The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this for me.
Earlier today I was watching a very helpful video from Paul Franklin where he discussed copedents; the video was part of his Franklin Method course. Paul's comments made me think about a lot, and one question I that came up for me was one I've wondered about for awhile.

What is the logic/reasoning behind Buddy Emmons's C6 copedent? (https://b0b.com/wp/copedents/buddy-emmo ... -copedent/)

Broadly speaking, the basics make sense....e.g P5 gives a 2-major, P8 gives a 6-major, P6 a Dom7, etc. But I feel like I'm missing something, particularly when it comes to P4 and P7.

I was wondering if anyone has come across anything that Buddy wrote or discussed dissecting the logic behind this copedent.

I've seen a lot of posts where people talk about ... "well, I get this chord with this combo and that chord with this other combo." Those are interesting, but I'm really curious if anyone knows about the "origin story" (so to speak) of the C6 copedent.

Thanks in advance for any insights...

P4 is an odd one. It seems to have gone almost out of use. In his Basic C6 course Buddy doesn't mention it. Its usefulness is very dependent on what music you play.

P7 is easier. It gives a G6 (or Em7) at the nut. But think of it not just as a means of raising 3&4, but also as a means of lowering 5&6, by engaging the pedal as you slide back two frets. If you're at the 12th fret and thinking of what you find there as a C6, then sliding back in this way gives Dm7. If you're calling it Fmaj7, then sliding back gives F6 - same notes, different harmonic functions.

I believe that Buddy Emmons was under some time pressure to come up with a system which has ultimately stood the test of time. This would have been an achievement in itself even if he'd been an indifferent player!

Buddy explains it pretty well in his basic c6 instruction. If you don’t have it, it’s worth getting.

I think you have to take it a bit farther too. Look at the logic behind having the d note instead of the g on string 1.

Bill

C6th P4 - raising 4th string from A to B - provides Major 7th

And referring to a (Very Old) Rusty Young article entitled "Steel Symposium"

Pedal 7 produces:

Em7 on strings 6 thru 2
G6 on strings 6 thru 2
C13 (maj 7)on strings 8 thru 2
Am9 on strings 8 thru 2 (excl str 3)

Hope this helps

Paul talks a bit about some of the logic involved in Buddy's changes in this blog post: Coping With Copedents

I believe Buddy said he got pedal 7 from Bob White.

definitely get his Basic C6 course. he goes through all the pedals individually from 5 thru 8, as well as several combinations.

7 by itself gives you a major 7 and 9 in the root position (C open), and the relative minor 9th and 11th (A open). it also gives you a V chord (G open) with the root on string 6, as well as a V6 and its relative minor 7 (E open). Buddy also used pedal 7 to imply a 7#9 (E open) on strings 2,3,4,5 quite often. and pedal 7 is great for melodic movement within a chord, similar to the C pedal on E9.

pedal combinations include 5 and 6 which gives you a diminished as well as a 7b9. 6 and 7 gives you a 7#11 and 13#11 (flat 5) with the root on string 9. 5 and 7 is a 13 chord (root on 10). 8 and 7 gives you a 9,11 chord with the root on string 10 and 8.

there are lots of other chords hiding in there too. Herb Steiner made this chord study available: http://www.herbsteinermusic.com/C6_essay.pdf


as mentioned, Buddy doesn't include pedal 4 in his C6 instruction. he seemed to reserve it for experimentation, and often used it to raise string 6 a half-tone (E to F) which makes total sense to me. I've been using that change for 20 years (also raising string 2). a lot of guys do a reverse pedal 6 (raising 6 and lowering 2) and many also raise string 10 a whole step which gives you a nice fat minor 7 on the low end. I think Buck Reid popularized that combo on pedal 4.

I would say raising and lowering string 4 a half-tone (on knee levers) has also become pretty indispensable for most dedicated C6 players, in addition to the very standard raise and lower of string 3 a half-step. I also raise 3 and 7 a whole step on a lever and can't live without it. happy hunting!

Scott, you have some interesting changes there which are a good advert for the uni as they're already in place.

I also raise 6 a half step (by releasing the E lowers) and I raise 3 and 7 with the A pedal, which is next to P5 - an advert for the Day setup on a uni

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. definitely sheds some light on this for me. I'll be sure to pick up some of the buddy emmons stuff that was mentioned.

Mike Greenberg wrote:Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. definitely sheds some light on this for me. I'll be sure to pick up some of the buddy emmons stuff that was mentioned.

You can get them here..

http://www.steelguitars.me/

scott murray wrote:Herb Steiner made this chord study available: http://www.herbsteinermusic.com/C6_essay.pdf

This essay is fantastic...does anyone know if he has published anything similar for e9?

Best,
Chris

Chris Grigsby wrote:

scott murray wrote:Herb Steiner made this chord study available: http://www.herbsteinermusic.com/C6_essay.pdf

This essay is fantastic...does anyone know if he has published anything similar for e9?

Best,
Chris

Thanks for the kudos, Chris. No, I haven't written anything for the E9 tuning like that essay. There's so much material available for that tuning in print and online that anything I write would immediately be redundant and therefore obsolete.

Paul Franklin talks about the E9 & C6 setup in the beginning of this video. He tells a quick story of how Buddy came up with the C6 copedent, starting at about the 6:00 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phDJy_IiR1Y

The whole video is great. It's always a good use of time to listen to Paul or Vince!