Lever that lowers the 2nd string

Gary Shepherd · Post by **Gary Shepherd** » 13 Oct 2004 2:08 pm

In tab, what do most folks call the lever that lowers the 2nd string a half-step? I think Newman called it the E lever. Some folks call the E to Eb the E lever.

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Gary Shepherd

Sierra Session 12

www.16tracks.com

Bob Knight · Post by **Bob Knight** » 13 Oct 2004 2:09 pm

Gary Shepherd · Post by **Gary Shepherd** » 13 Oct 2004 3:01 pm

That's what Newman used for E to Eb. What do you called that one?

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Gary Shepherd

Sierra Session 12

www.16tracks.com

Travis Bernhardt · Post by **Travis Bernhardt** » 13 Oct 2004 6:19 pm

The first tab I ever saw called the E>D# the 'E' lever, and the D#>D the 'D' lever. Makes sense to me--the 'E' lever pulls your E string, and the 'D' lever pulls your D(#) string.

-Travis

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 14 Oct 2004 12:36 am

Dont use lever names.
It is much easier to show sharps and flats like:
3#
4##
2b
2bb
or whatever.

No more confusion.
End of story.

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Peter den Hartogh
1978 Emmons S10 P/P; 1977 Sho-Bud D10 ProIII Custom;
1975 Fender Artist S10; Remington U12; 1947 Gibson BR4;
Internationally Accredited 3D Animation Academy

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 14 Oct 2004 4:57 am

Peter, you are sooooo correct. I don't use much tab but this is the smartest approach to tab that I ever saw. All tab published by our "Ozark Steel Guitar Association" was written in that form, the last time I saw their newsletter. It doesn't matter what your copedant is. You only need to know which pedal or lever moves that string up or down..............JD

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 14 Oct 2004 5:38 am

That form of tablature, which I use also, is based on the "Musymtab" system devised by Jimmy Crawford and Winnie Winston. Credit should be given to these two men for that advancement in tab.

I dislike the letter designation for levers as the names are far from standardized. I call them the "D# lower," the "E lower," and "E raise" levers. No question there about what they do.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Jeff Lampert · Post by **Jeff Lampert** » 14 Oct 2004 6:26 am

Whenever I tab, I use "L" for lower, "LL" for double lower, "R" for raise, and "RR" for double raise. The trouble with using a "b" for flat is that a,b,c is used for the 3 floor pedals and you definitely don't want to change that! Of course, you could use capitals for the a,b,c, but I like the idea of using lower case for the floor pedals and upper case for knee lever pulls.

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Jeff's Jazz

David Berry · Post by **David Berry** » 14 Oct 2004 7:36 am

Here's mine:

A, B, C pedals (pretty standard I guess)

Then...

LKL (left knee left), LKU (up), LKR, RKL, RKR

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 14 Oct 2004 10:30 am

Well, not all tabs are the same, but there is something to be said for the letter system for E9 pedals and knees. The first two were the A and B pedals, named that by Buddy Emmons, who originally split them from Bud Isaacs single pedal. This was handier than calling them the 1 and 2 pedals, because Jimmy Day and his followers actually had the pedals B and A in relation to their 1 and 2 pedals. Naturally the next pedal added was called the C pedal. None of those names relate to the actual notes, but everybody knows what they mean, whether their pedals are set up ABC or CBA.

With a little imagination the lever names can simply extend down the alphabet, but at the same time refer to their specific notes. So the D lever pulls D# to D on the second string. The E lever lowers the Es to Eb, and the F lever raises the Es to F. So these are just handy ways to keep going down the alphabet, but in a way that also serves as a reminder of the actual notes.

With this system, you can just use the alphabet letter names in tab and copedent discussions, and ignore the fact that people put these on different levers.

Winnie Winston · Post by **Winnie Winston** » 14 Oct 2004 4:31 pm

Well, Herb... thanks. But all the credit goes to Jimmie Crawford who came up with the "Mu-sym-tab" concept.
Sure do wish it was me. What would it be like had I used that in my first book? I approached it a bit by using R for raise and L for lower but ever took it that extra step.
The idea of naming the knees D, E, F etc. is OK and will serve, but it takies it one step away from the train of thought you want:
* What do I want to do to get that sound? (raise the E to an F)
* Where does that exist on MY guitar?
* Do it!

JW

Robert Porri · Post by **Robert Porri** » 15 Oct 2004 5:28 am

I haven't been playing a year yet. I've had to get used to (like everyone else) there being no standard for notating knee levers in tab. Jeff Newman's was the first one I encountered, (I'm taking lessons from Doug Beaumier who uses the Newman letters also). But then I bought the DeWitt Scott Anthology book and had to adjust thinking a bit. Then, I bought Winnie Winston's book and had to rethink a bit again. I'm seeing in this thread that I'd better brace myself for Musymtab also, which probably makes the most sense and would certainly help to "lock" into your brain what the levers are actually doing.

Even though I jump around in these materials all the time, it still takes a minute to shift gears.

It is a little too bad that the levers were not designated consistently like the A B and C pedals.

In writing emails or talking, I find it good and clear to use RKR or LKR etc., but it's not practical in tab.

Bob P.[This message was edited by Robert Porri on 15 October 2004 at 06:38 AM.]

Jerry Hayes R.I.P. · Post by **Jerry Hayes R.I.P.** » 15 Oct 2004 5:35 am

I think the MusymTab way is the best by far. Like someone said before, it doesn't matter what your copedant is, you just know that a particular string needs to be raised or lowered and by how much. Another thing I like about it is if you don't have a particular lever or pedal, you know what notes need to be obtained and you can experiment and find them elsewhere or on other strings. One simple example would be having the tab say to play 3 and 5 with the 5th string lowered a half. We all know we could do that by playing 3 & 5 back one fret with the 3rd string raised a half. It's one system which should be made the standard of the industry. Have a good 'un...JH

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 15 Oct 2004 6:19 am

......"That's what Newman used"......

There eventually became so many variations of "which lever does what", that I've actually heard Jeff instruct during his classes to:

"Push whichever lever that you have on your guitar that lowers your E>D# (or D#>D)".

www.genejones.com

Gary Shepherd · Post by **Gary Shepherd** » 15 Oct 2004 11:48 am

Yeah. I've heard him say that too.

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Gary Shepherd

Sierra Session 12

www.16tracks.com

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 16 Oct 2004 7:21 am

In my teaching, FWIW, I use this method:
The D lever pulls D# to D.
The E lever lowers the Es to Eb.
The F lever raises the Es to F.

The "L/LL, R/RR" method would be my second choice.