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Topic: Lap Steel, Music Theory, and Serendipity |
Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 27 Apr 2021 8:35 pm |
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More of an observation than a question. It seems to me that it’s nearly impossible to play lap steel without a fairly good grasp of music theory. Because of the way they’re tuned and played, one needs to understand the fundamentals of chord construction to play just about anything.
The serendipity in the title of the thread applies to me. Learning and playing lap steel has had a positive effect on my music making on the other instruments that I play too, simply by forcing me to keep diving deeper into music theory.
The adventure continues.
Thoughts on this?
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Paul Seager
From:
Augsburg, Germany
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Posted 28 Apr 2021 12:44 am
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Good observation and I agree with you Allan. Before playing steel I was a bassman and I thought my knowledge of theory was sufficient for most things. But playing steel, moving to 8 strings, learning the '6' tuning, has opened my eyes (and ears) to using theory more in my playing.
One starts with understanding inversions, by thinking more about relevant minors, then one learns e.g., how to substitute Major 7s with a minor chord. Harmonized lines - a key feature of steel playing keeps those 3rd, 5th and 6th note relationships in one's head.
Adding more tunings helps as well - indeed understanding theory makes decisions about which tuning to use far easier.
To the effect on playing other instruments, absolutely agree with that. I like using chordal lines on bass and these days I use more inversions than I did prior to learning steel!
\paul |
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David DeLoach
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2021 2:59 am
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I came it at backwards - theory first, then lap steel.
I'm a bit of a theory nerd (I wrote a 386 page jazz guitar fretboard mapping/theory book that was used at Berklee School of Music for awhile).
When I got into a serious investment of time on lap steel, I found this knowledge of theory invaluable in arranging songs in Leavitt tuning and it finding my way around to improvise.
My fingers are still trying to catch up with my brain on lap steel, but totally agree that this little instrument is not intuitive and requires a bit of thought to get around on.
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https://www.MasterGuitarists.com/ |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 28 Apr 2021 6:27 am
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Knowledge is power. Even if it is not with traditional systems, there needs to be some greater understanding to help one move forward musically, some system of organization. Even guys like Allan Holdsworth had knowledge but not essentially a standard way of looking at music. He had compiled binders full of things. The best tool one can have is his own book full of ideas, lessons learned, etc.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Sebastian Müller
From:
Berlin / Germany
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Posted 2 May 2021 12:07 am
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Totally agree !
I wouldn't recommend steel guitar as the first instrument you pick up,
since you need a basic understanding of chords. And you need playbacks, it's great if you are able to create your own.
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https://hawaiian-steel-guitar.com |
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