The Steel Guitar Forum

It's good to hear folks out there still using the Open E tuning. Since you can't get more bsic than that for the guitar (any type) it's a great anchor.

I started out taking steel lessons back in the 50's from Shot Jackson in Shreveport, Louisiana. I was about 10, as I recall. Shot started me out in Open E on a 6 string. That basic foundation gave me a lot of confidence to start playing with other kids who were singing and playing standard guitar.

Later, as I found my way to a D8 Fender, I "discovered" C6 and started experimenting. I had quit the lessons with Shot (which was probably a big mistake!!!) But I always had the E major to come back to as a reference point and it really helped me expand my knowdedge. the other thing was that the E major stuff required a LOT of slants. Shot really worded hard on teaching this and I've always been grateful that this has always seemed to come easy.


Now, even as I spend most of my playing time on a D10 pedal, I still use a lot of the old E major "non-pedal" stuff on the E9 neck from time to time. After all, if you just go down the strings on E9 from string 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10, you've got most of the old E major tuning with no pedals. And to go further, just press the A and B pedals and you've got most of A6 which is equivalent to C6 ( with G on top) and you've got a pretty powerful and versatile "almost lap steel guitar."

Just being able to relate everything back to that E major ( with no pedals) has always been very helpful to me.

Roy Rogers has a good video out on open E tuning, but he uses bottleneck style. But the same principles apply whether you're barring in front of or round the neck.

On Jerry Byrds Instruction Book for Steel Guitar

He starts out in an A major tuning, explores E7, B11, C6, C6/A7 and maybe some that I missed.

The book includes also E major, C#minor, F#minor9th,
and E13th.

The study of all of these tunings is very educational.

Aloha,
Don

And don't forget, anything in open G tuning( bottleneck tuning) can be easily adapted to open D by simply moving everything down a string. For example, anything written in open G on the 1st string, play in open D on the second string; and anything played in open G on the 2nd string play in open D on the 3rd string - and so on. I hope that makes sense. This system can also work for adapting open G dobro tuning to D tuning but you have to be prepared to change things around a bit on the lower strings.

Another vote the J. Dow Blues course in E tuning. Well worth the money. My only complaint is that the tab is hand written and is hard to read. But you get used to it if you stick with it. Another suggestion already posted is a trick I use also. I look for "slide" material and just adapt it to lap.