C6 tuning on six string: alternatives for dominant voicings

[Kyle Lough]

Howdy all. I've been enjoying C13 tuning on the eight string (Bb,C,E,G,A,C,E,G) so I've been thinking about ways to change up the C6 tuning on the six string (C,E,G,A,C,E) to get some more interesting dominant voicings.

On standard C6 (C,E,G,A,C,E) I could obviously just pick out the single notes and double stops, then use bar slants to expand what's available, but not having that tritone definitely feels like a limitation for bigger, more dissonant voicings. The benefit of this is it keeps those 6th intervals for double stops between the C/A, E/G, and G/E strings (i.e., double stops skipping two strings), so the bottom C string is useful in a lot of contexts (i.e., not just dominant chords).

Lowering the C to the 7th to get Bb,E,G,A,C,E is an obvious choice since it's close to the C13 tuning on the eight string and you get a nice big dominant chord when you strum all the strings. You also get access to some dominant b9 voicings. This seems like a considerable sacrifice for getting a little fatter chords.

Another option is to raise the C a half step to get C#,E,G,A,C,E. That opens up some fat dominant #9 and dominant b9/13 voicings. I'd have to retrain my brain when I switch between six and eight string, but this tuning seems like it might be more flexible when more dissonance is desired.

I'm sure I could just try them all out, but the learning curve has been difficult enough with just one tuning.

Does anyone have any thoughts/opinions/advice for a newer steel player?

[Mike Neer]

Your best option is to stick with basic C6 tuning and use knowledge of harmony to break chords down into upper structures—for instance, need a G13b9? Play an Emajor triad. Working with triads is really where it’s at on lap steel and getting a very thorough knowledge of jazz harmony is going to benefit you greatly.

Second, slanting is going to give you countless diminished and augmented triads. If you become adept with the technique, they are everywhere. Finding chords on the C6 neck is like doing a word search puzzle. They are in there.

[Kyle Lough]

Mike, that's a great point and useful skills/knowledge I should work on anyway. Probably leaves more room for the other instruments too. Thanks for your input.

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha Kyle,

Howdy all. I've been enjoying C13 tuning on the eight string (Bb,C,E,G,A,C,E,G) so I've been thinking about ways to change up the C6 tuning on the six string (C,E,G,A,C,E) to get some more interesting dominant voicings.

That's quite a good versatile tuning for 8 string. Hit that low Bb right at beats 3 and 4 going from I to IV. Nice sound.

Lowering the C to the 7th to get Bb,E,G,A,C,E is an obvious choice since it's close to the C13 tuning on the eight string and you get a nice big dominant chord when you strum all the strings. You also get access to some dominant b9 voicings. This seems like a considerable sacrifice for getting a little fatter chords.

That is literally the tuning that Bobby Ingano uses the most. He rarely plays the low C unless if he's doing a specific song like Sleepwalk or a few others.

It's a tradeoff, sure. But you're only changing the 6th string back and forth from a Low Bb to a Low C. Use both! That's what Uncle Bobby does. Choose whatever tuning that makes the sound you want to get, the easiest to play. There's no rule that says you have to stick to any one version of C6 at all times. Heck, do it mid-tune if you're brave enough. lol.

Another option is to raise the C a half step to get C#,E,G,A,C,E. That opens up some fat dominant #9 and dominant b9/13 voicings. I'd have to retrain my brain when I switch between six and eight string, but this tuning seems like it might be more flexible when more dissonance is desired.

Yes, that's the hybrid C6/A7 tuning. Jerry Byrd came up with that one, and Kayton Roberts used that on his C neck. It's really handy because you'll have that nice A7 chord in home position. Move it 2 frets to your left, and there's your V7 chord.

That said, have you considered doing a behind the bar bend on the second string? Play a straight bar at the 12th fret, and bend the C up to a C# with your left hand ring finger. Boom, there's your A7 chord.

Does anyone have any thoughts/opinions/advice for a newer steel player?

It sounds like you're off to the races because it appears you've discovered the 3 most useful pragmatic alterations of C6.

Just remember that there are no solutions, only tradeoffs. There's no rule that says you MUST stick to only one tuning. Just changing that 6th string from Bb, C, and C# gives you lots of choices. Just pick and choose according to the needs of the song at hand. It's a very quick and easy change.

I took a bunch of lessons from Doug Jernigan on straight steel, and we worked a lot on jazz improvisation. We focused on 8 string version of Buddy Emmons's C6 (low to high) ACEGACED. That high D is "re-entrant", just a fancy way of saying that it's lower than the E on the 2nd string. Putting that D on there allows you to more easily play some scalar improv ideas, which is more idiomatic of horn players. Most of what steelers play is a more arpeggiated style of improvisation or chord melody style of improvisation.

There are no rules! On 8 string C6, I go between that high D and the normal high G. One of my favorite players is a lesser known player from Hilo named "Bernie Ka'ai". He was the steel player for the group "The Polynesians". They'd play jazz tunes like lullaby of birdland and a few others. Bernie is one of the few guys back in the day who'd take single line solos and actually play through the changes, which is the kind of playing I like. Bernie used a high G, and there are a lot of good single line options for that as well. I transcribed a few of Bernie's solos by ear, and there's a lot there with the high G.

Also, another great Hawaiian player was Billy Hew Len, who played A6 with a High E (C6 with a High G transposed down 3 frets). Billy got a lot of mileage out of that major 6th tuning with the 5th on top. Lots of pretty chord solos.

Other than that, I'll echo what Mike Neer said. I think Mike and I are on the same page, as we both prefer to just stick to the plain jane C6 tuning, and get our alterations through knowledge of music theory and super imposing triads over bass notes. Take Mike's example of playing an E major triad over G bass to get a G13b9 sound. E major triad is E, G#, B. Over G bass, that's the 13, b9, and 3.

Let's take that idea and go further... what happens if we take that E major triad and play that major triad in 3 fret intervals, but keep a low G bass root? We'd have E major triad, G major triad, Bb major triad, and Db major triad, and then back to E major triad. All over G bass. Then resolve to C major. What does THAT sound like? Play with it and have fun.

What happens if you take major triads move them every 4 frets over the same bass note? Then you start sounding like Coltrane. G major triad, B major triad, D# major triad, back to G major triad, all over G root. Then resolve to C major. What does THAT sound like? Play with it and have fun.

The thing I love about steel guitar is that you can literally take the most complicated "jazz concepts" and just use your straight bar and easily apply them. It's a movable CAPO. This stuff is very hard to do for a horn player or a piano player. Us guitar players have it GREAT, our fingerings never change, we just move it up and down a fret. Steel makes it even EASIER.

Main thing is that you ENJOY and HAVE FUN. Always remember that the Melody is King. If you can play the melody well, and move people, nothing else matters. Period. Full stop. Your job ended right there. Mission accomplished.

Enjoy, and keep playing! Just from what you wrote, it sounds to me like you're gonna be a great player!

[Kyle Lough]

Aloha Mike K, thanks for your thoughtful response! Lots to digest there and plenty to keep me busy with practicing and listening.

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha Mike K, thanks for your thoughtful response! Lots to digest there and plenty to keep me busy with practicing and listening.

My pleasure, Kyle! Enjoy and have fun!

It’s always a good thing to have another steel player in the world.

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha Mike K, thanks for your thoughtful response! Lots to digest there and plenty to keep me busy with practicing and listening.

Here's another freebie...

My favorite ending chord in the Key of C is a Dmajor6 over C bass. You just play the top 4 strings at the second fret over C Bass.

D major 6 on top 4 strings are: A, B, D, F#. In the context of C bass, that's 6, maj7, 9, and #4.

What you end up with is all the pretty major sounds mixed with that #11 (or #4). It's a lydian sound.

Another way of thinking about that is that you're borrowing from the key of G, but playing in C.

Pretty stuff! Especially when you have an upright bass player playing that low C2 in the second octave of the piano...