The Steel Guitar Forum

hi folks
quiet newbie in Lap Steel, but enjoying a lot...


i met this E tuning(Lo-->Hi) some months ago.
B-E-F#-G#-B-E

it's close to what JByrd uses in his book, and i seem to understand the tuning a little bit. i've been studying it last few weeks and i'm starting to learn the basic shapes n pockets for I-IV-V. plus its super easy to strum major chords.

2 questions,

1.- what would be the name?

2.- is it worth spending my time?? or just move on and learn something useful as A6 or C6 (which i haven't studied yet)

thanks a lot
maururu rahi

Sheesh...I'm first.....

Well, any tuning you really learn to play and use is good.

However, I am not familiar with your E tuning. That's OK, I certainly do not know every tuning.

I've seen these close but common tunings:

B-D-E-G#-B-E

B-D-E-G#-C#-E

and there are TABS and info on both tunings.

As for strums, get them where you can!

Most steel playing uses a lot of muting and blocking and not a lot of plain old strumming. (Well, there are those Hawaiian strum tunings)

I hope the experts chime in.

Regarding the Jerry Byrd book, keep in mind that he covers several tunings in his book and ends up on C6, a tuning the he devised and formatted.

IMO 6th tunings are the most versatile, all round tunings: C6 or A6. Full major and minor chords, convenient slants, two note harmonies, etc. E major is good for rock & blues, G for bluegrass. You can play any song on any tuning but some tunings are better suited for certain styles.

Basically an E9th tuning. Not sure this is the tuning I'd spend too much time with. If it was me, I'd do either C6, G, or D tuning.

Reinventing the wheel can give you some interesting perspective, but it's a lot faster to just buy a BMW.

Francisco, you may try knocking that 5th string E down to D. Lo-to-hi...B-D-F#-G#-B-E

Call it E9 with a Bm chord on the bottom.

Great for everything from Elmore James, Allman Brothers to Buddy Emmons.

Forumite Mike Neer did some stellar work in this version of E9 a number of years ago, when he re-did a couple of Buddy Emmons numbers.

Roger that !!!
thanks everybody. You slapped me in the face so gently that i hardly noticed it. I was losing my time doing other things, moving land and rocks instead of going by the paved road.

It's a hard road anyway so why do it harder than what it already is?

Neck went straight to C6.

PS: not all the time was lost, i do recognize the shapes derived from the upper strings of the previous tuning, the 3-5-1 of those high strings now are somewhat "hidden" in the middle strings.

As far as unusual tunings go, the most unusual I've heard is very common: It's called "Palmer modal tuning", and goes:

E E E E B E

Steven Stills used it a lot: Suite Judy Blue Eyes, Carry On, Four and Twenty, and others.

Palmer was the original bassist in Buffalo Springfield

Francisco, don’t think your time is wasted in the area of E Tunings. The tuning has been very true over the years to new players specially, Lap six string. I personally wrote in one of my articles that I ignored my E7 roots for many years and lately I have been getting some great sounds out of my Fender D8, inboard neck tuned to E7 *
E-B-G#-E-D-B-G#-E.

Going back and working in the E7 is like a spiritual revival to me. I just can’t get far away from it.

However, I do love my outboard tuned to C6 specially for playing good ole traditional country music. Most of singers like that. I am writing some instrumentals in E7 that I hope has a pleasant to others than just me.

You’ll do fine in any tuning you use as long as you just keep pick away at it with the love that we all have for the sound of the steel guitar.

thanks a lot for all you replies, suggestions, comments and good words.
Maururu rahi.

John Bobbitt wrote:As far as unusual tunings go, the most unusual I've heard is very common: It's called "Palmer modal tuning", and goes:

E E E E B E

Steven Stills used it a lot: Suite Judy Blue Eyes, Carry On, Four and Twenty, and others.

Really? What octaves were all those Es in?

As for your tuning, Francisco, I would call it "E add 9". It would need to have a D (i.e. a b7) in it somewhere to qualify technically as "E9"

I don't know the exact notes, but Stills had a dedicated guitar for it. From Wikipedia:

EEEEBE a.k.a. "Bruce Palmer Modal Tuning" (as named and used by Stephen Stills in "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", which appears on Crosby, Stills & Nash ©1969 Atlantic Records. Stephen Stills' six-string guitar is tuned to EEEEBE ("Bruce Palmer Modal Tuning") whilst the other six-string guitar is tuned to standard E.[22])

E modal: E-B-E-E-B-E
E modal alternative: E-E-B-B-B-B (used by Soundgarden on the songs "The Day I Tried To Live", "My Wave", and "Been Away Too Long")

EEEEBE, resisting the bad joke about it being the Scared Cockney tuning. ('eebie jeebies...dangit, resist better next time, Neufeld!)

I think the JByrd book is a bit about a journey...I doubt Jerry spent much time later playing professionally in some of the "early" tunings. Maybe on resonator or acoustic, I suppose. But the sixth tunings (and others) gave him more versatility.

This is one of the very best walkthroughs I think from Jerry's student Alan Akaka:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G8qAmotF_c

He does show pretty well...when you're a good player, you can play in just about any tuning you know...