Doug’s Blog

You Don’t Own Me

Here’s a blast from the past. A hit song from 1963 that makes a nice steel instrumental.

I’m using D6 tuning (7-strings). And I retuned string 7 to G# to play the low part of the song.

(high to low) D B A F# D B (G#)

Island Swing – B11 tuning

Here’s a short clip I made a while back featuring B11 tuning.

C6 Practice Session

Here’s a short clip I recently recorded featuring hammer-ons and pull-offs. The tuning is C6 w/high G. Pay no attention to that dangling headphone wire! 😉

MOONTIDE – Video & Tablature

This is an original tune I recently composed for B11 tuning. Hope you like it!

B11 tuning:

E
C#
A
F#
D#
B

Attention C6 players: B11 is an easy re-tune from C6 tuning. Just tune your C up to C# and drop strings 4, 5, 6 a half-step each.

The tablature: When four strings are played together, strum the bottom three strings in the voicing with the thumb and pick the top string in the voicing with a finger at the same time. That makes the high note (the melody) stand out. Notice in measure two that the bar is on fret 1 covering strings 2, 3, 4 and string 1 is played open. Enjoy!

Click on the images to enlarge:

Practice Track:

Country String Pulls

I’ve been experimenting with tunings and string pulls lately. Looking for Country twang sounds. Here’s what I came up with.

Cadd9 tuning

1 D
2 C
3 G
4 E
5 D
6 C

Powerglide – E9 pedal steel guitar – speedpicking

Here’s an original tune of mine that features an interesting speedpicking run – see the tablature below. It uses pedals A & B and the knee lever that lowers string 2 from D# to D. I call it the E lever in the tablature. The main pattern is a banjo-style roll, similar to those played by the late Jimmie Crawford and others. Enjoy.

click on the image to enlarge:

Backing Track, key of C:

Slower Backing Track, key of C. 20% slower

Chord Practice – E9 pedal steel & C6 lap steel guitar

This is a basic chord exercise that I give to my students. There is a chord chart and an Audio track to play along with. The audio plays the chords three times through.

CHORDS:

4 beats per measure. Click on the image to enlarge:

AUDIO: Practice Track 2:

E9 Pedal Steel Guitar – chord positions:

The chart below shows the same chords and the chord positions on E9 pedal steel guitar. The number above the chord is the FRET you place your bar on to play that chord. The A, B indicates Pedals A, B, standard E9 tuning. Pick any combination of strings 3,4,5,6,8,10 to play the chords.

click on the image to enlarge:

C6 Lap Steel Guitar – chord positions

The chart below shows the same chords and the chord positions on C6 lap steel guitar. The number above the chord is the FRET you place your bar on to play that chord. Keep in mind… to play a major chord on the fret indicated omit the A string. To play a minor chord on the fret indicated omit the G string.

click on the image to enlarge:

The track is also handy for practicing the major scale (G major) and the harmonized scale, and licks, etc. Enjoy

Will the Circle Be Unbroken – EZ C6 lap steel guitar

Here’s an easy arrangement of an old classic. The audio is just the lap steel played to a click track and rhythm guitar. It’s a little rough, but you get the basic idea! Enjoy

click on images to enlarge:

AUDIO:

Backing Track:

Scarborough Fair – EZ C6 lap steel guitar

Here’s an easy version of Scarborough Fair in the key of Am. 3/4 time. Much of it is played using the open strings. When an open string and a “barred” string are played together you need to lift the rear of the bar up to allow the open string to be heard and touch the nose of the bar to the other string. Tip the bar up and use the nose only. That happens in measures 3, 6, 11, 15, 16. No audio for this one. I think you know this tune. Enjoy

click on image to enlarge: