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Topic: ? from a newbee Dobro Player |
Larry Phleger
From:
DuBois, PA
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Posted 30 Apr 2002 8:43 am |
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| I haven't been playing Dobro very long, but I find the standard tunings such as G and E ot be limiting. I put an A6 on my Regal RD 45, and find I can get a lot more out of it. How do those of you who use the G tuning get minore? Am I missing something? |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 30 Apr 2002 9:12 am
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The question of which tuning to use and why is a somewhat complex one. There are several key questions ... what kind of music do you like to play? Do you mostly play solo or with other people? How complex is the harmony you want to hear? Simple major chord tunings may seem limited - and in the sense of complex harmony, they are - but in reality are unlimited when it comes to your own creativity. Listen carefully to what Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas, Bob Brozman, Kelly Joe Phelps, etc. etc. can so with these "limited" tunings and I think you'll see that the possibilities really are endless.
Regarding minor chords, most resophonic players in G, E, or D tunings fake a minor chord on strings 4,5 & 6 or play only the essential notes (3rd & 7th) to imply minors.
Sally Van Meter sometimes tunes her B strings in G tuning to Bb giving her a G minor tuning. In genral, sixth tunings give you more options for fuller harmony ... minors, 7ths, major 7ths, 9ths, etc. depending on the tuning and they work really well for Hawaiian, swing, jazz, & western swing. Generally, scales will lay out in 6th tunings with less wide jumps in bar position BUT ... that 6th note - even ringing sympathetically - can sound completely out of place in folk, celtic, bluegrass and other "diatonic or modal" styles of music. So it comes down to using the tuning that makes sense for the bag you're playing and that gives you what your ears crave.[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 30 April 2002 at 10:13 AM.] [This message was edited by Andy Volk on 30 April 2002 at 02:01 PM.] [This message was edited by Andy Volk on 30 April 2002 at 03:23 PM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2002 12:08 pm
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I have an 8 string dobro and use an A6 tuning. I don't know if that is good or bad but I learned on an A tuning and just stuck with it. I like the 6th in there like Herb Remington used. You have a minor chord with the A6th. Open on the 1st, 2nd and 4th string gives you F# minor and so on all the way up the neck. On a straight major tuning, you can get a good effect by slanting the bar to drop the 3rd of the chord but then you're limited to just 2 strings. But it's better than a stick in the eye! 
Uff-Da! |
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Gary C. Dygert
From:
Frankfort, NY, USA
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Posted 3 May 2002 6:34 am
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| Andy, your post was right on. I like an E6 on 6-string reso, but I find myself muting the C# string in bluegrass. Still, it works for minors. Then, in country and western swing, the 6th note works fine. |
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Bill Leff
From:
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Posted 3 May 2002 7:23 am
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| E6 is also a fantastic tuning for Hawaiian music. Depending on how you tune it, this tuning is also called C#m or C#m7 in the world of Hawaiian steel guitar. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 3 May 2002 8:22 am
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Sure is, Bill. When I want the E6th sound,
and being essentially lazy, from open E tuning: E,B,G#,E,B,E I tend to just tune the 2nd string B up to C#. There are several useful variations in the bass strings possible. Sol Ho'opi'i used E,C#,G#,E,D,B. |
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Kevin Macneil Brown
From:
Montpelier, VT, USA
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Posted 3 May 2002 12:09 pm
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I started out on 6 string lap steel with a G6 tuning- GBEGBD low to high. When I went to Dobro it was easy to drop that low E to D.
With the 6th tuning I can get some nice 7ths via bar slants; diminished and augmented are readily gotten in both tunings.
I still switch between the 2 tunings; just one peg to tweak. I've always been puzzled that more people don't use this system. It's easy to switch, depending on whether you're in swing or bluegrass mode, or whatever. I find it quite flexible and logical, but maybe that's because I've been doing it a while.
[This message was edited by Kevin Macneil Brown on 03 May 2002 at 02:35 PM.] [This message was edited by Kevin Macneil Brown on 03 May 2002 at 02:41 PM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 3 May 2002 12:28 pm
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| Why don't more people use this system? Well ... it depends on what register you want to hear that 6th note in, Kevin. Personally, I much prefer D or E tuning with its root on top than G tuning with the 5th on top. And, in E or D tuning, the 6th lies in the upper register instead of the lower mids. |
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Gary C. Dygert
From:
Frankfort, NY, USA
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Posted 4 May 2002 6:24 pm
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| The tuning I've settled on, low to high, is B C# D G# B E. I'm never satisfied, but I like the slants & sweeps with the top & third strings, and I like the C# playing up the neck, Don Helms-style. If I had an 8-string Dobro or lap steel, I'd add another C# (between the B & E?) and add a low string. I've fooled with the high G# on top, but I'd still leave it off if I went to 8 strings. Then there's the 10-string... |
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Gary C. Dygert
From:
Frankfort, NY, USA
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Posted 4 May 2002 6:28 pm
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| Oops, my old fingers hit a wrong key. I don't use a 7th. Tuning is B C# E G# B E. |
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