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Author Topic:  I would like to see a Big Band Songbook of lap steel tunes
Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 5:38 am    
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I like to play big band tunes on the lap steel, such as Jersey Bounce, On the Alamo, etc. But I would like to see a professionally done book of tabs of tunes like "moonglow",
String of Pearls, etc Doug ? Andy ? Anyone else ?
with the interest and time ?
I can take a piece of sheet music and come up with an arrangement on the lap steel, but mine usually sound rather lame compared to Doug and Andys work...but I always learn a lot each time I try.
Probably too small of a target audience to produce and make any money on the idea...perhaps if people are interested we could share the tabs that we have done of such tunes.
Thanks
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David M Brown


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 5:56 am    
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I have an alternate suggestion.

Learn to read from sheet music on at least ONE tuning, then you have access to ALL the jazz and swing fakebooks that have all those tunes and many more in them.

TAB is the most common method of writing music for steel, but in the old days a lot of guys could read from charts.

When you are ready, here's a good choice:

https://www.swiss-jazz.ch/partitions-real-book.htm
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Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 6:18 am    
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David, thanks for your input. yep I have probably every fake book there is of all of the tunes in the world and I used them for 6 string guitar a lot for over 50 years. I can read music and play from sheet music on the steel (i like a6 tuning the best) and come up with arrangements, but mine never sound very professional to me...oh well, with more work and practice maybe I will get there.
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David M Brown


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 8:26 am    
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Larry Lenhart wrote:
David, thanks for your input. yep I have probably every fake book there is of all of the tunes in the world and I used them for 6 string guitar a lot for over 50 years. I can read music and play from sheet music on the steel (i like a6 tuning the best) and come up with arrangements, but mine never sound very professional to me...oh well, with more work and practice maybe I will get there.


Hey, I'm mainly an A6 player too.

Cool

It sounds like you have all the musical skills and tools, but maybe need to study how and why the arrangements that sound more "professional" do so.

In other words, how to become a better arranger for steel yourself. I have materials from both Doug and Andy and they write very concise, tight arrangements that use closed voicings and open strings very creatively.

What stands out as missing from your own attempts?
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Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 9:05 am    
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David
I think you are right...what I need to do is to study both the materials from Doug and Andy,,,and I have everything they have put out, and try to put it use in my own arrangements as opposed to just playing and memorizing "their" stuff.
I know a lot of it is probably right there under my nose and I dont see it ! I appreciate the tips...as far as what is missing from my arrangements...thats a good question...right now I am trying to put together "Moonglow"...I play it on E9th and C6th pedal...just not C6th non pedal...I need to just plain study more !

I have considered doing skype with John Ely-I have chatted with him and I think he could put some things together musically for me that I hadnt thought about.

Thanks again for your input...I do appreciate it ! In 3 weeks I will be in your neighboring state of Arizona..
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Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 9:27 am    
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This has been on my mind for a while, but if I was going to do another book, it would be on arranging for steel guitar. When I think about it, though, it seems like the scope would be huge and I'm not sure if I could invest that much time in it.

I believe the term is "teaching a man to fish." Since we all have different backgrounds/influences/perspectives, it's always nice to hear something fresh.
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Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 12:30 pm    
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Quote:
I can take a piece of sheet music and come up with an arrangement on the lap steel, but mine usually sound rather lame...


Larry, try playing the melody in a couple of different locations on the fretboard and try to combine the chords with the melody, if possible, in the smoothest way. You don't need to play full chords, just play one or two notes of the chord along with the melody. For example, it might be the 5th or the 3rd of the chord with the melody... always keeping the melody on top and the chord fragments harmonizing below. Find the melody and then grab whatever parts of the chord you can to harmonize with the melody. To do that you need to know the chords positions well, up and down the fretboard and what notes are in what chords. Also the harmonized scales. There's no one right way to build an arrangement. If you gave five steel guitar players a song to arrange they would likely come up with five different arrangements, different harmonies, some including many chords, some with more single notes.
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Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 1:49 pm    
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Thanks Doug for that advise....thats basically what I do...A6th seems so easy to me to relate to in terms of chords and finding the notes and I do know all the "chord formulas" so to speak from my 55 years of chord melody work on the "spanish" guitar ...I keep working on it and its always fun to find a different way to play the same thing...I think I am on the right track, I just get impatient with myself and maybe too critical of my own arrangements. I do try to keep it simple...I dont have much choice ! haha Your books have proved very valuable to me in looking for ideas and "teaching me to fish" as Mike so nicely put it.

Thanks to all for the encouragement and advise...this forum is a real treasure to me !
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Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 2:48 pm    
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Doug and guys...I think I figured out my problem...I am used to arranging things for the 6 string guitar and c6th pedal steel and can play all the notes of the chords that I want, whereas on the lap steel it is harder to get those full chords and I have to be satisfied with only getting a few of the notes of that chord and letting it go...duhh...but I do think that is my biggest criticism of my own tabs. I am working on "moonglow" and when I get it "arranged" the best I can ,I will put it out here and hopefully get some input as to how it could have been done "better" or "differently".
Thanks.
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Mick Hearn

 

From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2017 11:09 pm    
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I don't usually have a problem with the actual song, but what I would like to get are some of the solo arrangements where an instrument suddenly dives off at a tangient playing around the melody.

To my surprise my version of Nightlife took off and yet I thought it was mediocre. All of the chords are no more than three note chords. What I did find useful was John Eleys chord locator at http://www.hawaiiansteel.com/chordlocator/generic.php
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David M Brown


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 14 Sep 2017 4:35 am    
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Mike Neer wrote:
This has been on my mind for a while, but if I was going to do another book, it would be on arranging for steel guitar.


I'd love to read that!
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David M Brown


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 14 Sep 2017 4:38 am    
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Larry Lenhart wrote:

I am used to arranging things for the 6 string guitar and c6th pedal steel and can play all the notes of the chords that I want, whereas on the lap steel it is harder to get those full chords and I have to be satisfied with only getting a few of the notes of that chord and letting it go...
Thanks.


That may be it, if you are used to hearing full harmonies on your pedal steel, you may need to adapt and get used to thinner harmony.

Thanks to all who posted in this thread.
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Ed Baker

 

From:
Connecticut, USA
Post  Posted 14 Sep 2017 11:06 am    
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You might try poking around with Guitar Pro or Tabledit.

Set the tuning to whatever you want and enter the melody.

Follow it up with adding harmony notes below it.

Admittedly, it won't sound like a steel guitar. But, it does illustrate where the harmonizing notes would likely sound the best.
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Larry Lenhart


From:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Post  Posted 14 Sep 2017 6:37 pm    
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I put this under the tab section of the forum...I am sure there are better ways of playing this song, and I am definately open to suggestions. I hope you some of you have the time and interest to try it out and let me know. Thanks in advance.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=321374
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