Blues in D - C6th/A7 for new lap steelers

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 15 Feb 2004 8:43 am

For beginning lap steel players, here's an original blues showing some ideas for C6th/A7 tuning. It's really just a blueprint but you can see how powerful that C# on the 6th string is for covering the dominant chords. The alternative blues turn around makes a great exercise for practicing moving in and out of forward & reverse slants. 'Hope this helpful.
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BLUES IN D - C6th/A7 Tuning

<pre>

D D
-- GLISS-- -- GLISS--
E-------------1--2--1--2-------------|-----1--2--1--2----------- |
C-------2-----------------------2----|--------------------2---- |
A------------------------------------|-------------------------- |
G------------1--2--1--2--------------|-------------------------- |
E-------2-----------------------2----|-----1--2--1--2-----2----- |
C#------------------------------------|-------------------------- |

D D7
-- GLISS-- -- GLISS--
E------1--2--1--2-----------|------------------------------- |
C-------------------2--1--0 |------------------------------ |
A---------------------------|--------5--7--8--9-----10------ |
G------1--2--1--2-----------|------------------------------- |
E-------------------2--1-0--|------------------------------- |
C#---------------------------|--------5--6--7--8-----10------ |

G7 G7
GLISS
E-------------------------------|----------------------------- |
C-------------------------------|--------------12------------- |
A-----10-------------10---------|----11-12------12-11-10-------|
G----------------10-------------|------------------------10--- |
E-----------10------------------|----------------------------- |
C#-----10------------------------|----------------------------- |

D D
-- GLISS-- --- GLISS---
E-------------1--2--1--2-------------|------------------------------ |
C-------2-----------------------2----|------------------------------ |
A------------------------------------|---2--3--2--3--2-------------- |
G------------1--2--1--2--------------|---------------------2-------- |
E-------2-----------------------2----|------------------------2----- |
C#------------------------------------|---------------------------1-- |

A7 G7
--GLISS-----PICK
E------------------------------------|---------------------------- |
C------------------------------------|---------------------------- |
A-----9--10--11--12--12--12----12----|-----10--10--10------10----- |
G---------------------------12-------|-----------------10--------- |
E------------------------------------|---------------------------- |
C#-----9--10--11--12--12--12----12----|-----10--10--10------10----- |

D __3__ G7
| | |
E-----------------------------------|---------------------------- | |
C-----2--2--2--2---5--4--3--2--1----|--------------------------- | |
A-----------------------------------|----10--11--12-------------- | |
G-----------------------------------|---------------------------- | |
E-----2--2--2--2---5--4---3--2--1---|---------------------------- | |
C#-----------------------------------|--- 10--11--12-------------- | |

Alternate turn around for Bars 11 & 12. A blues cliche, this is tricky
'cause you've got to gliss from a forward slant to a straight bar to
a reverse slant and back in proper tempo. the lick also works well
played as triplet arpeggios.

D G7

GLISS GLISS GLISS GLISS
E----10-10--10--10---10--10--10---10----|-------4-----5--------------- | |
C---------------------------------------|---------------------------- | |
A----9--9---10--10---11--11--10----9----|-------3-----4--------------- | |
G---------------------------------------|----------------------------- | |
E---------------------------------------|----------------------------- | |
C#---------------------------------------|--- ------------------------- | |

</pre> [This message was edited by Andy Volk on 15 February 2004 at 08:55 AM.][This message was edited by Andy Volk on 15 February 2004 at 08:57 AM.]

Jay Fagerlie · Post by **Jay Fagerlie** » 15 Feb 2004 9:28 am

Andy, thanks for this post, I can't wait to work on it....
I have a silly question here....I can see that the G in this tuning makes it an A7, but how does the C# fit into the picture? I am not the greatest at theory, and am probably missing the obvious, but I just don't get it.
What am I missing here?

Thanks,

Jay, alone in the dark and ponderin'.....

OK,OK the light came on...DUH!!! it's the 3 in the key of A....SORRY!
I need more coffee.....

One more thing....the C then makes it A minor 7, right?

One of these days I'll get this all straight....

Jay

Thanks Billy, I was thinkin' 3 but typed 5....

[This message was edited by Jay Fagerlie on 15 February 2004 at 09:29 AM.][This message was edited by Jay Fagerlie on 15 February 2004 at 09:56 AM.][This message was edited by Jay Fagerlie on 15 February 2004 at 09:56 AM.][This message was edited by Jay Fagerlie on 15 February 2004 at 10:16 AM.]

Billy Wilson · Post by **Billy Wilson** » 15 Feb 2004 10:08 am

The notes in an A7th chord are A C# E G

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 15 Feb 2004 10:50 am

If you put this tuning on an 8 stringer as strings 3 thru 8 and add a high G as string 2 and a B note as string 1,you'll have the Joaquin Murphey tuning and it will take you even further down the blues/jazz road. This is what I have on one neck of my Stringmaster and I couldn't do without it - it doesn't make me play like Joaquin however...
Note: the B note is actually the pitch between the A and C strings but positioned out of the way as the 1st or as Joaquin placed it - as the 8th string.This is done so as not to disrupt the core C6 tuning.
Another variation is to have a D string instead of the G string. Taken to a 10 string,you'd have all three of these extra notes plus a low F at the bottom and then you'd have a real jazz machine. -MJ-

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 15 Feb 2004 8:22 pm

And we all know what Joaquin did with this tuning, Mike.

Jay, the straight bar C6/A7 open tuning gives you these chords:

Cmaj - ECG- two inversions
C6 - ECGA
Am - ECA - two inversions
Am7 - ECAG
Amaj - C#EA
A7 - C#EGA
Fmaj7 (no root) - ECA
Fmaj9 (no root) - ECAG
D9 (no root) - ECA
C#dim - Edim -Gdim

When you add in the slants you get more inversions of dominant 7ths, dominant 9ths, minor, maj7, dim & augmented chords. A very powerful tuning useful for many (but not all) styles of music.[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 16 February 2004 at 04:09 AM.]

Jay Fagerlie · Post by **Jay Fagerlie** » 16 Feb 2004 7:47 am

Thanks Andy, that is alot of help.

Now it's time to get busy!

Jay

Don McClellan · Post by **Don McClellan** » 20 Feb 2004 2:34 pm

Thanks Andy, this is good. I'd like to add that one can also get these chords at the open position:
non-root F#m7b5 EAC,
a NR Eb13 C#GC,
an A7#9 C#GAC,
an Em6 C#EG,
a C# minor/maj7 C#EC,
a two note augmented harmony with strings 6 and 3,
and a very cool minor chord using string 6 as the minor third and playing strings 3 and 2 also. Its a Bbmin/maj7add9 or something like that I guess but it works. Don[This message was edited by Don McClellan on 20 February 2004 at 03:14 PM.]

Jay Fagerlie · Post by **Jay Fagerlie** » 20 Feb 2004 4:38 pm

Geeze you guys....
now my brain hurts.....

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 20 Feb 2004 6:58 pm

There are a few additional complex chords that also contain those notes not to mention octaves on the first and fifth string. It's a powerful tuning and tough to beat for a whole lot of musical styles. For Celtic and folk music however, the 6th tone is in the way and a tuning like open D - mostly roots & fifths - works better.