Vintage E7th Sheet Music

Jim Wilmoth · Post by **Jim Wilmoth** » 6 Dec 2015 1:34 am

So I picked up an old Christmas book - John W Schaum Christmas Album Transcribed for Hawaiian and Electric Guitar (E 7th Tuning)

Now this is regular sheet music and not modern day tablature (which is fine) but what I can't quite figure out is the keys to these songs don't seem particularly convenient for E7 lap steel

I'm just wondering now if it was really designed for E7th tuning not as boasted on the cover.

Perhaps it will get easier....

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Dec 2015 8:12 am

It seems like a lot of early "steel guitar" sheet music was not specifically written for steel guitar or even written by guys who played the steel guitar. Hence the inconvenient keys for the tunings indicated on the cover of the book. Oahu Pub. Co. led the way with common sense tab in convenient keys for the tuning. Also Dick Mcintyre's tab, Jerry Byrd's tab in the 50s and 60s, etc. I wouldn't spend too much time with the old books in E7 tuning. Just my opinion.

John Limbach · Post by **John Limbach** » 6 Dec 2015 9:23 am

I learned a few years ago from a teacher who had come up through the Oahu system crca 1940. She dug up her old lessons and that's what we used for two years. It was all in both A Maj and E Maj, shifting to E7th toward the end. All notation with not a tab in sight.

I collected a lot of E7th sheet music and folios, a good deal published by Oahu, and almost all of it with both notation and tab. E7th was all I played until I started Skype lessons with John Ely and switched to C6th two years ago.

E7th is fun and while there's not as much music out there as C6th, there's plenty enough to have fun with.

Guy Cundell · Post by **Guy Cundell** » 6 Dec 2015 2:59 pm

I see from this link that your arrangements for steel guitar were published in 1948 by Belwin and arranged by Alfred Greathouse. Greathouse had an E7 steel guitar course in three books published by Belwin in the same year. I have books 1 and 3. I haven't delved too far into them but he seems to know what he is doing. His tuning is EBG#EDB in case that is not included. I can send you a few helpful pages from book 1 if you like. Email me and I can send you some scans..

http://tinyurl.com/ot8c3eb

Jim Wilmoth · Post by **Jim Wilmoth** » 6 Dec 2015 3:35 pm

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll be on the look out for Oahu and Jerry Byrd E7 music.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Dec 2015 9:08 pm

Some Oahu music is in E7, but most of Jerry's arrangements are in C6, B11, etc. You might want to check out Jerry's Big Course (sold by Scotty's Music). It's about 300+ pages. Jerry takes you through several tunings, beginning with the early Hawaiian tunings, A major, E7, B11, and eventually he ends up on C6, a tuning that he formatted for lap steel guitar.