Could any of you suggest some easy C6 (CEGACE) songs for a beginning lap steel guitarist? These are rank beginners on the steel but with some guitar experience.
After I show my students the basics of bar handling, right hand picking etc., it would be nice to send them on their way with a few easy to play, pleasant sounding songs to work on.
Thanks.
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Gerald Ross 'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'
I recommend Harbor Lights. The tab is on Craig Prior's site and it is an excellent version. Here is a slow song with lots of chords to study and it is fairly easy. At least the A section. There are plenty of recordings of this song to get references from. http://members.cox.net/legalimmigration/Pdf/Harbor%20Lights.pdf
Basic version of Steel Guitar Rag. Key of C. Good demonstration and practice of most of the song done right on root 6th chord frets. Nice feeling of accomplishment for a student to be able to play an easy but well-known popular classic Steel Guitar Song.
Sleepwalk. Key of C. Good demonstration of how different root-to-chord relationships occur on same frets, ...voila good introduction into Chord Substitution concepts neccessary to understand Steel neck naviagion by the numbers. Good introduction to chimes. And again a rather easy song to learn. Can't think of a better known, better liked and more rewarding song for a student to feel a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
imho ...fwiw.
Aloha,
DT~
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 13 December 2006 at 10:32 AM.]</p></FONT>
Jerry Byrd's book has several. It's costly (for a book). Available from Scotty's, I think. Also, I believe Scotty's is selling Mr. Byrd's individual tabs. Aloha Oe is an easy one. Sweet Lei Lehua is another. From the book, Blue Hawaiian Moonlight comes to mind. Jerry was the best teacher ever. His writings are really a great source.
Jerry Byrd's arrangement of "Wabash Blues" and "Drowsy Waters", I feel, would be excellent to begin with. Mostly straight bar work with some slight, not too difficult, reverse slants. Two of my earliest attempts to learn the tuning.
John Ely's Open String Blues is a good one: http://www.hawaiiansteel.com/arrangements/download.html <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 12 December 2006 at 01:12 PM.]</p></FONT>
It's interesting that the two tabs of Open String Blues use different versions of C6 tuning.
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Lynn Oliver <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Lynn Oliver on 12 December 2006 at 01:54 PM.]</p></FONT>
Try basic songs that everyone knows. I doubt too many people out of a certain age range could hum "Harbor Lights", but most people know "You Are My Sunshine", "On Top of Old Smokey", etc.
------------------ Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
I've found that I burn it into my brain the easiest by trying to figure songs out by myself. The song I've had the most fun with is the Kentucky Waltz. Most beginners are probably not familiar with it, but once you hear it, it is addicting.
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Lynn Oliver on 12 December 2006 at 01:54 PM.]</p></FONT>
