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  Steelin The Blues

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Author Topic:   Steelin The Blues
Jim Saunders
Member

From: Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

posted 18 January 2001 06:37 PM     profile     
Anyone have the tab for Steelin The Blues? Id love to have a copy of it.
Jeff Lampert
Member

From: queens, new york city

posted 18 January 2001 07:50 PM     profile     
C6 tuning. Key is C# (Db). Chords are under 10th line, and shown in both keys. Play the first two staves, repeat them, go to the bridge, and play the first stave over for a full cycle. "^" means hammer on or hop the bar from the open position to fret one. As best as I recall, this is normally done in this oddball key. Also, everyone that plays it has a personal interpretation, so you can take this basic tab, and swing it all over the place, rattle the bar, whatever.

1_________________________________________________________________________________
2__________________________1___1___________________________________4______________
3_________________0_^_1____1___1____________________0_^_1______4___4____4_________
4________0_^_1____0_^_1_____________________0_^_1___0_^_1______4________4_________
5____1___0_^_1_____________1___1________1___0_^_1__________________4(5____________
6____1____________0_^_1_________________1___________0_^_1______4________4_________
7________0_^_1______________________________0_^_1_________________________________
8____1__________________________________1_________________________________________
9_________________________________________________________________________________
10________________________________________________________________________________
chords C#6 F#7
Db6 Gb7


    play triplets, 3 notes to 1 beat
1_________________________________________________________________________________
2________________________________________1____2___~_1_____________________________
3___________4__________4___________4_____1____2___~_1____4__~__3_________1________
4________4__________4___________4________________________4__~__3_____3___1________
5____4(5________4(5_________4(5__________1____2(5_~_1(5______________3____________
6________________________________________________________4(6_~_3(6_______1________
7____________________________________________________________________3____________
8_________________________________________________________________________________
9_________________________________________________________________________________
10________________________________________________________________________________
chords C#6 D#7 G#7 C#6
Db6 Eb7 Ab7 Db6

Repeat previous two staves, then go below to the bridge

1_________________________________________________________________________________
2_________________________________________________________________________________
3____5____5____5_~_4_~_5___6___7_~_8___9___10___10___10_~_9_~_10__________________
4____5____5____5_~_4_~_5___6___7_~_8___9___10___10___10_~_9_~_10__________________
5_________________________________________________________________________________
6____5____5____5_~_4_~_5___6___7_~_8___9___10___10___10_~_9_~_10__________________
7_________________________________________________________________________________
8_________________________________________________________________________________
9_________________________________________________________________________________
10________________________________________________________________________________
chords F7(13) A#7(13)
Bb7(13)

                                                         Slide down to 1st fret
1_________________________________________________________________________________
2_________________________________________________________________________________
3___11___12_~_13___14__15__15____15_~_14_~_15__16__17_~_18___19__20~~~~~~~~~~~_1__
4___11___12_~_13___14__15__15____15_~_14_~_15__16__17_~_18___19__20~~~~~~~~~~~_1__
5_________________________________________________________________________________
6___11___12_~_13___14__15__15____15_~_14_~_15__16__17_~_18___19__20~~~~~~~~~~~_1__
7_________________________________________________________________________________
8_________________________________________________________________________________
9_________________________________________________________________________________
10________________________________________________________________________________
D#7(13) G#7(13)
Eb7(13) Ab7(13)
repeat the 1st stave


[This message was edited by Jeff Lampert on 18 January 2001 at 07:57 PM.]

Jim Saunders
Member

From: Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

posted 19 January 2001 04:13 PM     profile     
Thanks Jeff. This is an odd key. Horn players would love it! Right! So if you played this same tab on your U12, if would be in C. Hmm.
Jeff Lampert
Member

From: queens, new york city

posted 19 January 2001 11:18 PM     profile     
The bar hop effect is what puts this song in C#, and yes, on a Universal (U-12) it would be in the key of C. Of course, it would be played exactly the same, but your guitar and piano players would be a lot happier.
Bobby Lee
Sysop

From: Cloverdale, North California, USA

posted 20 January 2001 09:50 AM     profile     
I play it on E9th in the D position: 2nd string lowered to D, 2nd pedal raising G#'s to A. This puts the song in the key of Eb, which also suits my voice. Using that position, the first line looks like this:

F# ___________________________0--1___1_____
D# __________________0b--1b________________
G# ________________________________________
E ________________________________________
B ___________0--1_________________________
G# __0#--1#________________________________
F# ________________________________________
E ________________________________________
D ________________________________________
B ________________________________________

# means raise 1/2 step, b means lower 1/2 step

I move the nose of the bar forward to get the hammer-ons, so that the notes that have already been hammered can continue to ring out. By the time I reach the top string, I have a full Eb6th chord ringing.

I'll admit that it's easier to play on C6th or B6th, but I don't sing well that low. Here are the lyrics as I learned them from Harry Moore:
quote:
I'm in an awful mess of trouble
Got my picture in the news
I've been runnin' from policemen
'Cause I'm Steelin' The Blues

Sneakin' round a lot of corners
Wearin' out a pair of shoes
Gonna wind up in the jailhouse
For Steelin' The Blues

I don't know if there are words to the bridge or not.

------------------
Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session S-12 (E9), Speedy West D-10 (E9, D6),
Sierra 8 Laptop (D13), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, A6)

Dayton Osland
Member

From: Fox Lake, IL USA

posted 21 January 2001 11:24 AM     profile     
As a trumpet player, I don't want to play in C#/Db. Thats one of the keys that nobody knows.

By the way, don't let your horn plays get away with so much. Key of E isn't bad - The pentantonic scales are easy.

Anyone can learn any key that is used regularly. It's just that most horn music is written in flats because of the way the medieval musicians decided to set things up. Trumpet is a "Bb" instrument - ie open - no valves produces a Bb. Unfortunately, trumpet players call that a C. So what ever key the guitars play in, we have to move up two frets to find the trumpet scale to use.

Anyway b0b, I'm going to check out your version on my E9 Shobud.


------------------
Dayton Osland www.emptypocketsband.com

[This message was edited by Dayton Osland on 21 January 2001 at 11:26 AM.]

Jeff Lampert
Member

From: queens, new york city

posted 21 January 2001 11:43 AM     profile     
quote:
As a trumpet player, I don't want to play in C#/Db.

I certainly appreciate your sentiments. I doubt most pop, rock, jazz, or country musicians (except maybe someone like Doug Jernigan, who plays jazz standards in Ab!) would relish playing anything in C#, but I'm just a messenger. This song, as best as I know, has almost always been played in C# on the C6 tuning, and the "hopping" effect is what dictates the key it's played in.

Bobby Lee
Sysop

From: Cloverdale, North California, USA

posted 21 January 2001 05:07 PM     profile     
That's true. C# is the standard key for Steelin' The Blues.
Erv Niehaus
Member

From: Litchfield, MN, USA

posted 03 October 2001 02:24 PM     profile     
How many of you out there have the original Jerry Byrd book with "Steelin the Blues" in it? I do and wouldn't part with it for the world. I haven't looked at it for quite a while but when I got it, I sure got a quick education in all the different tunings. Up to that point, I thought all there was was the A high bass tuning. What a revelation! Erv

[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 03 October 2001 at 02:25 PM.]

Lee Baucum
Member

From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) - The Final Frontier

posted 03 October 2001 03:32 PM     profile     
I believe Jeff Newman tabbed it out in E9 and offered a tape with the course.

------------------
Lee, from South Texas

Steve Benzian
Member

From: Burlingame, CA USA

posted 04 October 2001 12:10 AM     profile     
This is an alternative way to play the first part of Steelin The Blues on C6.

Steelin The Blues-C#



C# F# C# G# C#
1____________________________________________________________________________
2______________0-1_1_______________0__0_____________0-1__1_________________
3__________0-1_1-1_1__________0-1__1__1________0-1__1-1__1___4-3-4__3-2__1_
4______0-1_________________0-1_____1__1_____0-1______________4-3-4__3-2____
5__0-1_________1_1_1___0-1_______________0-1________1-1__1_______________1__
6____________________________________________________________4-3-4__3-2__1__
7____________________________________________________________________________
pedal 6-6-6--6

The 0-1 are hammer ons or slide ons. Pedal 6 is the standard C-6 pedal lowering
the 6th string a half tone.

[This message was edited by Steve Benzian on 04 October 2001 at 12:13 AM.]

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