Hey Steve-
We e talked about this before, but we’re always interrupted by work. Can you tell what tunings you use and why? Why use the “Stella blue” tuning bringing string 3 up to A. Why not just use that all the time instead of A all the time?
Why did you write so much on F?
What do you think of the Kieth Richards G tuning (I leave strong 6, if it gets in the way I just don’t play it)
And when you hind with Debasheesh, what did you use on the regal?
Thanks,
ChrisP
ChrisP, Norwood oh 45212
nice questions. .
All the tunings I use onstage are E type tunings, so the basic scheme is: E B E G# B E
Normally I’d be keeping track of intervals rather than note names, so “E” winds up being any tuning analogous to E with the same 1 5 1 3 5 1 scheme.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter if the root is C# or F or D, I still think of any tuning with the root on top as some kind of E tuning and worry about the note names later.
I wrote, arranged, and generally pushed toward the flat keys whenever possible because I liked the way Marteen sounded and played better in keys more natural to the Tenor Saxophone.
No skin off my ass to use a capo or tune up or down a half step if I felt protective about my guitaristic open string stuff for a particular tune, so lots of F on the steel.
No coincidence that F was Dave Lindley’s primary onstage electric steel tuning in El Rayo-X, and he was my biggest influence at the time, but I still would have leaned to the flat side for the horn.
Here’s the list:
E B E G# B E
E B E A B E (DADGAD up a whole step)
B D E G# B E (occasional G# up to A, but rare)
The “E” and DADGAD type tunings show up as C, C#, D, Eb, F, and F# for root notes but it’s all the same 1 5 1 3 5 1 or 1 5 1 4 5 1 interval relationships.
I do teach and practice 1 5 1 2 5 1, and I do play quite a bit of bottleneck in standard E A D G B E, but with few exceptions the onstage stuff stays pretty close to the E tuning variations listed above.
I love Keith Richards playing regardless of tuning, with a nod to Ry Cooder of course without whom Keith would probably have not gotten to the 5-string G routine.
Regal with Debashish was probably E B E A B E.
I’ll confess to not paying the slightest bit of attention to myself in his presence.
I didn’t understand the Stella/A question. .