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Topic: Recommended tunings for newbie |
Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 11:21 am |
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| Hello all I wanted to reach out to you on tuning options. I do want to use the E13 for sure. I’m thinking C6 or the B13. I’m trying to determine if one tuning can be switched to another by changing a few strings. |
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 12:05 pm
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Hello Chris, since you give out little info as to what type of Music you will be playing, or what Instrument. I did a little digging into your profile and find you go back a very long way here on the Forum, mainly selling Equipment. I would have thought someone like that would know how to easily find this info you are seeking.
I could spend a very long time writing out suggestions and taking into account others views, only to find you know more than me.
JK. |
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Daniel Baston
From:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 12:23 pm
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Hi Chris, I'm just getting my momentum going with my steel playing as I'm still pretty new to it. I started with C6 which is a great all-around tuning that has a sweet sound. What really got me going was messing around with E Major and A major, which were the original tunings. I didn't stick with them too long, I just tried learning a few old school Hawaiian tunes and figured out what slants work.
Then, when you try any more advanced tunings, like C6, A6, E13, C#m etc., they make more sense, you can see how they're related.
And yes, you can try all of these with the same strings I do it all the time. If you were playing a gig, you may find that some tunings would be better with another set of strings because some will be a bit loose. But for practicing who cares! Don't be afraid to mess around with tunings, it's a big part of steel guitar playing. It's part of the fun!
Last edited by Daniel Baston on 28 Dec 2019 12:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 12:23 pm Re: Recommended tunings for newbie
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| Chris Harvey wrote: |
| I’m trying to determine if one tuning can be switched to another by changing a few strings. |
Oh boy can they ever.
Watch Alan do the tour here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G8qAmotF_c
Roughly though, C6 with high E is a great generic starting point for a lot of styles (definitely Hawaiian, some country, jazz, and there's not a lot of styles you can't make it work for IMO). Lots of material out there for it to learn on...and quite easy retunings to a lot of cool tunings, A6, A7, B11, C13, D9, C6/A7, GMaj7/F9...to name a few anyway.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 1:27 pm
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| Depends on the music you wanna play and the instrument(s) you have at your disposal. 6-string? 7-string? 8-string? Single-neck? Double? Triple? Quad? |
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Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 3:22 pm
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Thank you for your help. My only knowledge is with pedals. I have little knowledge of the non pedal world. I do appreciate it. I’d like to have one neck with the E9(ish) changes I’m familiar with. I’d like to learn more of the old Western swing ala speedy west. I’m also really getting into the Hawaiian songs.
I have a double neck FYI. 8 string. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 3:47 pm
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| Chris Harvey wrote: |
Thank you for your help. My only knowledge is with pedals. I have little knowledge of the non pedal world. I do appreciate it. I’d like to have one neck with the E9(ish) changes I’m familiar with. I’d like to learn more of the old Western swing ala speedy west. I’m also really getting into the Hawaiian songs.
I have a double neck FYI. 8 string. |
Everyone's advice is going to be a bit different, but here's the ones I'd consider...
Jules C13 is my favorite bar none for Hawaiian. It's standard C6 but with a Bb and then low C on the bass side. If you like Hawaii Calls recordings, that's the sound right there. On a V chord in a song, strum up from the bottom 1-b7-1-3-5-6, such a cool 13th sound (try with a bass amp or something with good low end).
B11 is good...best understood as a split tuning, with a sort of A6 on top and B9 on the lower strings...great for playing normal sixth tuning parts for melody on top, and hitting rich 9th chords on the lower strings to accompany. Best examples in this tuning are the classic recordings of Sand by Jules and Jerry Byrd, and other Andy Iona compositions like How'd Ya Do. I don't play it all that often, just for the tunes that it really fits like a glove. C6/A7 is a similar tuning in that it is split between a normal sixth tuning from top down but a dom 7 chord from bottom up. But I wouldn't dedicate a neck to it as it's a really simple retune from C6 (just sharp the low C, voila).
A6 would be one I would give strong consideration to if you want to do Western swing, too. It works great for Hawaiian too...it's just like C6 but with the 5th on top. What I'd want if I had an 8 string in that tuning...E C# A F# E C# A G...lowest note sharped to b7, to give you the same chordal options as the Jules C13 (without the low root).
Definitely play around. Lots of stuff to tinker with and you don't have to stay in any one tuning for good...
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Chris Harvey
From:
California, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2019 6:58 pm
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Thank you so much. Apparently I ruffled some feathers since I’ve been on the forum a long time. Regardless, thank you. Watching old Leon Mcauliffe videos has me wanting to attempt non pedal. It’s always seemed so darn complex, but you only live once.
I love this.
https://youtu.be/beB6R9YDj0Q |
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Mike Anderson
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 29 Dec 2019 5:52 am
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I'll also chime in briefly and say that, strictly speaking, Speedy West was not a Western swing player. He was certainly capable of playing it, but I think of him as more of a "guitarist's guitarist" sort of player in his collaborations with Jimmy Bryant - amazing technique displayed in arrangements created for that purpose. I know he also played on transcriptions hosted by Tennessee Ernie Ford starring Merle Travis, but this wasn't Western swing either. I'm a bit fuzzy on this; maybe those collaboration albums were lifted from the transcription discs? Anyway Western swing steel started with Bob Dunn and evolved with Leon McAuliffe, Noel Boggs, Herb Remington, Joaquin Murphey, Vance Terry and many lesser known players, but not Speedy.
That said, if you want to play like him and CAN play like him - man, hats off to you!  |
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Norman Evans
From:
Tennessee
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2019 9:23 am
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The original Hawaiian tuning was A, either high bass or low bass.
That's the one I cut my teeth on and I still use it. 
Erv |
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