E9 tuning

See also: C6 tuning

E9 tuning for steel guitar.^[1]: 11

E9 tuning-Nashville standard ten string pedal steel

E9 tuning (also E9 chromatic tuning) is a common tuning for steel guitar necks of more than six strings. The name derives from the chord spelled by the tuning.

The practice evolved from 1950s–1970s through the work of musicians like Bud Isaacs, Ralph Mooney, and Buddy Emmons. It supports optimal chord and scale patterns across a single fret on the 10-string pedal steel guitar.

Practice

Fender 1000 pedal steel guitar with two necks.

The standard E9 chromatic tuning for ten string pedal steel guitar is F♯4-D♯4-G♯4-E4-B3-G♯3-F♯3-E3-D3-B2.^[2] In combination with the pedals and knee levers, it allows the performer to play a major scale without moving the steel bar.^[3]

The pedal and knee lever combinations used to play the instrument are known as "copedants".^[4] The pedals and levers need to be tuned as well as the guitar strings.^[5]

On two-neck console and pedal steel guitars, E9 tuning is used on one neck, and C6 tuning is used on the other. E9 tuning is popular for single neck instruments of eight or more strings.^[6] Typically, the C6 tuning is on the back neck, closest to the player.^[7]: 34

Corresponding tunings for a six string lap steel guitar are the E6 tuning E–G♯–B–C♯–E–G♯, or E7 tuning B–D–E–G♯–B–E.

A popular E9 tuning for eight string console steel guitar is the Western swing tuning E–G♯–B–D–F♯–G♯–B–E, low to high and near to far.

History

Main article: Pedal steel guitar

E9 tuning was codified between the 1950s and 1970s during experimentation by elite steel guitarists. In the 1930s and 1940s, Manufacturers began adding necks and pedals to steel guitars. The design changes helped manufacturers target amateur musicians. They also enabled jazz players easier access to more sophisticated harmonies.^[8]: 187f

When Bud Isaacs began recording on a double-neck pedal steel on songs like Webb Pierce's "Slowly", other performers quickly emulated his style.^[9] The eight strings on the front neck of Isaac's guitar were tuned in a massive E ninth chord: E4-B3-G♯3-F♯3-D3-B2-G♯2-E2.^[8]: 188ff Isaacs is sometimes credited with inventing E9 tuning.^[10]

In 1958, Jimmy Day inserted an E3 between the F♯3-D3 for a total of nine strings.^[11] The change was adopted by other players to become a permanent fixture in the E9 tuning. Ralph Mooney soon added a 10th string tuned to G♯4.^[12]: 208 In the 1960s, this 10-string tuning of G♯4-E4-B3-G♯3-F♯3-E3-D3-B2-G♯2-E2 was sometimes called "Nashville E9 tuning".^[8]: 194

E9 tuning was transformed once more by Buddy Emmons when he was trying to develop a sound of his own. In 1962, he added a D♯4 and F♯4 to the top of the instrument in order to easily play a scale. His configuration eliminated the lowest two notes of E9 tuning.^[12]: 83 Emmons' re-entrant tuning became the standard that is used today.^[1]: 11 It is often called "E9 chromatic tuning".^[8]: 194

See also

• Nashville tuning (high strung)

References

1. Miller, Timothy D. Instruments as Technology and Culture: Co-Constructing the Pedal Steel Guitar. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2013.
2. Scott, Dewitt. Anthology of Pedal Steel Guitar. Mel Bay Publications, 2010. 7–10.
3. Borisoff, Jason (September 27, 2010). "How Pedal Steel Guitar Works". makingmusicmagazine.com. Making Music Magazine. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
4. Stone, Robert L. Sacred Steel: Inside an African American Steel Guitar Tradition. University of Illinois Press, 2010. 191.
5. Leach, Jay. First Lessons Pedal Steel. Mel Bay Publications, Incorporated, 2015. 6.
6. The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar. Cambridge University Press, 2003. 141.
7. Stern, Jordan C. Full Circle: Becoming a Pedal Steel Guitarist. Boston University, 2022.
8. Miller, Timothy. "This Machine Plays Country Music: Invention, Innovation, and the Pedal Steel Guitar", in Travis D. Stimeling (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Country Music. Oxford Handbooks, 2017.
9. Duchossoir, A. R. Gibson Electric Steel Guitars: 1935-1967. Bloomsbury Academic, 2009. 116.
10. Marsh, Dave and James Bernard. New Book of Rock Lists. Touchstone, 1994. 347.
11. Winston, Winnie and Bill Keith. Pedal Steel Guitar. Oak Publications, 1975. 118–21
12. Fishell, Steve. Buddy Emmons: Steel Guitar Icon. University of Illinois Press, 2022.

Further Reading

• Pedal Steel Guitar: A Manual of Style. Edited by Winnie Winston. Pixenbar Music, 1980.
• Volk, Andy. Lap Steel Guitar. Centerstream Publications, 2003.

External Links

• Buddy Emmons Q&A at his website.

At bb.steelguitarforum.com:

• "E9th Charts", Charles Kurck's summary of the tuning practice's evolution.
• "The Logic of E9", a discussion of the practice.
• "Who Created the E9th tuning, when, and why?, a discussion that includes Buddy Emmons.