The Steel Guitar Forum

Posted: **4 Apr 2006 4:55 am**

<pre>
E9/B6 String Fret Note Staves Relationship
No Pedals
Clef Note String Comments
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Treble F Frets 11 14 10 13 18 21 22 25
E 10 13 8 12 17 20 21 24
D 8 11 6 10 15 18 20 22
C 6 9 5 8 13 16 18 20 25
B 5 8 3 7 12 15 17 19 24 25
A 3 6 1 5 10 13 15 17 22 23
G 1 4 3 8 11 13 15 20 21
F 2 1 6 9 11 13 18 20
E 1 0 5 8 10 12 17 19 24
Middle D 3 6 8 10 15 17 22
C 1 4 6 8 13 16 20 24
B 0 3 5 7 12 15 19 23
Bass A 1 3 5 10 13 17 21
G 1 3 8 11 15 19
F 1 6 9 13 17
E 0 5 8 12 16
D 3 6 10 15
C 1 4 8 13
B 0 3 7 12
A 1 5 10
G 3 8
Note 1. The open fret is denoted as zero ( 0 ).
Note 2. I do know that the middle notes are not a clef.
Note 3. I also know that there are no notes called middle B or middle D.
</pre>

Posted: **4 Apr 2006 4:57 am**

<pre>

E9/B6 String Fret Note Staves Relationship
No Pedals
String Comments
Fret Note 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Open tl-E m-B b-E b-B
1 t-G tl-E t-A tl-F m-C bu-A bu-G b-F b-C bl-A
2 tl-F
3 t-A t-B t-G m-D m-B bu-A bu-G b-D b-B bl-G
4 t-G m-C b-C
5 t-B t-C t-A tl-E m-B bu-A b-E bl-A
6 t-C t-A t-D tl-F m-D m-C b-F b-D
7 t-B m-D m-B b-B
8 t-D t-B tu-E t-C t-G tl-E m-C bu-G b-E bl-G
9 t-C tl-F b-F b-C
10 tu-E tu-F t-D t-A tl-E m-D bu-A bl-A
11 tu-F t-D t-G tl-F bu-G b-D
12 tu-E t-B tl-E m-B b-E b-B
13 tu-E tu-F t-C t-A t-G tl-F m-C bu-A b-F b-C
14 tu-F
15 t-D t-B t-A t-G m-D m-B bu-G b-D
16 t-C m-C b-E
17 tu-E t-B t-A tl-E m-D bu-A b-F
18 tu-F t-D t-C tl-F
19 t-B tl-E m-B bu-G
20 tu-E t-D t-C t-G tl-F m-C
21 tu-F tu-E t-G bu-A
22 tu-F t-D t-A m-D
23 t-A m-B
24 tu-E t-B tl-E m-C
25 tu-F t-C t-B
Note: t = tenor clef; m = middle; b = bass clef;
tl = tenor lower register; tu = tenor upper register;
bl = bass lower register; bu = bass upper register
</pre>

Posted: **4 Apr 2006 5:03 am**

Has anyone ever shown the E9/B6 12 string notes on staves? I have seen the 10-string and extended E-9th staves but not for E9/B6.

Thank you;

Sherman

Posted: **4 Apr 2006 6:09 am**

Note 2. I do know that the middle notes are not a clef.

Sherman, actually, in classical notation there is the "alto clef" in which middle C is notated on the middle line of the staff, just as B (one octave above middle C) is notated on the middle line of the treble clef. The alto clef is a staff of five lines connected at the left end by a symbol that looks like two bass clefs stacked on top of each other (the "bottom" one appears upside down) with an arrow-like figure between them which points at the middle line of the staff. Essentially, the alto clef is made up of the bottom two lines of the treble clef a line for middle C and the top two lines of the bass clef. Originally (possibly as early as the 17th or 18th century) staff notation was made up of an eleven line staff with middle C being the sixth line. Soon, it was deemed that an eleven line staff was too difficult to read and was split into the common treble and bass clefs with middle C written below the bottom line of the treble clef with a line through the note.

The alto clef is sometimes refered to as the "viola clef" because the viola uses it frequently. Sometimes, it is also used to notate music for english horn, trombone and bassoon.

With the history lesson aside, I like your note chart relation to the fret location. In the past I've made a point to memorize every string/fret/pedal combination where middle C can be found on the tunings of my 10-string E9 and C6 guitars as well as 12 and 14 string E9/B6 guitars. That has been a tremendous help figuring out how staff notation translates to the PSG. I've found, by getting comfortable with using staff notation rather than TAB, I've been able to break free of the restrictions of memorizing patterns of what's available in TAB. By translating staff notation, the variety of music is practically limitless and the understanding of why you play specific combinations of strings and pedals at specific frets becomes a reward in itself.

Thanks for your efforts on charting the E9/B6 string/fret note staves relationship.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 04 April 2006 at 07:11 AM.][This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 04 April 2006 at 07:22 AM.]

Posted: **4 Apr 2006 8:43 am**

One other thing occured to me as a distinct advantage of translating notation for the PSG over reading TAB: It doesn't matter if you play 6,8, 10, 11, 12 or 14-string tunings. Or, for that matter, what your copedant is.

However, I still write some TAB for myself as a kind of "short-hand" reference after translating staff notation.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

Posted: **4 Apr 2006 9:58 am**

A little more history:

There were actually seven clefs used on the eleven line staff, from lowest to highest:

Basso - Bass or F clef
Suttotenore - Just below tenor (no longer used)
Tenore - Tenor or C clef
Alto - Alto (also a C clef, already discussed above)
Sopralto - Just above the alto clef (no longer used)
Mezzosprano - Just below the Soprano (G) clef (no longer used)
Soprano - G clef

The symbol used to denote all of these was two backward C's, one above the other, joined by a vertical line, with double dots, as in the bass clef, just to the right and verticaly centered. Sort of like this, but backward:

C

C

The actual clef was made by moving this symbol vertically on the staff. If we were to locate this symbol on the five line staff:

Placed one line below the staff, we have the G (G, treble, soprano) cleff. Of course we use the script G to denote this one.

If placed one line above the staff, we have the bass clef (we use a script F).

On the 4th line the Tenor clef, and if on the middle (3rd) line, the alto clef.

There are several different modern notations for the symbol itself (the double F, and also a "C:", the FF: used in classical music, the C: in pop, jazz, etc). In fact, when I was taking cello lessons (too long ago to remember

), we used the C: notation for the tenor clef...[This message was edited by Roger Maude on 04 April 2006 at 11:00 AM.]