The last couple of posts have been a bit dry, this one’s about learning one’s way around the pedal steel guitar.<\/p>\n
The V – I chord progression is a mainstay of western music and if you can play round it there’s a lot you can do.<\/p>\n
One of the things that has helped me learn the fretboard, and also be able to busk along in the songs I dont know very well (did I mention I’m in a band? well I am and I have my first gig this Saturday!) is being able to play dominant 7 chords all the way up the fretboard, and resolve to the root.<\/p>\n
Here are the positions I know for E7 (the V chord in A), and then A, the root.<\/p>\n
E7:\n\n1 F# _________________________________________\n\n2 D# ____________________________12D__________\n\n3 G# _______3____5B___7B___9B____12___________\n\n4 E _______3F___5E___7____9F____12___________\n\n5 B _______3____5____7A___9_____12___________\n\n6 G# _______3____5B___7B___9B____12___________\n\n7 F# ____________5____________________________\n\n8 E _______3F___5E___7____9F____12___________\n\n9 D ____________________________12___________\n\n10 B _______3____5___7A____9_____12___________\n\n \n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\nAmaj:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n1 F# ____________________10________________\n\n2 D# ______________________________________\n\n3 G# _______5______8___________12B_________\n\n4 E _______5______8F____10E____12_________\n\n5 B _______5______8A____10____12A_________\n\n6 G# _______5______8___________12B_________\n\n7 F# ____________________10________________\n\n8 E _______5______8F____10E____12_________\n\n9 D ______________________________________\n\n10 B _______5______8A____10____12A_________<\/pre>\nOne of the hard things with the pedal steel guitar is voicing chords to make the top notes melodic.<\/p>\n
This is partly because of the chromatic strings (the D# and F# strings 1 and 2). <\/p>\n
If you want to play an E7 chord with a D on top in the 12th fret position above, the D is on the second string. This D resolves nicely to a C# which, while only a semitone away from the D, is on the 12th fret A position is on the 5th string. A jump of three strings away. Not easy technically or conceptually. <\/p>\n
Learning where the melodic notes are in chords on the PSG seems a big part of learning the instrument.<\/p>\n
For piano players it’s all there right in front of them – there is only 1 place to play the D or C# in a given register, but for PSG players there is a lot of work to be done learning chord voicings and being able get to them quickly.<\/p>\n
p.s. F = raise Es, E = lower Es, D = lower D.<\/p>\n
p.p.s<\/p>\n
The E7 chord on the 9th fret has got a 9th note in it, but that’s a good sound in most contexts. Certainly if you’re resolving to Amaj. <\/p>\n
(If, in the E7 on the 9th fret with the 9th, you want to accentuate the resolution you can take your foot off the B pedal just before the Amaj chord to go from an E9 to an E7b9, but jazzy moves like that could get you thrown out of a country gig:!:)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The last couple of posts have been a bit dry, this one’s about learning one’s way around the pedal steel guitar. The V – I chord progression is a mainstay of western music and if you can play round it …<\/p>\n