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Topic: Tunig for Panhandle Rag, is it Leon's E13? |
Jesse Pearson
From:
San Diego , CA
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Posted 29 Mar 2003 8:19 am |
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I'm messing around with Leon McAuliffe's E13 tuning on a 6 string:
E
C#
B
G#
F#
D
I had learned Pan Handle Rag in C6 awhile ago and now I'm learning it Leon's E13th. I was wondering if this was the right tuning as the original recording and does it make it much harder not to have the 7th and 8th strings there? I was hoping it would line up here and there alittle better than it has on the 6 string steel. This tuning is so cool sounding, I'm having a blast learning all it's positions. Cindy Cashdollar's previous posts is the reason I started checking it out, thanks Cindy.  [This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 29 March 2003 at 11:44 AM.] |
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Jesse Pearson
From:
San Diego , CA
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Posted 30 Mar 2003 7:56 am
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I think Leon's Steel Guitar Rag was done in E major tuning. I found out while looking thru the archieves that a bottle neck slide player wrote and recorded the song before Leon did.
I used Leon's E13 tuning at a jam last night and it sounded pretty cool. There wasn't any talk in the archieves about Leon's E13 tuning and it's history. I see why Rock-a-billy guys like it so much, you can get a lot out of this tuning without any slants. Was "PanHandle Rag" first recorded in E13th? How many non peddlers out there use it as one of their main tunings?
I read in the archieves that Cindy Cashdollar was using C6, Don Helms E6 and Leons E13th with asleep at the wheel. Now if you just added A6 to that on a quad, I bet you could really cover alot of ground in a honky tonk band. Yee ha...!!! [This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 30 March 2003 at 07:57 AM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 30 Mar 2003 11:57 am
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Yes, SGR was done originally in E major tuning. I think Leon added on to the original ... was it "Guitar Rag" by Sylvester Weaver? Memory fails me.
The Leon E13th is very powerful. You can play harmonized pentatonic scale licks very easily that sound wonderful in a rock, blues or rockabilly context, get big, fat Western Swing chords, and also play lots of cool subs and 4-note Jazz chords if you add another pick - kind of the steel guitar version of the George Shearing block chord sound.  I'm not saying I can do all this - just that it's there if you want it. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 30 Mar 2003 1:41 pm
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I have to admit I haven't tried that tuning yet. I agree with Andy that it looks like a very versatile tuning for some types of music.
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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
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Jesse Pearson
From:
San Diego , CA
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Posted 30 Mar 2003 4:37 pm
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Bill Chaviers was kind enough to e-mail me with some first hand info that Leon shared with him. Bill said Leon stated that the original recording of Panhandle Rag was recorded in E7 tuning:
E
B
G#
E
D
B
G#
E
I have looked all over the internet and I am surprised how little info there is for Leon McAuliffe and his steel work. I would think you could find the chords and tab in the right tuning for his classic songs, but that doesn't seem to be the case just yet. I would also like to know how Leon came upon his tunings and the songs that he made famous. I mean come on guys, what kinda hillbillies are we any ways. We gotta do right by leon and post some of this stuff in the tab section of the SGF. |
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Bobby Bowman
From:
Cypress, Texas, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 30 Mar 2003 11:14 pm
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Being that Leon is no longer with us, God rest his soul, the next best person I can think of at the moment to contact is Herby Remington. Herby certainly had his own sound and style, but he had to learn everything that Leon did note for note. He's usually real interested in talking about those things.
Another, believe it or not, is Buddy Emmons. Buddy knows, Noel, Speedy, Herby, Jerry and Leon and others as well as anybody if not better.
BB
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If you play 'em, play 'em good!
If you build 'em, build 'em good!
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Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2003 6:09 am
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Andy,
Your memory is working. It was indeed "Guitar Rag" by Sylvester Weaver that inspired Leon's "Steel Guitar Rag." By the way, Tom Morrell and the Timewarp Tophands have breathed new life into the tune on his "Stylin'" CD.
Some day I'll get around to exploring the E13 tuning(s). I'm still learning a whole lot on C6 and good ol' high bass G Dobro tuning! There is enough music in those tunings to last several lifetimes!
And I'm aching to get back to B11.
So many tunings and so little time.
Bob
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Jesse Pearson
From:
San Diego , CA
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Posted 31 Mar 2003 7:46 am
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| Here is some more trivia that Bill e-mailed me about his freind Leon. Leon swore he was not doing Weavers song nor had he ever heard it. Both Leon and Bill took E-harp lessons from the same teacher and gave up on the e-harp. Leon joined Bob Wills when he was 17 yrs. old. I spent the day yesterday riding around town with my girl while studying E13th tuning on a Magnatone, this tuning really kicks! |
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billchav
From:
Houston, TX USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2003 11:21 am
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The info I passed on to Jesse was from conversations I had with Leon from around 1948 until until 1978 when he was inducted in the ISG HALL OF FAME including some stories Herb has told me over the years.
I have also read that Leon was closer to 19 when he first started with Bob W. As Bobby said, Herb is an encyclopedia on that era.
I recall listening to the Lightcrust Doughboys in the 30's about the time he joined them, just don't ask for exact dates as the memory fades over the years.
Bill www.billchaviers.com |
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Jesse Pearson
From:
San Diego , CA
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Posted 2 Apr 2003 7:23 am
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| Just wanted to point out that Brad had tabbed out "Steel Guitar Rag" in E major, it's at "Brads Page of Steel". Thanks Brad, sounds great! [This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 14 June 2003 at 06:34 PM.] |
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