VISUAL cues to not see strings 1, 8, 9, 10 for C6th tuning

Jack Fassel · From: Oregon City, Oregon, USA

Trying to relive my youth (6 string) Hawaiian songs, but now with my 10 string Mullen RP C6th
Visually trying to eliminate (from my sight) strings 1, 8, 9, 10 without removing those strings (since I'm still in the middle of Paul Franklin's C6th course)
Tried post-its
Tried paper clips
Tried more practice
Any ideas?
Thanks

jack

Bengt Erlandsen · From: Brekstad, NORWAY

Assuming you mean string 10 = the low C.
Left Hand thumb(while holding the bar) blocks strings 10, 9 & 8
Rest of the bar in left hand covers strings 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Long finger on left hand protrude slightly further than tip of the bar and mute string 1.

This long finger act as a reference for where the bar is !
That way you can tell what strings the bar is covering without looking at it.

Only look where you are going (or where the bar has to go), never look to see where you are(you are supposed to know that already)

If the above and everything else fails to keep those strings out of sight, duct tape is the answer

B.Erlandsen
JCH D10 8+8
B.Erlandsen

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Try to LEARN 10-string C6th right and don't use post-it's, stickers, coloring strings because you won't ever get off those and it will not help you to "see" but "hide" the polyvalence of this tuning:

Look at the 7th string (C) as the root-"tracker" (as Maurice Anderson used to put it) for your Maj. 6th chords up and down the neck.
Likewise the 8th string (A) as the root-"tracker" for your minor 7th chords up and down.
And the 9th string as the root-"tracker" for your Maj. 7th chords.
While the bottom string is tuned to C, I would keep it in mind as a "D", because it evidences a 4th playing pocket root for single note playing.

The pack of 4 bottoms strings is easy to discern and isolate from the other strings.
THAT's what you want to see: 4 tracker-strings and the "rest". Breaks it up nicely:
#7 plus the rest
#8 plus the rest
#9 plus the rest
#10 (thinking of it as a D) plus the rest

The other thing you want to see is the whole tone interval between strings G & A (#3 & #4).

After that, you learn all you sting pairs in minor 3rds and Major 3rds. And already you'd know more than many who PLAY.

Contrary to the Jerry Byrd C6th/A7th tuning (with the C# on the bottom or before the C), the "BE-10string-C6th" is essentially a 4-chord tuning: CM and it's relative minor Am7 (which become A7th when you raise the C's to C#) and FM7 with it's rarely mentioned relative minor D minor 9th (which becomes D9th with P5). The two Maj-&-relative minor-sets are a 4th or respectively a 5th apart from each other. Which opens this tuning up to play in any key in good sounding playing positions without even having to use the pedals.

So, what you need to train yourself to "see" is strings 6 thru 2 (assuming you have a D on top) and look at the bottom 4 string as ROOT-trackers to the chords.

It's just that and once you understand it's organization, you will be able to clearly separate the "core" from the added root-chords.

Keep in mind, that coming from non-pedal steel, you have an edge over many of today's new players which come from pedaled E9th back into C6th and are not really good at moving around the neck without the help of pedals! Use that to your advantage like our heroes of the past did!

As Maurice Anderson once said pointing at down at the strings when we were working on non-pedal C6th (12 string): "this is the boys' stuff!".

Getting used to 10 or 12 strings instead of 6, 7 or 8th, is a 3-month deal at most. You bite thru it like a boy and be done with it, shrug it off and move on.
We don't need no stinkin' stickies Very Happy

... J-D.
_________________
__________________________________________________________

Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"

A Little Mental Health Warning:

Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.

I say it humorously, but I mean it.

Jack Fassel · From: Oregon City, Oregon, USA

Thanks J D.
I actually understood your suggestions
(I am sort of handicapped having played E9th since I was 12)

Jack

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Andrew Frost · From: Toronto, Ontario

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to open your mind up and see things afresh, from a new perspective. You're obviously not a beginner but 'beginners mind' is a powerful way to approach most anything, especially musical expression and learning, in my opinion...
Regarding the nuts and bolts of your inquiry, for what its worth, I think that looking at C6 pedal steel as more of an F major tuning ( which it is in many ways ) can really open things up..
Just enjoy exploring the beautiful ways those low strings interact with the tuning without being in a hurry to play your old repertoire of songs. Before you know it, those classic sounds will pop back in with a renewed vitality and freshness.

Chris Templeton · From: The Green Mountain State

The narrower string spacing on a pedal steel is a lot harder to
execute slants. If not done right, there's a certain "whine" that is not appealing, to me.
I'd get a lap steel and have at it. or add a lead nut to a guitar to raise the strings.
Like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/325082500241
_________________
Excel 3/4 Pedal With An 8 String Hawaiian Neck, Sierra Tapper (10 string with a raised fretboard to fret with fingers), Single neck Fessenden 3/5
"The Tapper" : https://christophertempleton.bandcamp.com/album/the-tapper
Soundcloud Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/bluespruce8:

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