In Search of the Lost Chord...

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 8 Jul 2012 7:06 pm

Does this ever happen to you?

This morning, I "discovered" a new combination of pedals and KLs that gave me a certain, very useful chord that I'd never seen before. Of course, like so many things in pedal steel, it was right under my nose all these years but I just never saw it.

So I practiced it for awhile, trying to get it connected up in context with the rest of my schtick. Then I went out for the afternoon.

Now I'm back and, guess what...? I can't find the darn thing! I've looked everywhere, two frets below, one fret below, raising C's, lowering A's, you name it, I just cannot find that sucker anymore.

I strongly suspect that, while I was out this afternoon, someone slipped into my house and removed it from my steel. That does it; next time I'm taking the steel with me when I go walk the dog. This is NOT gonna happen to me again!! $:\$

Joseph Meditz · Post by **Joseph Meditz** » 8 Jul 2012 7:20 pm

Jimmy Durante "The Lost Chord"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vla0V2jrtYE

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 8 Jul 2012 7:26 pm

"Very strange; I usually play by ear..."

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 9 Jul 2012 5:43 am

Jim - You got to use your nose to find it, just like Durante. He's a chick magnet!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 9 Jul 2012 6:17 am

Funny that you bring this up. I am listening to a tape of a band I was in in 1983. We were doing "Marie Laveau" by Bobby Bare. If you are familiar with the song, there are parts were there are screams of terror (song about a witch). In one of the little pauses, I play a chord on my C neck that almost sounds like a human scream. It is really cool, but I have no idea what the chord is. As I am not a good C6th player, it can't be something too terribly complicated, but it's surely not a chord I have played in the last 6 years (since I came out of retirement) that I know of. I am convinced that Marie Laveau herself was mad that I don't play the song any more, and came in and removed it from my guitar. Or, maybe Joe Kline built that chord into my Kline (that was the guitar I used on the recording) and John Fabian forgot to put it on my Carter.

Jim - You got to use your nose to find it, just like Durante. He's a chick magnet!

Not any more, he's not.

Roual Ranes · Post by **Roual Ranes** » 9 Jul 2012 8:26 am

I usually play that chord several times a night. A guy inthe audience says it sounds like "L".

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 9 Jul 2012 8:51 am

If it's so exotic, you can't find it... can you imagine how many forum replies you would get if we tried to agree on a name for it?

Greg

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 9 Jul 2012 9:04 am

Jim, you should have kept a diary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7iOBqIf ... re=related

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 9 Jul 2012 12:20 pm

I thought about strapping a video camera to my forehead so I can record everything I do, but will soon forget.

Tony Williamson · Post by **Tony Williamson** » 9 Jul 2012 1:55 pm

you have to get in the same frame of mind to get back to it. so just drink what you were drinking before and there you'll be.

Doug Palmer · Post by **Doug Palmer** » 9 Jul 2012 2:38 pm

There are a lot of chords that are not on my guitar. I guess I should have bought the deluxe model!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 9 Jul 2012 2:47 pm

I thought about strapping a video camera to my forehead so I can record everything I do, but will soon forget.

Me too, but I keep forgetting how to strap the camera on.

Dickie Whitley · Post by **Dickie Whitley** » 9 Jul 2012 2:51 pm

Guys, you've made me feel so much better, I thought it was just me...

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 9 Jul 2012 5:33 pm

Hell, there was one recording session I did where I kept hitting this one lick wrong (but wrong the same way every time), but the engineer and singer decided they liked it. They kept it.
I was never able to hit it that way again, despite spending scores of hours trying.

Peter Freiberger · Post by **Peter Freiberger** » 9 Jul 2012 7:28 pm

Story of my life... one step forward and two steps back. By now I've forgotten way more than I ever knew.

Seriously, keeping a little recorder handy to get new things down can be a good idea.

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 10 Jul 2012 5:20 am

I just saw it go by.........?

Bob Hickish · Post by **Bob Hickish** » 10 Jul 2012 6:09 am

what seem’s more devastating than losing something you think is really cool is - playing a song with the band and your completely over your head and thinking, this is the end of your job with these guys --- when its over they turn to you and say -- Man , That was grate !! and you have no .#@&^ Idea what you did . stuff happens .

Peter Nylund · Post by **Peter Nylund** » 10 Jul 2012 6:51 am

I don't know about you guys, but in Finland we call it dementia.

Bob Hickish · Post by **Bob Hickish** » 10 Jul 2012 8:44 am

Peter Nylund wrote:I don't know about you guys, but in Finland we call it dementia.

Dang !!!! I always thought this was Dementia

Don R Brown · Post by **Don R Brown** » 12 Jul 2012 8:03 pm

Haven't found that Lost Chord YET!?! The Moody Blues were In Search Of that back in 1968! (no steel player in that band, maybe that's why!

)

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 12 Jul 2012 8:58 pm

just saw the "lost chord" going back the other way, but now there are two? Will they breed?

Jim Hoke · Post by **Jim Hoke** » 15 Jul 2012 7:06 pm

Jim - I hope you find that sucker. This is why it's important to just play aimlessly sometimes, besides your "official" practice routine and practicing licks and songs. It's how to discover, without which we just play the same old same old. (which on steel I happen to like).

Jim Hoke · Post by **Jim Hoke** » 15 Jul 2012 7:07 pm

Jim - I hope you find that sucker. This is why it's important to just play aimlessly sometimes, besides your "official" practice routine and practicing licks and songs. It's how to discover, without which we just play the same old same old. (which on steel I happen to like).

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 15 Jul 2012 10:18 pm

I found it. It was a Maj9 chord that required use of one pedal and two KLs. And guess what? There's an easier version of it one fret away, using just one pedal and no KLs. So, why bother? After all that! Aaarrrghhh! Oh well, maybe someday it'll come in handy. At least I found it!

Will Cowell · Post by **Will Cowell** » 16 Jul 2012 5:07 am

Like my "maj7" chord - I've never met anyone who knows about it - C = fret 8, no pedals. Cmaj7 = 10th fret, A&B pedals, strings 9,7,6,5. Go up 2, pedals in. Just sounds warmer than lowering the E's with a KL.