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Topic: First Dobro Gig |
Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2003 4:54 pm |
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I've played pedal steel for 30+ years but always shyed away from Dobro because I didn't dig the "strings on a bucket" sound - plus I thought the G tuning was too limited to waste time on. I'm hearing things differently these days and have recently gotten into it in a big way.I normally play steel in an electric band with a guy who also plays a lot of acoustic Bluegrass and Irish gigs and he wants to help me get up to speed in that scene so he hired me to play in a guitar/bass/dobro trio a couple nights ago at the Bel-Air Country Club. It was one of those "Stand in the corner by a potted plant at a cocktail party and try to be heard w/no amplification whatsoever whilst being shoved out of the way by Mexican waiters with trays of fried calamari" gigs. All was ok when we stuck to bluegrass tunes in G,D or A and I was even singing a little high lonesome harmony and thinking: "This is really fun!". But when Cody decided to play some swing arrangements from our electric band,I was fumbling with my Beard capo,wishing for C6 and scrambling trying(mostly in vain)to find III,VI,II,V,I turnarounds or even a 7th chord in B,Bb,F & E - on a G tuning. Damn! I know it's gotta be on here somewhere.... I ended up playing the same clam-infested blues runs over and over while Cody would look over at me with a raised eyebrow and cheerfully mutter: "Sounds Good Mike" Luckily,all the movie stars were too busy drinking and schmoozing to notice the amount of sucktivity emanating from my cone. But hey you gotta start somewhere.
-MJ- |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2003 7:09 pm
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Maybe C6 would be a better tuning. The only downside would be losing the notes below C. But do you really play those notes?
You could even tune the low C to C# like Joachin. |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 9 Sep 2003 5:14 am
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Michael
Do as Doug suggested. Tune the dobro E C A G E C#. That tuning, as you know, gives you majors, minors, dom 7's, and diminisheds. Or have two dobros, one with G tuning and one C6. Off-shore resos like Regals and Johnsons are inexpensive enough nowadays to afford two, even for the occasional gig.
------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
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Mark van Allen
From:
Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 9 Sep 2003 12:39 pm
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| Or maybe just keep digging... I'm amazed at the depth of musicality lurking in the simple root-3-5 reso tuning. Lots of slants and two string subs for all those chords you're looking for. I'm certainly not a reso master- wish I had another parallel life just to woodshed! But listen to what the masters are doing and there's no doubt, "it's all in there"... |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 9 Sep 2003 2:06 pm
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| Congrats on that first one! I gotta agree with Mark, leave it in G. Play two notes, learn some slants and harmonized chords, let the bass player imply the root, and git it! |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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Posted 9 Sep 2003 2:49 pm
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| I'm with Mark & Stephen, keep on studying plain ol' G -- it's all there, the minors, the major sevenths, etc, etc. But if you still long for more complex chords under your bar, check out Mike Auldridge's "Eight String Swing" CD for resophonic inspiration tuned to G6th. |
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Kevin Ruddell
From:
Toledo Ohio USA
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Posted 10 Sep 2003 1:48 am
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What about tuning your fourth string up to E for those swing tunes and play in G6th like Cindy Cashdollar ?
Only one string needs to be changed and you can go right back to G as needed. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 10 Sep 2003 2:29 am
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| Or try D tuning - I much prefer it to G tuning. You can play in D or up a step to E and get a swing sound by also changing just one string .... (E tuning hi to low) EC#BEBE. Or stay in G and use Cindy's version which (I think) is enharmonic to the A6th Western Swing tuning. In either case, when I get stuck in a swing tune I usually shuffle by with octaves. |
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Michael Brebes
From:
Northridge CA
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Posted 10 Sep 2003 7:36 am
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| You could always get a Hipshot Trilogy bridge so that you could have alternate tunings at your fingertips. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 10 Sep 2003 7:43 pm
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| If you can obtain a copy of Stacy Phillip's Dobro Case Chord Book, that would help. For example, he tabbed out the progression of "Jersey Bounce", and "You've Changed" in Eb with 3 note voicings. I can't believe some of the knuckle busting reverse slants with behind the bar string pulls, but he's living proof that it's there on the G tuning. |
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