The Steel Guitar Forum

Assuming you use only three picks (I know some people use four) what partials do you play when you chord 6ths 7ths and 9ths? Do you have favorite partials that you fall back on or do you let the chord movement in the song dictate the partial?

Karlis Abolins

Generaly speaking, use the following:

6ths--3rd and the 6th. The 5th or the root your choice.

7ths--3rd and the 7th. The 5th or root your choice. But here it can make a difference as to where you are going. Example:

Strings 4, 5 and 6. lowering the E's and B pedal resolving V7 chord to the I chord.

9ths--3rd, 7th and 9th.

13th's--use 3rd, 7th and 13th.

Again generally speaking, only major 7ths and 11th's require more than 3 notes to sound correct.

carl

When you say "partials," I assume you mean "inversions." If this is the case, I use as many inversions as there are notes in the particular chord; e.g., a 9th: has 5 notes, threrefore, it may be inverted at least 5 times, more if you sandwitch (for instance) a 13 in between: eg, from bottom up: I III IV (13) VII IX. If this were a dominant 9th in C: C E G A Bb D. I use all 5 fingers with no fingerpicks, so these structures are quite easy to play. www.steelguitarbyhughjeffreys.com. Click on SAMPLER and hear There Will Never Be Another You for an example of a sandwitched 13th+11-----Hugh.

I think that partials and inversions are two different things. An inversion can contain all of the notes of the chord. A partial can not.

Inversions of a C7th chord:
C E G Bb
E G Bb C
G Bb C E
Bb C E G

Partial C7th chords:
C E Bb
G Bb E
E Bb C

As you can see, partials come in a variety if inversions. The important thing in a partial is to include the notes that define the character of the chord. The tritone E-Bb is the essense of a 7th chord, which is why those notes are usually included in any partials.

Conventional theory says that part of the way to define a chord is with the 3rd, Interestingly, we very often play partials WITHOUT the 3rd. For example, on E9, we very often play a C7 partial at fret 1, strings 5,6, pedal B. There is only a C and Bb note, but there is never any question that the implication is a C7 chord and that the resolution will be to F. Even though we totally left out the 3rd. And on C6, a fundamental grip for a 6th chord is strings 3,5,8, which do not include a 3rd, but there is never any question that it is a 6th chord. So there are many liberties we can take with the basic rules, based on the harmonic structure of what is being played by the other instruments, and the listeners expectations of the resolutions of the chords.

iSN'T THE STEEL FUN? We can cheat all over the place and no one but another steel player would know.

Gentlemen, Thank you for the information. This is exactly what I am looking for.

Karlis Abolins

Hey Dr. Hugh,
I assume that when you say "sandwitch" , you really mean "sandwich" LOL

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney tuning.

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 06 May 2002 at 12:25 PM.]</p></FONT>