The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm a total noob when it comes to lap steel. (I've played guitar for 25+ years but this thing is all new to me!) I got one for Xmas and have dabbled off and on with it since then. I was originally shown some things in E7 tuning, and, although I do plan to dabble in that a bit more (for blues and rock type soloing), I took some advice on here and switched over to C6.

I think the main reason for the switch was originally that I really wasn't hearing it well in E7. I'm playing solo and after a little investigating I can at least grab some chords and make it sound pretty here and there in C6.

Today I found two boxes on the fretboard that offer some melodic ideas. Both are simple two fret boxes. One, with the root on the G string is a major scale. The other, with the root on the low E, a minor scale. Holy crap!! I know you all know this but I just actually saw the fretboard in a new way and that makes me really freakin happy!! Haha. (I do need a TON of work playing melody smoothly, so any pointers on that would be awesome!)

I was able to actually play a tune on it with my band and got good reactions from the guys! Anyhow, figured I'd share a small victory with you guys since you've all been a big help in the learning process!

Thanks for the help and encouragement! I hope to have many fun stories to come!

I keep a little black book for notes on breakthroughs, because I keep forgetting stuff.

Gabriel Masry wrote:I'm a total noob when it comes to lap steel. (I've played guitar for 25+ years but this thing is all new to me!) I got one for Xmas and have dabbled off and on with it since then. I was originally shown some things in E7 tuning, and, although I do plan to dabble in that a bit more (for blues and rock type soloing), I took some advice on here and switched over to C6.

I think the main reason for the switch was originally that I really wasn't hearing it well in E7. I'm playing solo and after a little investigating I can at least grab some chords and make it sound pretty here and there in C6.

Today I found two boxes on the fretboard that offer some melodic ideas. Both are simple two fret boxes. One, with the root on the G string is a major scale. The other, with the root on the low E, a minor scale. Holy crap!! I know you all know this but I just actually saw the fretboard in a new way and that makes me really freakin happy!! Haha. (I do need a TON of work playing melody smoothly, so any pointers on that would be awesome!)

I was able to actually play a tune on it with my band and got good reactions from the guys! Anyhow, figured I'd share a small victory with you guys since you've all been a big help in the learning process!

Thanks for the help and encouragement! I hope to have many fun stories to come!

I felt that way about "G" tuning, it opened a whole new world for me when it came to the blues. It makes me want to sit downtown with my dobro wearing my Ray-Ban Wayfarers and a Goodwill suit and play for tips.

A correct Blues Hat is the absolute necessity for a meaningful fashion statement.

As a guitar player for over 30 yrs I've found B6 easier than C6. This way, the B string is in exactly the same place on the lap steel as it is on standard guitar. The 2nd string is the root of the tuning (B string = B6) ex: C6/Am7 is at the first fret, F6/Dm7 is at the 6th fret and G6/Bm7 is at the 8th fret. No thinking required

To get a dominant 7th chord in a 6th tuning, go to the V chord position, then slide down 2 frets on the 2/3 strings. OR, play the 5/4/3 strings 2 frets below the I chord position. A classic walk up is to play the 5/4/3 strings 2 frets below the I chord position on beat 3 of the V chord, up a fret on beat 4 and up another fret on the downbeat of the change to the I chord.

To get a IM7 chord (ex CM7), play the top 3 strings at the V chord position (i.e. G.)

These few simple tricks will keep you going for a long, long time

David Mason wrote:A correct Blues Hat is the absolute necessity for a meaningful fashion statement.

This is true - a 30's fedora hat.