Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 19 Feb 2011 5:27 pm |
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I had always played just open E tuning on lap steel and never got very far at all. I never played it that much- usually only when I'd screw up my fingers and was unable to play regular guitar.
Situations change and it was a year ago that I decided to focus all of my energy on lap steel. Working with C6 opened my mind up to all sorts of harmonic and melodic possibilities. So I decided to see what could be done with open E, changing it around a bit to add in some of those harmonic and melodic options.
Keeping 3-5-R on the top 3 strings was one requirement mainly so most of the open E riffs could still be played. What I came up with first was the E6th tuning listed below, with the top 4 strings the same as open E, the 5th string (B) moved down to the sixt slot and the 6th, the C#, added in as the new 5th string. So basically I sacrificed the low E string for the C# that really opens everything up. You get a nice minor 7th chord (C#) without having to get into slants and having the 6th in there jazzes up your E chord. E6th is versatile because it fits in with major scales based on the I, the IV and the V.
One variation of this particular E6th tuning is that you can raise the C# one half step to D for an E7th chord. The E7th isn't quite as versatile as it is only used with the major scale based on the IV, but then again the dominant 7th chord is used extensively in rock and blues so can be very handy. You also get the G# diminished triad which contains the G#/D tritone.
From the E7th tuning we can lower the G# one half step to G to get an Em7th chord which is great for minor blues, etc. (I haven't examined the harmonic potentials of this tuning yet but it sounds very rich to me.)
What brought all 3 of these tunings together for me was the E9th tuning that Mike Neer used on his transcription of Tom Brumley's Seven Come Eleven. This is the mothership, so to speak. You get the top 3 strings of open E bottleneck tuning but the bottom 3 strings are something different altogether as you now have both 7th and 9th chord options. The 5-b7-9th of the bottom 3 strings also happens to be a B minor triad (R-b3-5) so you get a strong minor chord in there as well. And this tuning is very close to E9th on the pedal steel, which I am also learning.
Bottom line for me is that with this tuning and its variations I can sit in with my friends' bands playing rock and blues off the top of my head (otherwise known as "faking it." :p ) For more serious and more melodic material I am still learning my way around C6 and A6 tunings.
I have listed optional gauges which are heavier if you want a stronger bass. The closest set of strings for this would be the Jagwire A Major/E7th set which is currently out of stock.
| Code: |
E9th (opt. heavier gauge)
E .015
B .018
G# .024w/p
F# .028w (.030)
D .036w (.038)
B .038w (.042)
E9 E7 E6 Em7
E E E E
B B B B
G# G# G# >G
F# >E >E >E
D D >C# D
B B B B
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Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Steve Ahola
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www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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