Steel Guitar

Six String Tunings

Hawaii – Joseph Kekuku – 1900….

raised strings

steel bar instead of fingers

multiple string layouts

multiple tunings

Steel Guitar History

1 lump of wood (hollow or solid body)

another long bit of wood (neck)

bits of wire or markings across the neck (frets)

6, 7, 8, 10 or 12 strings (bits of wire)

things to hold & tension the strings (bridge & tuners)

1 lump of metal, stone or glass (bar)

finger picks on thumb & selected fingers (optional)

The Instrument

changing lengths of pre-tensioned bits of wire by using a “bar”

playing one or more strings at the same time

keeping the “bar” straight or slanting the bar backwards or forwards when playing multiple strings

playing open strings on the guitar (no bar)

bending strings before the bar

using pedals and/or levers to change string tensions up or down

notes can be generated acoustically &/or electrically

How Does It Work?

easier to learn

easier to play

non conventional

beautiful sounds

multiple tunings

all styles of music

develop yourself & your view of the “musical landscape”

Why Steel Guitar?

multiple tunings exist

some tunings are better suited to specific styles

some tunings are better suited to different keys

some tunings are better suited to the number of strings

some tunings are better suited to different songs

you will develop a favourite – but never get trapped in a single tuning…..

Tunings

the tunings presented in this course identify open strings from

the highest pitched string (narrowest string) to the lowest pitched (widest) string

all 6 string tunings will move continually from a highest to lowest string pitch

a single set of strings can be re-tuned to support multiple tunings

this approach supports both right & left-handed players

invest in a quality tuner!

6 String Tunings

main dobro tuning, also used in early

Hawaiian styles

the 3 notes of G major chord (5 3 1) repeated

easy to play up or down an octave

great for “hammer-on” styles

switch between lap, dobro & banjo

Open G Tuning

D      

B      

G      

D      

B      

G      

D B G D B G

Open G Tuning (cont)

same as Open G but a tone higher, very

common in early Hawaiian styles

the 3 notes of A major chord (5 3 1) repeated

easy to play up or down an octave

still great for “hammer-on” styles

Open A Tuning

E      

C#      

A      

E      

C#      

A      

E C# A E C# A

Open A Tuning (cont)

firstly we will use “inversions” of a C Chord at

the fifth fret (G Open Tuning)

chords introduced here at the fifth fret also relate to A Open Tuning (the fifth fret would be a D chord)

never underestimate the melodic power of inverted chords

strive for clean picking, barring & damping…

G Open Major Chords

1. C chord (C bass) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 4

5 & 6 together…… (C G E)

2. C chord (E bass) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 3 4 & 5 together…… (E G C)

3. C chord (G bass) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 2 3 & 4 together…… (G C E)

4. C chord (C bass – up an octave ) – bar across fret 5 & play strings 1 2 & 3 together……(C G E)

Chord Exercise 1

practise these inversions by playing 2 beats on

each chord shape over a repeating 4 bar pattern as below…

Inversion Exercise

1. C chord (G bass) – bar across fret 5 play strings

2 3 & 4 together…… (G C E)

2. C chord (C bass – up an octave ) – bar across fret 5 play strings 1 2 & 3 together……(C G E)

Chord Exercise 1 practise these inversions by playing 2 beats on

each one over a repeating 2 bar pattern…

Chord Exercise 1

also known as “Hawaiian A” tuning & once again, common in early Hawaiian styles (the A is not low, the E is!!!)

supports easy fingerpicking using the bottom 3 strings alternating between the root & fifth

also used for G, D & E tunings

strings 1 & 3 create a country “sixth”

Low Bass A Tuning

E      

C#      

A      

E      

A      

E      

E C# A E A E

Low Bass A Tuning (cont)

D B G D G D

Low Bass G Tuning

B G# E B E B

Low Bass E Tuning

A F# D A D A

Low Bass D Tuning

E major – all strings

E minor (partial) – strings 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6

G# minor (partial) – strings 2, 3 & 5

bottom 3 strings for fingerpicking

E Major Tuning

E      

B      

G#      

E      

B      

E      

E B G# E B E

E Major Tuning

almost all chords can be played without bar slanting

also very common in 8 & 10 string versions

unless competent – makes all songs sound very, very Hawaiian

each fret has a seventh & sixth

each fret has a major & minor 7th

C6/A7 - 6 String Tuning

E      

C      

A      

G      

E      

C#      

E C A G E C#

C6/A7 Tuning

almost all chords can be played without bar slanting

also very common in 8 & 10 string versions

unless competent – makes all songs sound very, very Hawaiian – Jerry Byrd invention

each fret has a major, 6th & minor 7th

can play maj7ths & 9ths

C6 - 6 String Tuning

E      

C      

A      

G      

E      

C      

E C A G E C

C6 Tuning – 6 String

C6 Alternate tuning 1

C6 - Alt TuningsE      

C      

A      

G      

C      

G      

C6 Alternate tuning 2 E      

C      

A      

G      

C      

E      

great for normal guit players (use parts of 8 string C6 set) – as top 3 strings are almost conventional

can achieve an E9 pedal steel sound

each fret has a major & 7th

G# minor (partial) – strings 2,3 & 6

neat for blues (G# down to G)

E7 - 6 String Tuning

E      

B      

G#      

E      

D      

B      

E B G# E D B

E7 Tuning – 6 String

great for “Sleepwalk”

G major

G sixth

E minor 7th

G6 - Tuning 1

D      

B      

G      

E      

B      

G      

G6 - Tuning 2

Alternate 2 – sixth is now in a higher pitch (3rd string)

G major & G6th

E minor 7thB      

G      

E      

D      

B      

G      

Alternate 3 – great for conventional

guitarists as only 1 string (string 5) varies from standard tuning

Also known as Em (sic) or Em7 tuning

G major – strings 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

G6 – all strings

Em7 – all strings (E minor 1,2,3,5,6)

G6 - Tuning 3

E      

B      

G      

D      

B      

G      

G major - bottom 3 strings

G9 - top 3 strings

partial 4th chord (D) available (1,2,4)

easier for E9 steel players

G9 - Tuning

D      

A      

G      

D      

B      

G      

C major chord - top 3 strings,

C7th chord - top 4 strings

C9th chord - top 5 strings

C13th chord - all strings

Bb augmented – strings 3, 4 & 5

D7th chord – strings 2, 5 & 6

C13 - Tuning

E      

C      

G      

Bb      

D      

A      

sixth (C#) & 7 (D) give a 13 chord (sic)

E major – strings 1, 3, 4 & 5

E 7th - strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6

E 6th – strings 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

E 13th – all strings

E13 - Tuning

E      

C#      

B      

G#      

E      

D      

as with open G tuning the chord (minor) is

repeated over 2 octaves (appeared 1937 as first minor tuning)

C#minor – all strings

E6th tuning – all strings

C# major – strings 2, 3, 5 & 6

C# Minor Tuning 1

E      

C#      

G#      

E      

C#      

G#      

C#minor – all strings

E6th tuning – all strings

E major - strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6

fingerpicking on bottom strings

Jerry Byrd favourite

C# Minor Tuning 2

E      

C#      

G#      

E      

B      

E      

C#minor – strings 1, 2, 3 & 5 – an Hawaiian

tuning

E6th tuning (partial) – strings 1, 2, 3 & 5

E major - strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6

C#minor 9th – all strings

E9 (partial) – strings 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6

C# Minor 9 Tuning

E      

C#      

G#      

F#      

E      

D      

F#9th – all strings

F# major – strings 2, 5 & 6

E 6th chord - on top 4 strings

C# minor – on top 4 strings

G#9 – strings 3, 5 & 6

F#9 - Tuning

E      

C#      

G#      

E      

A#      

F#      

B major chord - on bottom 3 strings

B 11th chord - all strings

A major chord - top 3 strings

C# minor - strings 1, 2 & 4

C#minor 7th - strings 1, 2, 4 & 6

C# often substituted on string 6 (Byrd)

B11 - Tuning

E      

C#      

A      

F#      

D#      

B      

multiple tunings exist

some tunings are better suited to specific styles

some tunings are better suited to different keys

some tunings are better suited to the number of strings

some tunings are better suited to different songs

you will develop a favourite – but never get trapped in a single tuning…..

Closing