Monthly Archives: December 2015

E9 Pedal Steel Guitar Solo – Invitation to the Blues

E9 Pedal Steel Guitar Solo – Invitation to the Blues

This is a demo I recorded a few years ago. I’m playing an Emmons push/pull student model on the recording. I was selling the guitar at the time and I needed a quick recording to demonstrate the sound. A lot of players were interested in the solo and the ending so I tabbed them out. The Solo starts at 1:09 in the audio below. The ending starts at 2:11.

 

AUDIO:

 

TABLATURE – Solo: click on images to enlarge,   E = lower E to D#

invitation1  invitation2

 

TABLATURE – Ending: click on image to enlarge

invitation3

 

 

 

B11 Tuning – lap steel guitar

B11 Tuning for lap steel guitar

B11 is rich in 9th and 7th chords and works especially well for Hawaiian songs. It’s a combination tuning. Part of it is A6 and the other part is B7, B9, B11. There are a few variations of the tuning. The 8-string version I’m discussing here is (high to low) E, C#, A, F#, D#, C#, B, A. The 6-string version is an easy re-tune from C6 tuning. (high to low) E, C#, A, F#, D#, C# (or B).

 

8-string B11 tuning

Strings 1 through 4 are an A6 chord.  The middle strings (omit string 1) are B9 (and B, B7, B11).

Fret 2 is B6, and Open is B9. Whatever 6th chord you are playing, just drop back two frets for the 7th or 9th chord. For example, A6 on fret 12 (strings 1 through 4), drop back to fret 10 and play the middle strings (omit string 1) for A9. That big 9th chord is the signature sound heard in Hawaiian songs like “How D’ya Do” and “Sand”.

The chart below shows some of the open chord positions, with root note A, root note F#, and root note B. There are other open chords that I left off the chart… diminished chord on strings 3, 4, 5. Also Am6, flat 5, Aadd2, etc.

 

CHORDS on B11 tuning

Click image to enlarge:

B11Chart

 

CHORD MOTION

Click image to enlarge:

B11ChordMotion

 

Valco Swing – lap steel guitar, C6/A7 tuning

VALCO SWING – C6/A7 lap steel guitar

 

This is an original instrumental of mine. The tuning is C6/A7… a combination tuning. The tuning has a full C6 chord and a full A7 chord. (high to low) E, C, A, G, E, C#  The tune features a lot of hammer-ons and pull-offs, and pick blocking. Enjoy

 

AUDIO:

 

TABLATURE: click on images to enlarge

ValcoSwing1  ValcoSwing2

 

 

C6 Lap Steel Guitar – Speedpicking

SPEEDPICKING on Lap Steel Guitar, C6 tuning

 

Below is audio and tablature for a speedpicking solo I recorded a while back. 6-string lap steel guitar, C6 tuning. Pick blocking is very important for this style of playing. Enjoy

 

AUDIO:

TABLATURE – PDF – Click on the link… C6LapSteelSpeedpicking