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Experiment 8: Bass Harmonica

For this month’s experiment I created a sample player that triggers bass harmonica samples. I based the patch off of Lo-Fi Sitar by a user called woiperdinger. This patch was, in turn, based off of Lo-Fi Piano by Henr!k. According to this user, this was based upon a patch called Piano48 by Critter and Guitari.

The number 48 in the title refers to the number of keys / samples in the patch. Accordingly, my patch has the potential for 48 different notes, although only 24 notes are actually implemented. This is due to the fact that the bass harmonica I used to create the sample set only features 24 pitches. I recorded the samples using a pencil condenser microphone. I pitch corrected each note (my bass harmonica is fairly out of tune at this point), and I EQed each note to balance the volumes a bit. Initially I had problems as I had recorded the samples at a higher sample rate (48kHz) than the Organelle operates at (44.1kHz). This resulted in the pitch being higher than planned, but it was easily fixed by adjusting the sample rate on each sample. I had planned on recording the remaining notes using my Hohner Chromonica 64, but I ran out of steam. Perhaps I will expand the sample set in a future release.

The way this patch works is that every single note has its own sample. Furthermore, each note is treated as its own voice, such that my 24 note bass harmonica patch allows all 24 notes to be played simultaneously. The advantage of having each note have its own sample is that each note will sound different, allowing the instrument to sound more naturalistic. For instance the low D# in my sample set is really buzzy sounding, because that note buzzes on my instrument. Occasionally hitting a note with a different tone color makes it sound more realistic. Furthermore, none of the samples have to be rescaled to create other pitches. Rescaling a sample either stretches the time out (for a lower pitch) or squashes the time (for a higher pitch), again creating a lack of realism.

The image above looks like 48 individual subroutines, but it is actually 48 instantiations of a single abstraction. The abstraction is called sampler-voice, and each instance of this abstraction is passed the file name of the sample along with the key number that triggers the sample. The key numbers are MIDI key numbers, where 60 is middle C, and each number up or down is one chromatic note away (so 61 would be C#).

Inside sampler-voice we see basically two algorithms, one that executes when the abstraction loads (using loadbang), and one that runs while the algorithm is operating. If we look at the loadbang portion of the abstraction, we see that it uses the object soundfiler to load the given sample into an array. This sample is then displayed in the canvas to the left. Soundfiler sends the number of samples to its left outlet. This number is then divided by 44.1 to yield the time in milliseconds.

As previously stated, the balance of the algorithm operates while the program is running. The top part of the algorithm, r notes, r notes_seq, r zero_notes, listens for notes. The object stripnote is being used to isolated the MIDI note number of the given event. This is then passed through a mod (%) 48 object as the instrument itself only has 48 notes. I could have changed this value to 24 if I wanted every sample to recur once every two octaves. The object sel $2 is then use to filter out all notes except the one that should trigger the given sample ($2 means the second value passed to the abstraction). The portion of the algorithm that reads the sample from the array is tabread4~ $1-array.

Knob 1 of the Organelle is used to control the pitch of the instrument (in case you want to transpose the sample). The second knob is used to control both the output level of the reverb as well as the mix between the dry (unprocessed) sound and the wet (reverberated) sound. In Lo-Fi Sitar, these two parameters each had their own knob. I combined them to allow for one additional control. Knob 3 is a decay control that can be used if you don’t want the whole sample to play. The final knob is used to control volume, which is useful when using a wind controller, such as the Warbl, as that can be used to allow the breath control to control the volume of the sample.

The PureData patch that controls the accompaniment is basically the finished version of the patch I’ve been expanding through this grant project. In addition to the previously used meters 4/4, 3/4, and 7/8, I’ve added 5/8. I’d share information about the algorithm itself, but it is just more of the same. Likewise, I haven’t done anything new with the EYESY. I’m hoping next month I’ll have the time to tweak an existing program for EYESY, but I just didn’t have the time to do that this month.

I should have probably kept the algorithm at a slower tempo, as I think the music works better at a slower tempo. The bass harmonica samples sound fairly natural, except for when the Organelle seems to accidentally trigger multiple samples at once. I have a theory that the Warbl uses a MIDI On message with a velocity of 0 to stop notes, which is an acceptable use of a MIDI On message, but that PureData uses it to trigger a note. If this is the case, I should be able to fix it in the next release of the patch.

It certainly sounds like I need to practice my EVI fingering more, but I found the limited pitch range (two octaves) of the sample player made the fingering easier to keep track of. Since you cannot use your embouchure with an EVI, you use range fingerings in order to change range. With the Warbl, your right hand (lower hand) is doing traditional valve fingerings, while your left hand (upper hand) is doing fingerings based upon traditional valve fingerings to control what range you are playing on. Keeping track of how the left hand affects the notes being triggered by the right hand has been my stumbling block in terms of learning EVI fingering. However, a two octave range means you really only need to keep track of four ranges. I found the breath control of the bass harmonica samples to be adequate. I think I’d really have to spend some time calibrating the Warbl and the Organelle to come up with settings that will optimize the use of breath control. Next month I hope to create a more fanciful sample based instrument, and maybe move forward on programming for the EYESY.

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Sabbatical: Week 12 Update

It has been a productive week, with 13 phrases recorded on electric cello. I recorded phrases for the beginning and end sections for TriStar, A300, 727, DC-10, and DC-9. I also recorded phrases for the center sections of DC-8, 707, and 747. This leaves only six electric cello phrases to record next week, although it is a short work week due to Thanksgiving. Last week I mentioned that I was thinning out the orchestra samples in some of the movements. This week I continued that process, thinning out A300, DC-8, 727, 707, and DC-10. In fact, I only have two more movements to thin out.

On the next album front, I now have three working algorithms from the first batch of six movements from the album. Between ME7ROPOL17AN 7RANSPOR7A71ON AU74OR17Y and Rotate, I’ve been having a lot of fun creating and releasing albums. Given that the next major album will not be ready for three or four years, my plan is to sneak in some lower stakes albums in the meanwhile. One of them may be an album of live performances of Rotate. On Tuesday I will be performing with the New London Drone Orchestra. Since I’ve been playing electric cello for the last couple of weeks, I figure I’ll play that instrument while I’m good and warmed up. I’ll be running the instrument through a bunch of effects, and I hope to record the audio of my contribution to the performance. Assuming all goes well, I may continue to perform with the group a couple of times every year. I may be able to take my recordings from those performances to put together an ambient album.

Since I’m sharing the audio for 727 this week, I figured I’d include the score to the string quartet part for those who want to follow along. At rehearsal H, only the notes A, C, D, and E are used. These notes work out really well for bowed strings, as they’re all open strings on one or more of the instruments. This allows me to use harmonics, a favorite musical sound of mine, for the last four measures.

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Sabbatical: Week 11 Update

This week I managed to mix and incorporate the Jetliner String Quartet recording for 737. I also was able to record eight phrases on my electric cello. All in all, I recorded two phrases for each of the following: 737, DC-8, 707, & 747. While I haven’t played cello regularly in nearly 40 years, I find that I am slightly better at it than playing the trombone. I’m still not particularly good at playing the instrument, but if you slap a bunch of effects on it, it does sound nice and spacey.

I’ve also been re-editing the string orchestra samples. One of the first things I did for the Rotate project was to add samples of Musiversal’s Budapest String Orchestra that I had recorded for my previous album. These samples were added right after the backing tracks were recorded. Accordingly, I added a lot of them, and now that the recordings are getting kind of thick, I want to thin out the string orchestra samples so they do not compete as much with the string quartet recordings. I managed to thin out TriStar and 737 in this manner. All in all, it was a decent amount of work accomplished for a week in which I was driving to tech rehearsals in Andover, MA for more than half of the week. It puts me a bit ahead of the game in terms of what I hope to accomplish next week.

Since I’ve been posting teasers related to the next album project over the last couple of updates, I’ll share a bit more. I’m pleased to announce that I have working algorithms for two of the six movements that I plan on recording the backing tracks for this coming summer. At the rate I’m crafting these algorithms, I could be ready to record those backing tracks sometime in early 2024. Regardless, I will start sharing examples from these algorithms in early in the new year.

As I posted a link to the new mix of DC-8 featuring the Jetliner String Quartet record, I’ll repost the string score for the movement. This is the only movement that uses quarter note arpeggiations. I’m also fond of the D# diminished chord over an E pedal at rehearsal C. I think it’s a particularly tasty harmony.

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Sabbatical: Week 10 Update

I had hoped to post this on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, but it has been a busy time. The good news is that I got more work done than I had expected to. I mixed and incorporated the string quartet recordings for eight of the nine movements. Some of the movements had multiple usable takes, so in some instances I chose to double (or even in 1 instance, triple) track the string quartet recordings to thicken things up a bit. Ultimately, I was able to add string quartet recordings to TriStar, A300, DC-8, 727, 707, DC-10, DC-9, and 747.

This will be a busy week for me as I am in tech week for a production of A Wrinkle in Time up in Andover. That being said, I expect to be able to complete the final string quartet mix, and to be able to get started recording some electric cello, which will put me a bit ahead of schedule. Since I have little to share this week, I’ll share a bit more about my next album project that I unveiled last week.

My plan is to have the album consist of 18 tracks, which should make a good middle ground between ME7ROPOL17AN 7RANSPOR7A71ON AU74R17Y‘s lots of short tracks approach, and Rotate‘s a few long tracks approach. As is the case with Rotate, the drum machine and synth parts will be generated by algorithms written in PureData. However, there will be three different broad models for these algorithms, so that this forthcoming album will feature more variety. The plan is to record the backing tracks to 6 of the movements during the summer of 2024, another 6 (using different algorithms) during the following summer, and a final 6 movements (using a third set of algorithms) during the summer of 2026.

Since I’ve released the recording of TriStar featuring the string quartet recording, I’ll re-share the score for the quartet for those who want to follow along . . .

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Sabbatical: Week 9 Update

Well, it looks like I’m a Trombone Champ! I managed to record 7 trombone phrases this week, which is not a lot of work, but it is just enough for me to have finished all of the trombone recording I had wanted to do. Thus, I can put the trombone back up in the attic until my next major recording project. My embouchure probably only improved marginally over the two and a half weeks of recording. I think if I plan on recording much again with the instrument, I should take it out a few weeks before I plan on starting the project, and get my lip in better shape.

Three of the phrases I recorded were for 727. The remaining four phrases were trombone recordings for the center sections of A300, DC-10, DC-9, and 747. While I’m ahead of where I thought I’d be last week, it doesn’t really change the schedule much. Tomorrow I will be recording a string quartet in Providence. These recordings will span the transition from the center section to the final section of each movement. I will likely be editing and mixing these recordings over the next couple of weeks. I’m expecting that time frame as the next couple of weeks will be busy for me. I’ll be taking Thursday and Friday off next week to go to an event in Boston. The following week I will be going into tech week for a production of A Wrinkle in Time in Andover. This means that much of next week will be spent finalizing my sound design work for the production, so I may get little to no work on Rotate done next week. Accordingly, the new schedule for the rest of the semester is . . .

Week 10: Edit / mix String recordings
Week 11: Edit / mix String recordings
Week 12: Cello
Week 13: Cello
Week 14: Taishogoto
Week 15: Taishogoto

I had mentioned last week that I may have some information to share regarding progress on a closely related project I have been working on. Since the next couple of weeks may also be light weeks I won’t share everything all at once, so I have things to share for first half of November. That being said, I’ve made significant progress on the plan for my next studio album as Darth Presley. I plan on taking three to four years to complete the next one.

While I’m proud of my work on both ME7ROPOL17AN 7RANSPOR7A71ON AU74OR17Y and Rotate, I feel like both albums are a bit too consistent. Every movement of each of the two projects is very similar, and vary mainly in tempo, pitch collection, and sometimes instrumentation. This is why I want to spend more time on the next studio album. I have some other material I can likely release in the next few years on the side: songs with lyrics, live recordings from Rotate, and other material. While I have more work to share about the next project, I’ll save it for the next couple of weeks.

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Experiment 7: Additive Odd / Even

I’m afraid I’m not as pleased with this month’s entry as I had hoped to be. The instrument I developed worked fairly well on the Organelle, but when I used it in combination with a wind controller, it was not nearly as expressive as I had hoped. I had also hoped to use the EYESY with a webcam, but I was not able to get the EYESY to recognize either of my two USB webcams. That being said, I think the instrument I designed is a good starting point for further development.

The instrument I designed, Additive Odd Even, is an eight-voice additive synthesizer. Additive synthesis, as the name implies, is an alternative approach to subtractive synthesis. Subtractive synthesis was the most common approach for the first decades of synthesis, as it requires the fewest / least expensive components in comparison to most other approaches. Subtractive synthesis involves taking periodic waveforms that have rich harmonic content, and using filters to subtract some of that content to create new sounds.

Additive synthesis was theorized by rarely attempted since the beginning of sound synthesis. Technically speaking the early behemoth, the Teleharmonium, used additive synthesis. Likewise, earlier electronic organs often used some variant of additive synthesis. One of the few true early additive synthesizers was the Harmonic Tone Generator. However, this instrument’s creator, James Beauchamp only made two of them.

Regardless, additive synthesis involves adding pure sine tones together to create more complex waveforms. In typical early synthesizers, this was impractical, as it would require numerous expensive oscillators in order to accomplish this approach. As a point of reference, the Harmonic Tone Generator only used six partials.

Additive Odd Even is based upon Polyphonic Additive Synth by user wet-noodle. In my patch, knob one controls the transposition level, allowing the user to raise or lower the pitch chromatically up to two octaves in either direction. The second knob controls the balance of odd versus even partials. When this knob is in the middle, the user will get a sawtooth wave, and when it is turned all the way to the left, a square wave will result. Knob three controls both the attack and release, which are defined in terms of milliseconds, ranging from 0 to 5 seconds. The final knob controls the amount of additive synthesis applied, yielding a multiplication value of 0 to 1. This last knob is the one that is controlled by the amount of breath pressure from the WARBL. Thus, in theory, as more breath pressure is supplied, we should hear more overtones.

This instrument consists only of a main routine (main.pd) and one abstraction (voice.pd). Knob one is controlled in the main routine, while the rest exist in the abstraction. As we can see below, voice.pd contains 20 oscillators, which in turn provide 20 harmonic partials for the sound. We can see this in the way in which the frequency of each successive oscillator is multiplied by integers 1 through 20. A bit below these oscillators, we see that the amplitudes of these oscillators is multiplied by successively smaller values from 1 down to .05. These values roughly correspond to 1/n, where n is the harmonic value. Summing these values together would result in a sawtooth waveform.

We see more multiplication / scaling above these values. Half of them come directly from knob 2, which controls the odd / even mix. These are used to scale only the even numbered partials. Thus, when the second knob is turned all the way to the left, the result is 0, which effectively turns off all the even partials. This results in only the odd partials being passed through, yielding a square waveform. The odd numbered partials are scaled using 1 minus the value from the second knob. Accordingly, when knob 2 is placed in the center position, the balance between the odd and even partials should be the same, yielding a sawtooth wave. Once all but the fundamental is scaled by knobs 2 & 4, they are mixed together, and mixed with the fundamental. Thus, we can see that neither knob 2 nor 4 affects the amplitude of thefundamental partial. This waveform is then scaled by .75 to avoid distortion, and then scaled by the envelope, provided by knob three.

In August I had about one month of data loss. Accordingly, I lost much of the work I did on the PureData file that I used to generate the accompaniment for Experiment 5. Fortunately I had the blog entry for that experiment to help me reconstruct that program. I also added a third meter, 7/8, in addition to the two meters used in Experiment 5 (4/4 and 3/4). Most of the work to add this is adding a bunch of arrays, and continuing the expansion of the algorithm that was already covered in the blog entry for Experiment 5.

That being said, using an asymmetrical meter such as 7/8 creates a challenge for the visual metronome I added in experiment 5. Previously I was able to put a select statement, sel 0 4 8 12 that comes from the counter that tracks the sixteenth notes in a given meter. I could then connect each of the four leftmost outlets of that sel statement to a bang. Thus, each bang would activate in turn when you reach a downbeat (once every 4 sixteenth notes).

However, asymmetrical meters will not allow this to work. As the name suggests, in such meters the beat length is inconsistent. That is there are beats that are longer, and ones that are shorter. The most typical way to count 7/8 is to group the eighth notes with a group of 3 at the beginning, and to have two groups of 2 eighths at the end of the measure. This results in a long first beat (of 3 eighths or 6 sixteenth notes), followed by two short beats (of 2 eighths or 4 sixteenth notes).

Accordingly, I created a new subroutine called pd count, which routes the sixteenth note count within the current measure based upon the current meter. Here we see that the value of currentmeter or a 0 sent by initialize is sent to a select statement that is used to turn on one of three spigots, and shut off the others. The stream is then sent to one of two select statements that identify when downbeats occur. Since both 4/4 an 3/4 use beats that are 4 sixteenth notes long, both of those meters can be sent to the same select statement. The other sel statement, sel 0 6 10, corresponds to 7/8. The second beat does not occur until the sixth sixteenth note, while the final downbeat occurs 4 sixteenth notes later at count 10.

One novel aspect of this subroutine is that it has multiple outlets. Each outlet is fed a bang. Each outlet of the subroutine is sent to a different bang, so the user can see the beats happen in real time. Note that this is next to a horizontal radio button, which displays the current meter. Thus, the user can use this to read both the meter, and which beat number is active.

I had to essentially recreate the code inside pd count inside of pd videoautomation in order to change the value of knob 5 of the EYESY on each downbeat. Here the output from the select statements are sent to messages of 0 through 3, which correspond to beats 1 through 4. These values are then used as indexes to access values stored in the array videobeats.

I did not progress with my work on the EYESY during this experiment, as I had intended to use the EYESY in conjunction with a webcam, but unfortunately I could not get the EYESY to recognize either of my two USB webcams. I did learn that you can send MIDI program changes to the EYESY to select which scene or program to make use of. However, I did not incorporate that knowledge into my work.

One interesting aspect of the EYESY related to program changes is that it runs every program loaded onto the EYESY simultaneously. This allows seamless changes from one algorithm to another in real time. There is no need for a new program to be loaded. This operational aspect of the EYESY requires the programs be written as efficiently as possible, and Critter and Guitari recommends loading no more than 10MB of program files onto the EYESY at any given time so the operation does not slow down.

As stated earlier, I was disappointed in the lack of expression of the Additive Odd Even patch when controlled by the WARBL. Again, I need to practice my EVI fingering. I am not quite use to reading the current meter and beat information off of the PureData screen, but with some practice, I think I can handle it. While the programming changes for adding 7/8 to the program that generates the accompaniment is not much of a conceptual leap from the work I did for Experiment 5, it is a decent musical step forward.

Next month I hope to make a basic sample instrument for the Organelle. I will likely add another meter to the algorithm that generates accompaniment. While I’m not quite sure what I’ll do with the EYESY, I do hope to move forward with my work on it.

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Sabbatical: Week 8 Update

Well, my sabbatical is about half over. I got a respectable amount of work done this week, all things considered. I got nine trombone phrases recorded. This included two A phrases each for A300, DC-10, and 747. I also recorded one B phrase each for 737, DC-8, & 707. Ultimately this isn’t much work for the week, but there has been a family emergency that has been keeping me busy since Tuesday. Thus, as I said it’s a respectable amount of work, all things considered.

It isn’t clear when this family emergency will be resolved. Furthermore next week my work load as a sound designer for an upcoming production of A Wrinkle in Time will be ramping up. Next weekend will be the recording session for the string parts, which means the following week will likely be focused on editing and mixing those recordings. All of this is a long winded way of saying that realistically speaking, I may not complete the trombone recordings for two to three weeks. Thus, my revised recording schedule for the remainder of the semester will likely be . . .

Week 9: Trombone
Week 10: Edit / mix String recordings
Week 11: Trombone
Week 12: Cello
Week 13: Cello
Week 14: Taishogoto
Week 15: Taishogoto

I’m still satisfied with this schedule, as cutting out many of the synth oriented tracks is fine since the backing tracks already have a significant amount of synthesizers. Even if I don’t complete much work next week, I’ll still be able to report next week, as I’ve been working on a related side project, and have been making enough progress on it that I may be ready to start releasing information on it next week.

In the interest of having some visual material, please find below the score for the string arrangement of 707. The B section of this movement is nominally in D minor, featuring the notes: D, E, F, F#, G, A, Bb, and C#. The A section in contrast only uses a single note, A.

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Sabbatical: Week 7 Update

It has been a productive week for me resulting in 15 finished phrases. I finished my pedal steel work, recording one phrase each for Rotate A300, 727, DC-10, DC-9, & 747. This allowed me to get a head start on trombone recordings. Ultimately I recorded two phrases each for TriStar, 737, DC-8, 707, & DC-9.

Recording trombone is quite a challenge for me, although it is a different challenge than playing the pedal steel. The latter instrument is very complicated, and not particularly intuitive. The last time I played trombone on a regular basis was over thirty years ago. I still have a very mental knowledge of how to play the instrument correctly. That being said, my embouchure just isn’t up to the job. It is very challenging for me to play even moderately high notes. I have equivalent problems playing pedal tones (extremely low notes) on the instrument as well.

It will be interested to see if after a couple of weeks of recording on the instrument if my embouchure shows any sign of improvement. For the time being though, I will simply write the trombone passages (mainly brass hits) in a range that fits my meager abilities. Furthermore, a lot of editing, a generous portion of pitch correction, and helping of plate reverb can do wonders to hide three decades of neglect.

It has been a couple of weeks since I presented one of my string arrangements. My arrangement for A300, featured below, features the second smallest pitch collection of the nine movements of Rotate. The B section of A300 features only five notes (B, C#, D, F#, G#), while the A section features four pitches (B, C#, F#, A#). These limited pitch groups yield some unique harmonies for the arrangement.

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Sabbatical: Week 6 Update

It has been quite a productive week. I was able to record 17 phrases on pedal steel guitar. I recorded two each for A300, 727, DC-10, DC-9, & 747. I recorded three phrases for DC-8 and 707. I also recorded a phrase for the center section of 737. On Saturday I booked Alumni Hall to record some piano tracks on the Yamaha C7 grand in that space. All in all I managed to record 10 phrases, two each for TriStar, 737, A300, 727, and DC-10.

Last week I explained some of the basics of how a pedal steel guitar works. This week I’ll go into a little more detail. The second movement of Rotate, 737, is nominally in F major. In the center section of the piece I decided to use 3 seventh chords: an F major seventh, a D minor seventh, and an A dominant seventh. Let’s investigate how you can do this on a pedal steel guitar. This will allow us to review what we learned about tuning and the foot pedals from last week.

Above, we see the open strings of an E9 pedal steel guitar. Playing a major seventh chord in this tuning is simple, you simply play strings 2-6 simultaneously (with the low B on the left being string 10). In order to get an F major seventh, then we’d simply play those strings with the steel over where the first fret would be.

There several ways to get a minor seventh chord. Last week I went over how you could use the first two pedals of the instrument to get a chord built on scale degree four or six. Remember that the first pedal changes all of your B strings to C#, and the middle pedal changes all of your G# strings to A. When we press just the first pedal, the E major chord we get from strings 3-6 is now a C# minor chords. Likewise, when we press the first two pedals at the same time, our E major chord is now an A major chord. We are going to use these two pedals to create a D minor seventh chord.

Let’s think about that chord in the context of C major. We could also think of that chord as being an F major chord (a IV chord) with an additional D (scale degree two). We can get a IV chord by using the first two foot pedal. The additional scale degree two we can get from string 7 (F# is scale degree two in E major). Since we are thinking in C major for this chord, we would have to strum strings 3-7 with the first two pedals down, and our steel positioned over where the 8th fret would be (C is 8 half steps above E).

How about our A dominant seventh chord? We found that major seventh chords on a pedal steel guitar are easy. Here’s where the knee levers come into play. Again, there is no standard for how many knee levers a pedal steel guitar has, nor is there a standard configuration. My instrument has three knee levers. They would be labelled LKL, LKR, and RKR. Those abbreviations stand for left knee left, left knee right, and right knee right. Thus, I have two knee levers for my left leg, and one for my right.

While there are no standards, there is some logic used in setups. For instance LKL and LKR on my instrument both affect the E strings. This makes sense because you’d never want to use both levers at the same time, which is important as it is pretty much impossible to move your knee to left and to the right at the same time. On my instrument LKL raises the E strings to F, while LKR lowers the E strings to D#. The final knee lever, RKR, lowers the D string to C# and the D# string to D. Thus, it is this knee lever that allows me to lower the D# to D, which when combined with strings 3-6 gives a dominant seventh chord. So, in order to get an A dominant seventh chord, I would string strings 2-6 with RKR engaged with the steel positioned over where the fifth fret would be (A is 5 half steps above E).

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Sabbatical: Week 5 Update

Well, I’m a third of the way into my sabbatical, and the past week has been pretty successful. I’ve finished my fretless bass recordings, and have started recording pedal steel guitar. I recorded phrases for the center sections of seven movements: 737, A300, DC-8, 727, DC-10, DC-9, & 747. The fretless phrases I recorded for 737 and DC-8 replaced recordings I made last week where I wasn’t satisfied with what I played. I’m much happier with the new versions.

In terms of the pedal steel recordings, I’ve only begun to scratch the surface, recording four phrases, two each for TriStar and 737. Pedal steel is a fascinating, but very complicated instrument. I haven’t played it much in past few months, so a significant amount of time was spent tuning the 10 strings, calibrating the tuning for a couple of the foot pedals, and reacquainting myself with the instrument.

A standard pedal steel guitar has 10 strings and uses E9 tuning. This tuning system was developed by a few prominent players, including Buddy Emmons. It is called E9 tuning, as it generally resembles the notes of an E9 chord, though notice that it has both a D natural, and a D#. Notice as well that the top two strings are actually lower in pitch than the third string from the top. One of the things that is fairly convenient about the tuning system is it features four consecutive strings that form a major triad (strings 3 through 6 – with 10 being the lowest string).

In typical pedal steel playing, the players left hand puts a steel on the fretboard. Typically the placement of the steel reflects what key you are in. For instance, in G major, you would place the steel above where the third fret would be, as G is three half steps above E. In order to get other notes (and harmonies) besides those given by the strings, the player typically uses the pedals and knee levers rather than moving the steel.

While there is no standard for pedal and knee lever configurations, most instruments have three pedals, and one or more knee levers. My instrument is an old GFI SM-10 with three pedals, and three knee levers. Since this is sufficiently complicated, I will only explain the two pedals I used in recording this week. The first pedal changes all the B strings to C#s (raising the string a whole step). The second pedal changes all the G# strings to As, raising the string a half step). With these two pedals and using the aforementioned strings that form a major triad (strings 3 through 6), you can get an E major chord, a C# minor chord (using pedal 1), an Esus chord (using pedal 2), or an A major chord (using both pedals 1 & 2). If we were to think of this in terms of E major, this will get us the chords on scale degrees 1, 4, and 6. Pretty clever all in all. Perhaps next week I will go into detail about some of the other pedals and how they can be used.