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 position on the 10-string pedal steel guitar.
Practice
The standard E9 chromatic tuning for ten string pedal steel guitar is F4-D4-G4-E4-B3-G3-F3-E3-D3-B2.Scott, Dewitt. Anthology of Pedal Steel Guitar. Mel Bay Publications, 2010. 7–10. In combination with the pedals and knee levers, it allows the performer to play a major scale without moving the steel bar.
E9 tuning is popular for single neck instruments of eight or more strings.The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar. Cambridge University Press, 2003. 141. On two-neck console and pedal steel guitars, E9 tuning is often used on one neck, and C6 tuning is used on the other. Typically, the C6 tuning is on the back neck, closest to the player.Stern, Jordan C. Full Circle: Becoming a Pedal Steel Guitarist. Boston University, 2022.
The pedal and knee lever combinations used to play the instrument are known as a "copedent".Stone, Robert L. Sacred Steel: Inside an African American Steel Guitar Tradition. University of Illinois Press, 2010. 191. The pedals and levers need to be tuned as well as the guitar strings.Leach, Jay. First Lessons Pedal Steel. Mel Bay Publications, Incorporated, 2015. 6.
Standard copedent arrangements were devised by Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day. Notes can be raised or lowered by half or whole steps, represented by plus and minus signs. Knee levers can be moved left, right, and vertically to change pitches.
History
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.
When Bud Isaacs began recording on a double-neck pedal steel on songs like Webb Pierce's "Slowly", other performers quickly emulated his style.Duchossoir, A. R. Gibson Electric Steel Guitars: 1935-1967. Bloomsbury Academic, 2009. 116. The eight strings on the front neck of Isaac's guitar were tuned in a massive E ninth chord: E4-B3-G3-F3-D3-B2-G2-E2.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. Isaacs is sometimes credited with inventing E9 tuning.Marsh, Dave and James Bernard. New Book of Rock Lists. Touchstone, 1994. 347.
In 1958, Jimmy Day inserted an E3 between the F3-D3 for a total of nine strings.Winston, Winnie and Bill Keith. Pedal Steel Guitar. Oak Publications, 1975. 118–21 The change was adopted by other players and became a permanent fixture in the E9 tuning. Ralph Mooney soon added a 10th string tuned to G4.Fishell, Steve. Buddy Emmons: Steel Guitar Icon. University of Illinois Press, 2022. In the 1960s, this 10-string tuning of G4-E4-B3-G3-F3-E3-D3-B2-G2-E2 was sometimes called Nashville E9 tuning.Miller, Timothy D. "George Lloyd", in The Grove Dictionary of American Music, volume 3 (2nd ed.). Edited by Charles Hiroshi Garrett. Oxford University Press. 608.
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 D4 and F4 to the top of the instrument in order to easily play a scale. His configuration eliminated the lowest two notes of E9 tuning. Emmons' re-entrant tuning became the standard that is used today.Miller, Timothy D. Instruments as Technology and Culture: Co-Constructing the Pedal Steel Guitar. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2013. It is often called "E9 chromatic tuning".Stoebenau, Joe. Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Pedal Steel Guitar: Everything You Need to Know to Start Playing Now! Alfred Publishing Company, 2004. 14.
References
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.