The Steel Guitar Forum

alright so it's been a while since I bugged everyone . . .
I guess this is an exercise in forward slants for me. In an effort to try to play more 'chord melody' style,(meaning more than a 2 note chord), I came up with this goofy arrangement of the (a) section of "take the A train". My main question to those that posses some technique is, . .. is this a viable arrangement, if say, you wanted to play this at a decent tempo? I'm always getting into intonation trouble, I find that slants are a recipe for disaster, so obviosly it's one of the many things I need to work on. I hope this tab is legible,I'm still kinda new at writing it any thoughts or sugestions are appreciated . .

<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E--------------------------12-------------------------12--------------------
C-------------------------------------------12---------------8----------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------12------------------------12-------------------------8--------------
E-------12---------------------------------------------------8----------------
C-------12---------------------------------------------------------------------
</pre></font>


<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E-------5-------------5----6----7--------12---------------------------10----------------------
C-------5-------------5----6----7--------11----------------------------9-------12-
A-------5-------------5----5----7--------10----------------------------8--------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------12----11----10------------------12-----
E---------------------------------------------------12----11----10--------------------------12—13—14--
C---------------------------------------------------11----10-----9-------------
</pre></font>
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Joel Newman on 28 August 2005 at 09:20 AM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Joel Newman on 28 August 2005 at 09:21 AM.]</p></FONT>

Slants enable you to stay on the same set of strings ... and get the harmony you want ... without breaking the "flow" ...

As you did here ...

<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E-------5-------------5----6----7--------12------
C-------5-------------5----6----7--------11------
A-------5-------------5----5----7--------10------
</pre></font>

Jumping from a slant ... to a slant ... and then back to a slant ...
<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E--12---------------------------10--
C--11----------------------------9--
A--10----------------------------8--
G-----------12----11----10----------
E-----------12----11----10----------
C-----------11----10-----9----------
</pre></font>

Man, thats a tough maneuver ...

Especially when you are goin' from a 3 fret forward slant ... directly to a split slant ... then back to a 3 fret forward slant ...

Since you are leaving the top three strings anyway... breaking up the flow ...

It might be more advantagous to substitute "straight bar" chords for those split slants ...
<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E---------12---------------------10--------
C---------11--------7--6--5-------9-------
A---------10--------7--6--5-------8-------
G---------------------------------------
E-------------------7--6--5--------------
C---------------------------------------
</pre></font>

Just my opinion ...

------------------

<font size=1> Aiello's House of Gauss</font>

<font size=1>
My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield</font>

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 28 August 2005 at 10:25 AM.]</p></FONT>

Joel,

Make it easy on yourself in this part


E-------5-------------5----6----7--------12------
C-------5-------------5----6----7--------11------
A-------5-------------5----5----7--------10------

Just play the melody on the first string. Too many chords may sound choppy.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'



CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

Thanks Gents!!
Yes Rick, that's how I had it at 1st but then I thought, in my convoluted way, seeing as I'm already in the slant at that fret, to just kinda slide the bar shape over could be doable but you're probably right not at a tempo that's going at a great clip.
And another question for Gerald, if we were doing a single note melody, wouldn't we want this instead as it's less bar movement?
(from the D-7)
<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E--------5-------------------12--------------------10----
C--------5------9--10--11--------------------------------12
A--------5---------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------12--11--10-----------------12
E------------------------------------------------------
C--------------------------------------------------------
</pre></font>

I appreciate the input guys . . .
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Joel Newman on 28 August 2005 at 11:42 AM.]</p></FONT>

Either way works musically but if you do it your way:
E--------5-------------------12--
C--------5------9--10--11--------
A--------5-----------------------
G--------------------------------
E--------------------------------
C--------------------------------

You have to jump to the first string(12th fret). This may sound choppy. If you walk up on the first string it may be smoother.

Either way is OK, depends on what you want.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'



CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

Hey Joel---I can't bring anything useful to this discussion but I need to correct one thing. To me, one of the signature harmonies in this tune is the augmented chord as the second chord of the song. I am a total novice with slants and I don't know if the one in my tabcan be intoned well or if you need to find it elsewhere on the neck in order to be playable but I have "x"ed out your triad and substituted an aug. triad. Check it out.

<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>E--------------------------12----------------------12-----------------------
C-------------------------------------------12---------------xx8xx----------
A---------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------12------------------------12-------------------------xx8xx----13----
E-------12---------------------------------------------------xx8xx----12----
C-------12------------------------------------------------------------12----</pre></font>

Yes yes yes Jon,
I was doing it this way at 1st;

<font face="monospace" size="3"><pre>
E--------------4---------5---
C--------------4---------5------
A--------------3---------5---------
G-----------------------------
E------------------------
C--------------------------------
</pre></font>
(moving to that minor2 chord)
I guess I think of it as a dominant 7, (the 2 chord that is), with a b5. So maybe you're right I'm being a little piggy harmonically and trying to throw my b9 in there as well . . I like your voiceing tanx!

Joel, I like the flow of the 4th fret augmented to the 5th fret minor best. With chord melody playing it really helps to keep the melody in the higher register.

The whole idea of playing swing tunes on steel with a flowing, Jerry Byrd "p'tah" approach versus a more staccato feel is interesting. Do you try to stay on one string set like many Hawaiian players or make big jumps like Speedy West and many western swing players did? Personally, I love the way jazz guitar master Wes Montgomery would alternate chord stabs with octaves in a very rhythmic and often, very staccato way mixed in with very slide-like chord melody work. For me, Jazz guitar doesn't get better than Wes' approach and I try to emulate it in my rather lame way on a six string steel. For example, dig the rhythmic displacement in this incredible Wes solo on Jobim's How Insensitive ...

How Insensitive <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 28 August 2005 at 05:30 PM.]</p></FONT>

Yup, I quite agree Andy. Wes is my all time favorite jazz guitar player. If I could harmonically/rhythmically do what he did with reg. guitar on steel I'd be sooo happy.I think it's a ways off yet though, I guess I jump around alot,string wize, as per Geralds advise I'm gonna learn to like sticking to one string sometimes as well. Thanks for that tune also, I know I have that one somewhere . . .