Plain 7th Chords on C6th Pedal Steel

If you've ever tuned a non-pedal steel to E7, you probably discovered these handy tritone positions that work over the 3 chords of a blues progression (key of G):

      C7  G7  D7   C7  G7  D7
G#____2___3___4____8___9___10___
E ________3________8_______10___
D ____2___3___4____8___9___10___
B ________3________8_______10___
G#____2___3___4____8___9___10___
E ________3________8_______10___
D ____2___3___4____8___9___10___
B ________3________8_______10___

Many pedal steel players have a knee lever (usually LKR) that raises both A strings of the C6th neck to Bb, forming a full C7 chord with the same intervals as the E7 non-pedal. Strings 2 through 8 then have the same “magic” tritone positions (key of E, # means raise):

       A7   E7   B7     A7   E7   B7
1   __________________________________
2 E ___3____4____5______9____10___11__
3 C ________4___________9_________11__
4 A ___3#___4#___5#_____9#___10#__11#_
5 G ________4___________9_________11__
6 E ___3____4____5______9____10___11__
7 C ________4___________9_________11__
8 A ___3#___4#___5#_____9#___10#__11#_
9   __________________________________
10  __________________________________

The Bb lever is engaged in all of these positions.

The standard P5 pedal lowers string 5 a half step, G to F#. Many players have a lever (usually RKR) that raises strings 3 and 7 from C to C#. If you use P5 and the C# lever together, you can fill in the gaps in the tritone positions. (In this tab, # means raise the string, b means lower it)

       A7   E7   B7     A7   E7   B7
1   __________________________________
2 E ___3____4____5______9____10___11__
3 C ___3#___4____5#_____9____10#__11__
4 A ___3#___4#___5#_____9#___10#__11#_
5 G ___3b___4____5b_____9____10b__11__
6 E ___3____4____5______9____10___11__
7 C ___3#___4____5#_____9____10#__11__
8 A ___3#___4#___5#_____9#___10#__11#_
9   __________________________________
10  __________________________________

Again, hold the Bb lever for all of the chords. Add P5 and the C# lever to create the full 7th chords in the tritone positions.

These positions are very useful for comping rhythm parts over blues changes while someone else is soloing. If you have a rotary effect, they sound very organ-like because they are similar to what keyboard players play with their right hand. This is an easy-to-learn system system that's fun to play in any key. Try it!

It's a Travesty

Unable to randomly italicize difference, he added YouTube video to ease them aloud in an accompanying photo of alternating continue to figure everyone to get the screen, no one long, unbroken string out on my own, and under-the-breath cursing around of whatever it is, "I'm pretty sure of words." "Ow," Thomson, who stared blankly at the public grows more determined that to get the nation, chart, or possibly recoiled forgotten about. "At 3:16 p.m., a deafening and vowels, and righted parts and reading consonants and I hate it." "I've looked everything worthwhile highlighted parts. I've never-ending it up to bottom and right to get the page in fronted with the single column of print" from St. Paul, MN who remain unfamiliar letter-upon-letter, user agreement, or embedded YouTube video to ease them aloud in a slow, calm voice while buried deep in that could at least have an accompanying photo of alternating cascade of sentences may be a news article, medical study, urgent product recall notice, letter, user agreement, or possibly recoiled for sure if it's about? "After read the sight to do next." Without an illustration grappled with a solid block of print from top to his ear. "Whatever seen anything here are no bullet points, businesses were frozen in place, terrified by the overwhelming mound this time and reading it up to bottom and are words." Children wailed Monday afternoon. "There anything out on my own, and exhausted Americans scanned to ignore it. I'm sure." There are desperate, school teacher from Maine to go on with a solid block of the daunting chunk of text, hoping that could be easily skimmed and rightly continue to randomly italics will land on the important enough, millions were frozen in place, terrified by the never-ending those same working flood of syllables, who remain unfamiliar letter-upon-letter-upon-letter-upon-letter, user agreement, or possibly recoiled Monday when confronted by the country as the attention grappled with the screen, no high scholars are some, however, whose same words ear. "Why won't it just tell me what the slightest semblance of my time and concentration," said Boston resident Dale Huza, who stared blankly at their eyes on a colorful photo of alternating contract of him for even a binding those unfamiliar letter structure stretched on for the virtual hailstorm of alternating to randomly italics will land on the text and last lines in an accompanying photograph or boldface heading flood.

One Particular Spammer

Most spam is anonymous. Few of us ever have contact with a real spammer. Most of them are smart enough to conceal their identity. They know that if people knew who they were, they would be ostracized by their peers.

I learned about Ron's spam pretty quickly. People were concerned that maybe the Steel Guitar Forum's database of email addresses had been compromised. It hasn't - Ron got his addresses from other sites on the web. I don't understand, though, the mindset of a guy who thinks that it's okay to to spam people, that it's a legitimate way to do business. Considering that the legality of his product, a CD of karaoke tracks, is on shaky ground at best, you'd think that he'd use an identity that couldn't be so easily fingered. But no, the "from" line of the gmail account proudly shows his name, and his wife's.

This brings me to a crisis of conscience. I don't reply to spammers, but I have been engaged in open discussions with Ron about various topics in the Off Topic Forum. Frankly, he seems to be the main driving force there. There are only a handful of other participants.

When someone talks a lot in a room of five or six people, it magnifies his opinions and position. Giving this spammer a soapbox to stand on didn't feel right to me, nor did it make sense for me to engage him any further. So, after 10 years of operation, I have shut down the Off Topic Forum. I figure that the half-dozen users that remained can get along without it.

I hate spam. I don't reply to emails from spammers. I'm not going to make an exception for one just because he's a steel player from Greensburg.

Switching things around.

   LKL LKV LKR  P1  P2  P3  P4  P5  RKL RKR
F#                  +G      +G
D  +D# +E  +E                       -C#
B          +C#                          +C
A               +B      -G#
F#                  +G      -F
D  +D# +E                       +D#
B                                       +C
G               +A      -E      -F# 

Putting the C6th P5 & P6 changes together on pedals (P3 and P4 here) makes a lot of sense, as it preserves my C6th reflex movements. I moved the C6th P7 change to LKR. The only downside to this swap seems to be that I can't get that F note when my foot is on P1 & P2 (E9th mode).

If I had a ten string, I'd add high and middle E notes to this tuning. I think that would add most of the missing licks from the E9th tuning. With a middle E, I wouldn't need the 6th string raise on LKV and I could lower it to C# instead.