Shania Tune 6 string E A D G B E Tuning

[Bill Hatcher]

tinkered with a shania tune....not shania, but alas....

used just a 6 string lap steel i made years ago. its tuned like an underarm guitar... E A D G B E.

bounced it up a little, but it would also be fine just as a slow ballad. found a few things. kept it close to the melody and the form of the song. elec bass and a drum loop.

music is fun....say that 100 times.

https://soundcloud.com/bill-hatcher/sti ... one-shania

[Jerry Overstreet]

Another winner Bill. You sure do have a handle on the standard guitar tuning. I'm still listening to your standard tuned Freddie King 6 string pedal steel tune you did years ago.

[Bill Hatcher]

Another winner Bill. You sure do have a handle on the standard guitar tuning. I'm still listening to your standard tuned Freddie King 6 string pedal steel tune you did years ago.

wow...thanks so much jerry.

im going to make me a 6 string lap steel with two palm levers. just with the ability to raise the G up to G# and lower the D to Db you can really do a lot.

[Doug Beaumier]

Nice job, Bill. I'm looking forward to hearing what you come up with when you build the 6-string lap steel with palm pedals.

[Joe Cook]

That's really lovely, Bill. Wonderful tone and technique,as always!

[Sam Conomo]

Wow,
I loved it,
Very nice how you
Got the melody nicely
And made it steel
Appropriate and
Interesting..
Great work.
Sam.

[Jim Mckay]

that's cleaver stuff on 6 strings, Bill.
Very pretty.

[Allan Revich]

That was really great, especially from the Em11 tuning!

[Bill Hatcher]

That was really great, especially from the Em11 tuning!

there are some famous movie and tv scores where arrangers use the open tuning of the guitar just like it is for a chord.

[Fred Treece]

Bill, your mastery is astounding, really. With no video, my head just spins wondering where the slants are, and which direction they go, and where the open strings are. Two things impress me enough that I have to ask about it.

No volume pedal? I love hearing the attack on the strings and a natural decay, and it seems this is your standard approach.

Tunings— Do you decide to play a song on any old tuning just to see how it works out? Like a personal challenge of sorts? Or do you choose a tuning because you think it is best for the song?

Thanks for posting another gem.

[Bill Hatcher]

Bill, your mastery is astounding, really. With no video, my head just spins wondering where the slants are, and which direction they go, and where the open strings are. Two things impress me enough that I have to ask about it.

No volume pedal? I love hearing the attack on the strings and a natural decay, and it seems this is your standard approach.

Tunings— Do you decide to play a song on any old tuning just to see how it works out? Like a personal challenge of sorts? Or do you choose a tuning because you think it is best for the song?

Thanks for posting another gem.

fred. i thank you for your interest. yes all the things i post are just sharing what i have come up with with the forum folks. i dont have any CDs out or anything like that. i play other instruments for my living.

volume pedal. i dont use it. its cool, but i just never got around to it. maybe some day i will. i too like the immediate hit on the string. the vol pedal is king in the pedal world, but i think the lap world can be either way.

tunings. tunings are over rated...lol. just joking. i make some lap steels for folks. i have a great time taking THEIR tuning and recording a tune with a tuning i have never played...which is actually most of them. all i have to do is just tinker around with a tuning for about 15 mins and a melody will come about. then i just find the right key for it. on the lap guitar i use a LOT of open strings. i try to find a key that will give me some open strings for the melody, that way i will have the chance to grab something under the open string melody while its ringing through. maybe i can quickly grab a chord or a line or something. if you are always having to keep the bar down while playing then you are always locked in to what ever you have under that bar. with an open string, you are only locked in to whatever you can get to in a hurry.

the only tuning on the lap steel that i know exactly where i am is the 6 string guitar tuning EADGBE. the rest of the time, i am just huntin' and peckin'...

i have two attributes that i can count on. back in the early 60s, a friend gave me some chet atkins records. i did not know one thing about the guitar, but i knew that his right hand was astounding, so all my life, i worked on right hand fingerstyle. when i started playing the lap steel...i had that down. lots of players come in the game starting out with modest or no right hand technique. i can count on pretty much being able to do whatever i want to with the right hand.

the other thing that i can count on is i hear all this stuff in my head before i even try to play it. sometimes the guitar will give you an idea, but most of the times the guitar gives you YOUR ideas back to you. the guitar can be very stingy sometimes! lol

slants...i have not developed good slanting technique. i use pulls behind the bar. thats what you hear on this tune. best to you.

[Fred Treece]

Thanks, Bill.

No slants, just pulls...
Now my head is spinning the other way!

[Dan Koncelik]

PostPosted: 6 May 2021 8:25am Post subject:
Thanks, Bill.

No slants, just pulls...
Now my head is spinning the other way!

My head is spinning BOTH ways I was wondering the same thing while listening to your post: Slants? Levers? Secret pedal mechanisms? But, no....PULLS

As a recovering armpit guitarist I salute you, sir....

[Bill Hatcher]

PostPosted: 6 May 2021 8:25am Post subject:
Thanks, Bill.

No slants, just pulls...
Now my head is spinning the other way!

My head is spinning BOTH ways I was wondering the same thing while listening to your post: Slants? Levers? Secret pedal mechanisms? But, no....PULLS

As a recovering armpit guitarist I salute you, sir....

thanks dan. that is a cool reverse V guitar you have pictured!

[Jerry Overstreet]

I'm still amazed at Bill's talent and grasp of music. For those of you that didn't see this last year, I think it's worth a bump up for another listen. Matter of fact, you might want to listen to all his online entries. Here and on YT.

Be sure and read the entire post concerning finger pulls, string selection etc.

Imagine this on a lap steel without any pedals or benders but in standard EADGBE guitar tuning. Such sweet tone and delivery and not just one string melody, but full chords andruns. Simply astounding.
https://soundcloud.com/bill-hatcher/sti ... one-shania

[Stefan Robertson]

That right hand technique of Bill's is excellent indeed. Great version as always.

[Allan Revich]

Hmmm…

If I may be so bold as to ask: If lap steel is your “hobby instrument”, what instruments do you play to make a living? Given your ability on the lap steel, I’m probably not alone in wanting to hear some examples of you “making a living”!

[Bill Hatcher]

Hmmm…

If I may be so bold as to ask: If lap steel is your “hobby instrument”, what instruments do you play to make a living? Given your ability on the lap steel, I’m probably not alone in wanting to hear some examples of you “making a living”!

sure. i mostly play guitar and elec bass. here is some noodling on tico tico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv4VKRpJB3M

and here is a track of me on 6 string bass and a friend of mine who plays fine sax. i made a 6 string bass decades ago with two sets of electronics so i can run two lines out. what you hear on the bass track is just one pass with one output with effects and the other just bass. i always played fingerstyle no matter if it was bass or guitar.

https://soundcloud.com/bill-hatcher/sol ... ax-no-more

same bass. a bach fugue.
https://soundcloud.com/bill-hatcher/sol ... bach-fugue


thanks for inquiring. for the last few weeks i have been sitting in an orchestra pit playing a broadway show called "in the heights". im playing acoustic guitar, nylon string guitar, electric guitar and the Cuban Tres guitar part. i do a lot of broadway shows. i also have been an american federation of musicians union member for all my playing career. im even old enough to be taking my musicians union pension. im approaching my mid 70s, but i am still busy playing and learning.

thanks for your inquiry. now lets go practice!!! lol

[Fred Treece]

I am glad Alan asked the question I was afraid to ask.

Mr. Hatcher, it may be a silly cliche, but I am truly not worthy. Your artistry is astounding, as both a musician and instrument builder.

A friend of mine plays Tico Tico, and plays it very well, but I never heard it quite like you played it there. I struggled with it and then gave up.

We are all very fortunate to have you here on the forum as a regularly contributing member.

[Bill Hatcher]

We are all very fortunate to have you here on the forum as a regularly contributing member.

we are all fortunate to have a site like this that we can all share all sorts of things music and steel guitar.