stuff in the end when it comes to playing a song. I'll practice that reverse slant more and record it against the backing track when I get it done and decide if that's maybe what I should do (but I'm not counting on it, lol). I guess I do try and avoid reverse slants when I can, especially when playing fast.

Jesse Pearson · From: San Diego , CA

I've been doing the reverse slant no problem now repeatedly, but when I add vibrato, the top note goes noticeable lower in pitch then what Dick McIntire is doing on the recording with a similar vibrato. The vibrato is the game changer here for me because it has that 12.5 fret position voicing that I like, hitting the top 12th fret position and lowest note 13th fret position of that reverse slant almost right on the mark thanks to adding the vibrato aspect to the equation.

No matter what the ear isn't sure about, the physics of it all explains why the 12.5 fret position works if you use vibrato. This helps clarify what my ear is hearing after all. If you make the reverse slant without vibrato in a static position, it's of course going to sound alright on it's own, but add that vibrato and it's not the same as what Dick did IMHO. But of course, it would still work theoretically on it's own. Also, I would add that the reverse slant is hard to add vibrato to it and make it sound nice every time. The 12.5 is easy to add vibrato to it and make it sound nice every time. I rest my case (yeah, like about time dude...).

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