Some thoughts from a non-pedal steel player about pedal steel guitars

[Stanislav Paskalev]

Aloha Michael!

That's a really detailed and amazing breakdown, thanks for it!

On the straight steel tuning - do you know when did the sixths tuning become the predominantly used one ? I thought that early Hawaiian music used open G or open A, either in low or in high bass. I've got several lap steel textbooks and they also start with open G low bass.

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha Stanislav,

My pleasure! I'm glad you liked it.

I wouldn't say that C6 (or sixths tuning) is predominantly used. Nothing is standard in steel guitar. In my opinion, C6 could be considered a "Universal Tuning" for steel guitar, kinda like EADGBE the universal guitar tuning. EADGBE became the universal tuning on guitar because you can play any type of chord on it, which makes it useful for any style/genre of music. C6 for steel is very similar in that regard. It is a very common tuning because it's so useful.

I have to be careful with my words, lol. I don't think any tuning is really predominant over another. They're just tunings. Tunings are tools in your tool chest. You pick out the proper tool for the job you need. If you work on cars, or do carpentry, plumbing, electrical, etc. You have a tool chest. You'll find that you commonly use a small group of tools much more often than others. BUT there's always that ONE tool that you almost never use that is VERY handy for a specific job.

Tunings are exactly like that. A small handful of tunings are much more commonly used than others because they just make sense and are pragmatic for the most common musical applications. But there is always that tuning that you never use, but is PERFECT for a specific style of music you hardly ever get called to play.

EADGBE is the most commonly used guitar tuning because it was the most useful and pragmatic for all styles of music. Because it's so commonly used across the vast majority of players. So it BECAME predominant and standard through consensus.

There are so few steel players, and we all have our own preference, so there really isn't a consensus. Most steel players stick to very few genres of music as well. I think if more steel players played multiple styles, then C6/A6 would rise to the top through consensus. E9 or E13 would be a close second for people who play double neck guitars. But that's just my OPINION, not fact. I'm sure others would disagree. It's just speculation.

Like you mentioned, the very first steel guitar tuning was A tuning. Joseph Kekuku (born 1874), the inventor of the steel guitar, used A tuning as his main tuning. Joseph discovered Steel guitar at the age of 11. That would be somewhere in late 1885. After discovering the sound of steel guitar, Joseph locked himself away and practiced for 2-3 years and developed it to where he could perform on steel. That would put him at age 13 or 14.

So when you refer to the A tuning and Hawaiian music, you're talking REALLY old style Hawaiian music from the late 1800's.

For some historical context, the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown on January 17, 1893. Joseph Kekuku would have been 18 years old, and the steel guitar was 8 years old.

Jerry Byrd (born in 1920) was from Lima, Ohio and became entranced by Hawaiian music, and his guitar hero was Dick McIntire (born 1902), a pretty famous Hawaiian Steel player of his era who is a contemporary of Sol Ho'opi'i (born 1902). Sol was the very first major guitar hero whose image was used to market an electric guitar. Jerry learned EVERYTHING through transcribing by ear. He managed to figure out all the common Hawaiian tunings of his favorite players.

For more historical context, Jerry Byrd discovered Hawaiian music in 1933. Jerry was 13, and his guitar hero Dick McIntire would have been 31, and Sol Ho'opi'i would also have been 31.

Jerry is credited for creating C6 in his teenage years, which would be around 1935 or so. Throughout the years, other people have claimed to invent C6 as well, but nobody has any proof that is earlier than Jerry Byrd.

C6 is just such a useful tuning because you have a C major triad and an A minor triad. They are relative major and minor to each other. You can do A LOT with C6 if you understand music theory and how to substitute triads over bass notes to get different chords. Major, minor, and dominant chords are all readily available, as are diminished and augmented. After that, if you want all the fancy jazz chords, you just have to know where to place your major or minor triad.

All the chords you need to play any type of music are available in C6, and they're not too far from each other. When you mess with some of the early tunings like the A tuning, your options are very limited, and you have to do A LOT of jumping around. Good luck finding a minor chord. lol. That's why I said in my other comment, that certain tunings really limit you to an era of songwriting. Joseph Kekuku's early A tuning really limits you only to songs that have major chords. Don't bother with minor or dominant, lol.

C6 is also a very beginner friendly tuning. Anything you play with a straight bar will sound pretty. lol.

So all that said, that is why in my opinion, C6 is the unofficial "standard" tuning of steel. I know full well that NOTHING in the world of steel is standard. But really, C6 is the nexus of where all the roads meet. Sometimes people say C6 is "too Hawaiian sounding" or "too country sounding". All I do is shake my head. Could you imagine if someone said standard guitar tuning (EADGBE) is "too jazzy" or "too country"? It's up to the player to make music out of the notes. That's called "Musicianship".

A good resource for tunings is John Ely's website: www.hawaiiansteel.com.

https://www.hawaiiansteel.com/tunings/master.php

It's really a nice contribution of stewardship that John did by curating all those tunings, and putting them on the internet for us all. Figure out the type of music you want to play, and then pick an appropriate tuning.

The reason why Dobro players have their set of tunings is because those tunings just really lay out well for their type of music and playing. It goes the same for every other tuning. Coincidentally, Joseph Kekuku's A tuning is the same G tuning that Dobro players use, it's just transposed down a whole step.

I mess with other tunings just for fun and to explore sound, but C6/A6 is my primary because you can find everything on it. Every tuning has a tradeoff. C6 has the least tradeoffs.

Bobby Ingano jammed with Los Lobos and they played an Allman Brothers tune, and Uncle Bobby played a Duane Allman type solo, and he did it on C6. lol.

People say C6 is "too Hawaiian" or "too country", and then you'll see Steve Cunningham play a David Lindley solo on C6. Every time someone says "it can't be done" someone goes and does it.

Thanks to YouTube, a lot of the old narratives and assumptions have been blown away. Word is getting out. haha.

Enjoy!