The Steel Guitar Forum

First, I would like to say thank you for all the knowledge I have gained from this forum by reading past and current posts. I have been amazed that the "great players",along with everyone else will take the time to help someone just starting out. I have been playing PSG for about 2 months now. What an amazing instrument! I have played lead 6 string for 30 some years and had become bored with it. I have found that the challenge of the PSG has me very interested again. I practice everyday and am studying music theory and loving every minute of it! I can't listen to, or read enough about the steel. I listen to Steelradio.com and hear a great tune ,and then notice that it is a fellow forum member that I would have never recognized before finding this forum. What a tremendous amount of talent in one place!
I have been working on E9 neck and have learned a few songs and standard licks, but have used C6 neck for armrest so far. My question is, should I be working on C6 also, or just concentrate on E9 first? I love the C6 sound also, and want to learn to play it, but I don't see much similarity in the two necks.
How many of you learned them both at the same time?

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ROGER
'77 MSA CLASSIC D10 8/4, MSA SIDEKICK, PEAVEY SESSION 400, GOODRICH 120

Hey Roger...I think since youre already a musical guy, you should at least keep your back neck tuned up and ready to go for when the inspiration hits. I started out with a D10 for the most part too, and even though E9 was easier at first I soon started playing both necks on gigs cuz they were there. There's so much good info available about both E9 & C6 nowdays (like "Jeff's Jazz" online). It's a great time to be learning the steel!

like Rick said tune it up. Why? you have already paid for it,so mostly its you that will have to indure it.But,dont use it for an arm rest,when it beckons to be played. BJ

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Roger, my advice is tune it up and use it. I can give that advice with some authority, because it is exactly what I did not do and I came to regret it. I got comfortable with E9th and never spent enough time looking at the C6th to demystify it. But there is, in fact, nothing mysterious about it - it is a really great tuning, and a lot of stuff is very accessible on it. Learn a tune on E9th, then switch over and play it on C6th - you will be a better player for it.

What Bob said. That is the best thing. Anything you are comfortable with on E9, play it on C6. Actually there are alot of similarities between the 2 tunings. Check out Buddy Emmon's "Basic C6" book. Its really helpful.

what Bob & Bill said
yo me gusto mucho toquar C6 - el méjor

Thanks for all the replies. I will start working on it.

Try playing E9 on two stings only, using the changer to full effect. Depending on your copedant there are so many things you could do. You can get C6 sounds that will fit almost any fancy jazz stuff, but keep moving. Oh yes, and drinking!

If you try to equate E9 and open C6 you will not see many similarities, other than the presence of a major triad (E G# B on E9; C E G on C6). The changes on the A and B pedals are not really there on C6 and therein lies the difficulty most people have understanding how the two tunings ARE similar.

I play a universal tuning and have carefully studied the similarities for many years.

If you look at the C6 tuning with P6 depressed, you end up with F9 open. Many of the notes are identical to E9 on the FIRST FRET (F9). While there is not a pedal that equates to the A pedal, if you have a pedal or lever that raises A to Bb on C6, it is the same function (raising the 3rd to 4th scale tone) as the B pedal on E9. You can play the Rugg/Myrick speedpicking stuff out of the F9 (P6) position.

To see the relationships, it is often useful to think of E9 on the first fret when looking for similarities with C6. There are MANY more similarities and also many ways, on the universal, to take advantage of BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.

I'll second the recommendation of checking out Buddy Emmons' 'Basic C6' course.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 17 November 2004 at 02:37 PM.]</p></FONT>

Thanks Larry, your information helped me out alot.

Larry is right on this i started on a single E9th tuning an went to the universal then to the double neck steel. I real think that a beginning steel player should graduate through the three guitars. Cause i have seen so many people say they don't see any connections with the E9th tuning and the C6th tuning. I think the universal guitar clears a lot of that up.I love the universal guitar as good as the double though, cause of the chance to learn everything at once. But the only trouble with the universal guitars is you can only put so much hard ware under them. but had i started with a double neck.
But the best way to learn is to learn both necks at once. Cause i learned that when you first learn to play you are realy working on technic, and you are actually setting differnt when you are sitting playing the C6th neck, than the way you are sitting playing the E9th. To me even though you are learning to handle the bar. It will actualy look different the way you are sittings. So there is big advantages that are benefitual to you by learning both necks at the same time.

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