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Topic: Detesto Charts |
Slim Heilpern
From:
Aptos California, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2021 9:59 am |
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A number of years back when I was waiting for delivery of my first pedal steel, I purchased all of these old Steel Guitarist magazines and while reading them all front to back I came across this article titled "Here Come Detesto Numbers" (Steel Guitarist #5, May 1980, page 42) that has been a tremendous help to me, given that I only (so far) use pedal steel on recording projects and we do a lot of tunes with complex chord changes.
Early on in my PSG journey, I attempted to use various pedal steel chord charts to find my way around, but I found this approach to be somewhat inadequate. I'm often looking for rootless voicings, or ways to slide from one voicing to another on the same strings. What's most helpful to me is to decide on a particular voicing that I think will work well and then hunt for that voicing on the axe. And this is where the Detesto charts are extremely helpful.
The idea is to create one chart for each possible chord root (IOW, 12 charts). I just use a tabbed spreadsheet for this, one tab for each possible root. I'm using a slightly modified U12 E9/B6 tuning and all the charts are based on open tuning (no bar).
Each chart assumes a different note as being the root by which all intervals are compared to. And all intervals are expressed in number form (I use 1, b9, 9, b3, 3, 4, b5, 5, b6, 6, b7, 7 ). Each chart is similar to a copedent chart but using numbers instead of note names. For instance, for the "E Root" chart, looking at my 5th string, I can see that my vertical lever takes it from a fifth to a flatted 5th. But on the "F Root" chart, it takes if from a flatted 5th to a 4th, and so on.
Why is this helpful? Because if, for instance, I'm looking for all possible ways to play a chord that's constructed as 3, b7, 9, I simply scan each chart looking for where those intervals can be found on the axe. The time this has saved me has made the initial time investment of creating the charts insignificant.
Hopefully, viewing the linked PDF will explain this better than I'm able to do with words  . Obviously, this approach is not for everyone, but it has been a huge help to me and thought I should share in the event it helps someone else as well.
And, of course, big thanks to Frankie Detesto and George Estes, who wrote the article on this back in 1980!
Here's a link to the PDF if you're interested -- it's just an example since your copedent is likely a bit different from mine:
https://slimandpenny.com/static/web/misc/Detesto-Charts-Slim-Heilpern-U12.pdf
- Slim
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Chromatic Harmonica, Guitar, and Pedal Steel (Williams U12 Series 700, Emmons lap)
http://slimandpenny.com |
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Andrew Goulet
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Posted 11 Dec 2021 10:36 am
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If you can believe it, I sat down the other night and did this exact thing for my copedent. It was great brain exercise and really cracked open some new possibilities. There's a whole basket weave of music there.
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Marlen S12 pedal steel
12 string Bill Hatcher lap steel
ZT Club and Lunchbox |
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Slim Heilpern
From:
Aptos California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2021 6:08 am
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Yup, it can be a real eye-opener.
Obviously, it would be much simpler if there were an app for this -- once you've entered your copedent you could search by the interval stack you're looking for. But I'd rather spend my time practicing and recording than spending <strike>days</strike> <i>months</i> writing the code for that .
- Slim
_________________
Chromatic Harmonica, Guitar, and Pedal Steel (Williams U12 Series 700, Emmons lap)
http://slimandpenny.com
Last edited by Slim Heilpern on 12 Dec 2021 8:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2021 8:12 am Steel Sidekick
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https://johnsohn.info/portfolio/steel-sidekick/
At first, John Sohn’s app seemed limited to me by the number of chord types and scales that could be searched. But now I use it in much the same way you describe working with your spreadsheet. I choose my own roots and inversions and then search for the changes that make a chord or phrase playable. Doing some of the leg work in the “open” position can help too.
Thank you for posting the link to your charts. It’s always interesting to see how others are teaching themselves. I don’t have patience, skill, or time to lay out a spreadsheet. Believe it or not, it is easier for me to visualize the 3rd of an E9th chord as the root of a G#m7b5, or the b7 of Bb7b9#5. I’ve been using Steel Sidekick for this almost right from the time I started playing 5 years ago, and I am still finding ways to adapt it to my needs. It’s an amazingly useful app, and Mr. Sohn deserves some kind of award for creating it and making it available free of charge.
PS - By the way, Slim, there is no denying the fruits of your efforts. Your recordings are proof of that! Whatever you’re method, keep it up.
Last edited by Fred Treece on 12 Dec 2021 8:46 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Slim Heilpern
From:
Aptos California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2021 8:40 am
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Thanks Fred for reminding me about John's app, which I just revisited. It's very cool and a different approach -- my approach seems to line up a bit better with the way my brain happens to work, but kudos to John for all the work he's obviously put into this -- I'm sure it's greatly appreciated by many!
- Slim
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Chromatic Harmonica, Guitar, and Pedal Steel (Williams U12 Series 700, Emmons lap)
http://slimandpenny.com |
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