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Topic: When to start C6 |
Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 13 May 2021 5:06 am |
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If you want to get into playing steady in the local scene being able to play the C neck can open up quite a few better money gigs. For wedding/corporate/private event type work being able to play the steel parts more accurately is a plus.
Also the C neck opens up retro swing band gigs and rockabilly type gigs.
For those 3 hour country band gigs the C neck can be a very helpful tool to have ready.
Plus learning the C6 tuning will inform and improve your understanding of the E9 tuning.
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Bob |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 13 May 2021 6:35 am
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The time to start is FIRST, BEFORE you start pedal E9. Remember, all the great pedal steel players we idolize started on 6th tunings without pedals and were already great steel guitarists before their feet ever touched an E9 pedal. If it’s too late for that, remember the old saying, “the best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago. The next best time is now.â€
Conceptualize it differently than E9. With E9, you have a tuning with wide open gaps in the intervals and your pedals and chromatic strings fill those gaps in the open tuning. C6 is a more self reliant open tuning. Most of what you’ll want to play on it can be had with a stationary tuning, but the pedals give you the options of wider, thicker voicings. The two most used pedals, 5 and 6, mechanize what in the old days were bar slants. It’s a different approach.
C6 was originally a six string tuning. In an attempt to not overwhelm yourself, start with the original six strings only (strings 2 through 7). Forget about the pedals at first. This will help give you context for the tuning, and you’ll understand it similarly to how the legendary greats did. Play along with old Hank Williams records featuring Jerry Byrd (the father of C6) and Don Helms (same tuning, but tuned up two steps to E6, easily transposable). Try to learn some of the bar slants the early players used in place of pedals 5 and 6. This will also improve your left hand control on both necks.
Once you get fairly confident on C6 with six strings and no pedals, add a string or two. Then add pedals 5 and 6. After you’re comfortable with those two, incorporate 7 and 8 (8 gives you Jerry Byrd’s C6/A7 tuning, which he used as two tunings in one, but most players today use it for the sharp 9 “boo wah†voicing). Add pedal 4 last as it’s the least used. Also remember, once you add string 9 (F note), you can also view your tuning as an F natural 7 tuning, which is handy if you want to play jazz standards.
Remember, most of the commercial music a steel player is hired to play is E9 music, but that doesn’t just mean C6 should be used for only playing “Nightlife†or for just playing to our steel nerd buddies at a steel show. Many great COUNTRY records were cut on C6 in the old days (many with pedals, but particularly in the pre pedal era, as it was the standard tuning of the day). And like with anything, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Keep your voicings selective, the occasional low string can be nice but don’t use it to the point that you sound too muddy or step on the bassists, pianists, or guitar player’s toes. Your playing a lead instrument, gravitate to the higher end of the tuning and the original six strings for your focus/melody notes (even with chordal playing). If you do that, you can find interesting and listener friendly places to use C6 for many styles of music (not just steel guitar jazz) and accomplish things you can’t on E9.
Chris Scruggs |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 13 May 2021 7:46 am
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An excellent post, Chris Scruggs.
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Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
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Jim Fogarty
From:
Phila, Pa, USA
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Posted 13 May 2021 8:33 pm
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Chris,
That right there is one of THE best intros to C6 I've ever seen.
Almost every C6 method out there immediately wants to get the student into immediately playing big fat chords and jazzy sounds. And, of course, we all love that stuff. But, as I mentioned above, it wasn't until I thought to transfer my non-pedal C6 stuff to psg that I was able to grok it in any meaningful way.
Thanks! |
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Austin Starkey
From:
Austin Texas, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2021 12:23 pm
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| Well I went ahead and made the leap to a D10 recently and started learning C6. I appreciate the input from y'all, and as "Austin from Austin", it only seemed right to learn it. You don't have to go far, especially in Texas music history, to find amazing C6 swing, which is my personal favorite use of the tuning. Post some songs or ideas that y'all like or recommend to learn! |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 24 Jun 2021 4:28 pm
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So glad you took the plunge!
I found Buddy Emmons' Basic C6 very instructive.
Check out Herb Steiner for some tabs (with excellent backing) that are very effective without being too difficult.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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