Arrangement question

Jeffrey McFadden · From: Missouri, USA

When you are working out an arrangement of a new song to what extent do you consider ease of playing / economy of movement a high priority in choosing your starting place?
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Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Well, for me, it's one of several considerations. If it's a ballad, I'm looking for smoothness, and ease of playing/economy of moving can certainly contribute to that. As long as I'm not giving up something musically (say, in the voicing or the expression) that I'd rather be playing, in which case, I would just practice the transitions more until I got them smooth in the less economical location.

I guess it's probably the same answer for uptempo material too, but I might have to practice longer to get the awkward transitions to flow smoothly at a faster tempo.
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Fred Treece · From: California, USA

The top priority for me is how it sounds. Ease of playing and technical economics are right up there, because if I can’t play it, it is probably not going to sound very good. Sometimes it is a matter of technical mastery that requires practice, and other times it might simply be an unfeasible section in the arrangement.

An example, last night I was practicing a tune that has a minor-major-ninth chord. There is no way to voice such an animal on E9. So I was splitting the minor voicing with the appropriate major voicing at a different fret, trying to decide which was more effective.The melody note is the 9th of the minor, so the major voicing won out.

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Fred,
Playing a 5 note chord on the pedalsteel is tricky and not very common in practice. the C min maj 9 is a poly chord. You could play it in any number of ways on the E9 depending on function and which notes you chose to leave out. Look for major 7th and minor 9th intervals in your tuning. or minor 2nds.

Maybe start with with a Eb aug triad then see if there is a D note available.

what about 11th fret strings:

10 a
8
6
5 a split with Bb lower lever
2

I only lower string 5 with my Bb lower lever because of this issue. I also have a tuneable split on it.
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Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Thanks.

Bob's position for this chord doesn't require anything too unusual in the copedent. Most guitars can do this for those willing to ditch the 10th string lower and just leave the 5th lower in place. Note to self: do I really use the 10th string lower? No. Maybe I'll unscrew the tuning nut on 10 and try it out.

This chord could also be played in the open position, assuming the guitar didn't raise the 1st string on the same lever as the 6th string lower (split with B) -- or it's equivalent, the 7th string half-step raise. It's not very common to assign those changes to different levers but a few people have done it by, say, putting the 1st string raise on a 4th pedal.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

There is no 5th string lower on my guitar. Also, the half step raise on 1 also raises 7.

I spent a half hour trying to figure out that chord and there is no way. I even messed around with slants for a few seconds... The minor major 7 can be done two different ways on a Stage One, but the 9th can’t be added.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand... This difficulty I had relates directly to Jeffrey’s question, in that sometimes arranging a tune is limited to the capabilities of the instrument, not just the player. There are a number of 5-note chords available on an E9 3x4, but the minor major 9 is not one of them.

John Poston · From: Albuquerque, NM, USA

I'd consider what notes the other instruments are playing and what you want the pedal steel role to be at that point.

If you're padding/supporting, stick to the lower part of the chord.

If bass/rhythm is covering the root/5th and you're providing the color, look at where you can grab the 3rd, 7th and 9th tones.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Since inquiring minds seem to want to know, the notes of the BbmM9 chord in question are Bb-Db-F-A-C. The melody of the tune Iâ€™m playing is the 9th, and I wanted to harmonize it. So as I said in my earlier post, I settled on the F major triad with C on top. It sounds okay with an accompanying guitar playing a straight Bbm, but sometimes you just want to hear that big lush 5-noter on the steel, yâ€™know?

Jeffrey McFadden · From: Missouri, USA

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