Night Life Video using Leavitt tuning

Therman Jones · Post by **Therman Jones** » 19 Apr 2008 8:16 pm

I just put a video on youtube of my latest experiment using the Leavitt tuning. I used my Artisan that I recently converted to 8 strings and an expanded Leavitt tuning ... lo to hi...A C# E G Bb C D F. Using the two extra strings makes it possible to get the cool turnaround chords used by Buddy Emmons.

The song was recorded using my webcam, backup track by BIAB. I played the song in Bb but when I posted it to youtube it plays back closer to B. Oh well ?? At least the video is in sync with the audio so you can follow the bar movements...no slants...but a lot of open string work.

My performance is nothing to brag about; I take medication that makes me a little shakey, but I still have a lot of fun with my steel. Thanks to Mike Ihde, Roy Thomson, and Bill Hatcher for showing what is possible using the Leavitt tuning.

See my post in the Steel on the Web section or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvwBZSaub70

I hope you like it.

Therman 'Ukuleleo' Jones

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 19 Apr 2008 9:49 pm

Very Nice Therman. I particularly liked all those neat harmonics at the end.

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 20 Apr 2008 1:46 am

Therman, that was great!

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 20 Apr 2008 2:14 am

Therman. Very nice playing! I love the turn around chords and the Leavitt tuning makes it sound so good with those cool chords. You are really getting a handle on this tuning and the possibilities of it. Thanks for posting this. It will encourage others.

Jan Jonsson · Post by **Jan Jonsson** » 20 Apr 2008 3:17 am

Very nice! One more source of inspiration for me to take up the Leavitt tuning.

Thanks for sharing!

-- Jan

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 20 Apr 2008 4:54 am

Great Job Thernman! Lots of nice ideas there
on a song that is well suited to demo the
Leavitt tuning.

Roy

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 20 Apr 2008 12:45 pm

great, therm! i know that leavitt tuning is cool, if i could only force myself to engage my brain for awhile, i'd put it on my 6 string bakelite and leave it......but i'm so lazy......how long have you worked with that tuning?

Dave Bader · Post by **Dave Bader** » 20 Apr 2008 1:05 pm

Wow. That was really nice. Hope to see more like that. Show us your 8 string conversion also. It looks like you di da good job on that as well.

Thanks

A. J. Martinez · Post by **A. J. Martinez** » 20 Apr 2008 7:15 pm

SUPER! you are going to have to tab that for us Leavitt people. Please...

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 20 Apr 2008 8:24 pm

Cool stuff, Therman! It's getting tough to resist the Leavitt...

Del Bonn · Post by **Del Bonn** » 21 Apr 2008 8:31 pm

Very good, Therman! I never really thought I would ever use a Leavitt tuning, but you make it hard to resist.

Let's see, now: Yes, the old Gibson A7 tuning
A-C#-E-G would still be familiar, so OK

Now then, Bb is one of the best sounding keys on my guitar so, Bb-C(ninth?)-D-F would feel natural also.

So, we would also have a C6 chord C-E-G-A and a host of others, all on open strings or moved up in flat bar position. Yes, I guess it might be a very convenient tuning.

Almost makes me wish I had a second guitar for that..

Do you know the tuning for a 10-string instrument?
(the conventional High to Low, please). -DelB

Therman Jones · Post by **Therman Jones** » 22 Apr 2008 1:50 pm

Thanks to everyone for your kind responses. I hope that my postings will encourage others to explore the Leavitt tuning and perhaps carry the torch a little farther. I began with the 6 string lap steel a little over a year ago and first worked with a C6 tuning, using tabs found here on the forum and other sites. Like most I struggled with the bar slants and never really became comfortable with things.
Just about the time I was ready to put the guitar back in the closet, I heard some of the songs put up here by Roy Thomson and Bill Hackett. I was immediately attracted by the wide range of musical styles available with the tuning and also by the promise of "no bar slants". So I ordered the Mike Ihde course in September of last year and began my study. I must say, the tuning felt strange at first, and it was a month or longer before I began to see a glimpse of progress. But since I was in a 'learner mode' I figured I might as well try to learn a tuning that fit my musical tastes.
It didn't take long to sell me on the Leavitt tuning for 6 strings. And when I heard some of the songs by Bill and Roy on 8, 10, and even 12 strings, I became a 'diehard fanatic'. I had to have more strings. One day I read a post by Alan Brookes about using mandolin tuners to convert a cheap steel to 8 strings. I had an old mandolin under the bed for several years...so...I used the tuners to convert my Artisan to 8 strings. You can search in my posts here on the forum for pictures of that. I added a Jerry Wallace TrueTone pickup and a home made bridge. The original scale length was about 21 inches but I found by moving the nut and bridge a little I had room to extend the scale to 22". My new fretboard is made from poster board...right now it is very plain, but I can fancy it up later.
I didn't mean for this to turn into a novel.
Several have asked about a tab. My tab program only goes up to 7 strings so I will have to work out something else....either a handwritten sheet and jpegs, or ...maybe it would be easier to make a simple teaching video. Let me know what you think. I am happy to share what I have discovered.

Thanks again for your interest.

Therman

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 23 Apr 2008 4:22 am

Therman - That was cool! - Drew

Jerry Gleason · Post by **Jerry Gleason** » 23 Apr 2008 2:57 pm

Nice, Therman. You nailed it! Thanks for posting that.

I've said it before, but I've really got to spend some time learning this tuning.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Night Life Video using Leavitt tuning

Night Life Video using Leavitt tuning

......using Leavitt Tuning