Number of Leavitt Players?

Don Crowl · From: Medford, Oregon, USA

I'm curious how many steelers play the Leavitt, or extended Leavitt tuning, fairly well. In that I mean well enough to do some tunes in some venue. I'm aware of a few, by way of the Forum, including the very accomplished Mike Ihde. A tally could be a challenge I suspose, but an interesting exercise in my thinking.

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Bill Hatcher, Roy Thomson, you got Mike already.
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Brian Hunter · From: Indianapolis

HEard of this tuning. What's the big deal with it?
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William Lake · From: Ontario, Canada

Because I come from a 6 string jazz guitar background, I am attracted to Leavitt tuning. It gives me all those altered jazz chords that I hear in my head.
The other tunings just don't sound right to me.
Of course if you like country sounds, Leavitt would not sound right to you.

Bill
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James Hartman · From: Pennsylvania, USA

I'm still learning this tuning, but I must say that as I've spent more time with it I'm finding it quite friendly to a range of music outside the jazz standards to which one might get the impression it's most appropriately applied.

For example, it's great for just jamming on blues tunes. A whole bunch of nice "blues" scales (Pentatonic, Mixolydian, Mixolydian b9, Dorian #4, and etc.) fall comfortably on the fingerboard in this tuning; not to mention some juicy chord voicings.

It's quickly becoming a favorite with me.

Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

You guys can start your own city.......Leavittown Alien

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

It's a great tuning for jazz tunes. It's not a 'strum friendly' tuning, like many 6th tunings. The player has to pick selectively, constantly changing string grips, but are a lot of chords, partial chords, and altered chords available. I think of it as C9 on the first 5 strings with a C# on the bottom. C7 on the middle 4 strings. One way to name it would be C7 add C#, add D.
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Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

Doug, do you find it slant-friendly?

Steve Green · From: Gulfport, MS, USA

I've toyed with it some, and it's a lot of fun. I think it was Roy Thomson who posted a free tab here on the forum for an old Gospel tune called, "How Long Has It Been". That was my first experience with Leavitt. Later, I got a tab from Mike Ihde for "I'll Be Home For Christmas".

Here's a video I did back in December on a Rogue Jersey Lightning tuned to Leavitt.

I'll Be Home For Christmas - Leavitt
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Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Steve, I enjoyed your video. Great job!

Ron, I haven't played the Leavitt tuning in quite a while, but I don't think I worked out many slants on it. One of the big selling points of the tuning is... slants are not necessary to play most things. Not as necessary as other tunings, because lots of chords (or parts of chords) are available without slanting. It's not a very smooth playing tuning though because there is very little stumming available. You have to keep changing your string grips and bar position, and can seldom can play more than three strings at a time.
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Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

yes extended

Bill Hatcher · From: Atlanta Ga. USA

Don Crowl · From: Medford, Oregon, USA

So far, including a little reading between the lines of the comments/responses, I came up with 8 responders who are playing Leavitt or extended Leavitt. Here are the last names: Ihde, Hatcher, Thomson, Lake, Hartman, Beaumier, Green, & me. My apologies if I goofed or missed someone.

Just for interest, I have extended Leavitt on a neck of my Stringmaster Quad & my little single 8 Carvin. I love the latter to take with me as it is so light. I can lift it with two fingers, & it sounds pretty good. My bottom six strings are pure Leavitt. The top two are a D# & F. I really like that as it gives me a Bb6 & an Eb6/13 open position by way of string selection. Then there is the open C9/11, diminished chords, etc., etc. Another thing I like is that many of the fret positions are the same as my Bb6 Universal Pedal Steel. That seems to help with a what I suspect may be a fading memory.

Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

Deleted

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

I've heard from many, many players world wide that have bought my cd's and music/tab books about how much they love the Leavitt Tuning so if I had to guess, I'd say there are way more than 500 people playing it. I just wish Bill was still around to enjoy the music you all have created using his invention.
If you want to hear more of what I have available, go to www.mikeihde.com and click on other publications.

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

I've heard from many, many players world wide that have bought my cd's and music/tab books about how much they love the Leavitt Tuning so if I had to guess, I'd say there are way more than 500 people playing it. I just wish Bill was still around to enjoy the music you all have created using his invention.
If you want to hear more of what I have available, go to www.mikeihde.com and click on other publications.

Don Crowl · From: Medford, Oregon, USA

Thanks for your input Mike. From your position you are best qualified in my opinion, to make a close estimate. I'm surprised, but pleased, that you think there might be about that many Leavitt players. So far no one I run into in my area has even heard of the tuning.

Steve Ahola · From: Concord, California

Just wondering if the Leavitt-ating members here have tried retuning one of the strings for alternate harmonies (like raising the low C to C# in a C6 tuning.) In particular I was wondering about lowering the Bb to A for a 6/9 chord on the top 5 strings. Not all of the time, of course, but just to switch gears a bit when desired.

For heck of it how about swapping the 1st and 2nd strings: C#-E-G-Bb-D-C (You could get some cool banjo rolls going on the top 3 strings.) Or try something like C#-E-G-C-D-Bb (might be better for slants.)

(I couldn't get used to the two adjacent whole step intervals for the top 3 strings in the 10 string Morrell E13th tuning; I liked it better when the top strings (1-2-3) were rearranged as F#-G#-E instead of G#-F#-E because the note clusters weren't quite as dense.)

Steve Ahola
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chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

if you don't love it, leavitt!

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

Just for correct pronunciation, it's leav-it not leave-it.

Mike

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

FYI, the tuning was invented so you didn't have to slant. Since Bill's passing in 1990, I find that I use a few "bend behind the bar" tricks to get other voicings. You could still get the same chord in another position but using the bend behind the bar, you don't have to move so far away from where you were.

I have never found a chord I couldn't play with the correct melody note. To me that's just plain amazing. Yes, you're always changing string groups which calls for better right hand blocking than usual but if you like to play chord solos in a piano like fashion and do jazz standards, there's nothing like it.

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Mike Ihde,

The "listen to samples" link on your Website for the lap steel CDs is not hot. Is there some way to listen to samples?

Thanks,

Bob

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

They worked fine for me. ??

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Hi Mike,

Must be my browser?

Anyone more knowledgeable have a suggestion?

Best,

Bob

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