C7 Lesson from Cold Cold Heart

Cold Cold Chords: The C7 Lesson

In today's C7 lesson, we're going to be looking at the other bar slant that you find in my steel guitar arrangement of Cold, Cold Heart before moving on. Remember that the TAB is written out for the 6 string C6 tuning, from low to high: CEGACE.

Again, the reason for using the 6 string version of C6 for all the songs, is because this tuning serves as the foundation of all the various forms of C6 in both 6 string and 8 string configurations. This 6 string tuning is important to master in order to make sense of the C6 tunings, but also helps to simplify the learning of the instrument, whether you currently play a 6 or an 8. Not only that, but this tuning and all its chord shapes can be found in other tunings that are seemingly unrelated, such as the E13 and A6.

The slant I'm referring to first occurs in the 10th measure on your TAB found in the LIL STEEL V.1 Songbook.

Example 1

In the musical example below, taken right from the arrangement, we're starting out on the first beat with an F chord on the 5th fret, plucking strings 5, 4 and 2. To pluck it, use your thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand.

You'll want to memorize this chord as F major if you haven't already done so, and add it to your knowledge of F chords that you gained in the lesson found in the previous issue of STEEL MOJO NEWS.

This particular F major chord can also be referred to as a “grip”, which means it's a common grouping of strings that you'll want your right hand (the picking hand) to get very familiar with.

On the second beat, you're repeating the 4th string C note, then on the next beat you'll remain on the fifth fret and pluck the 3rd string D note which then climbs up chromatically to the D sharp on beat four. This last note D sharp is what is called a “passing note” or “passing tone” in that it is basically serving as a connecting note between the D natural before it and the E natural that will appear in the next measure as part of our slant. It's also called a passing note because it's outside of the key of F major that the song is in.

Being aware of passing notes in your playing can help you improvise better, as this half step movement is a very effective way of moving between notes, and provides that essential tension and release that pleases the ears of your listeners (and your own ears too!)

When we get to the 10th measure we have a split slant that takes the Bflat on the sixth fret of the 5th string and connects it to the E natural on the seventh fret of the 3rd string, forming a unique C7 chord.

Now you may be wondering how this is a C7, when there's no C note to be found anywhere in the chord. And this is really where the beauty of the lap steel guitar shines through.

Many of you have experience playing standard tuned 6 string guitar (EADGBE), where the root note of your chords are almost always present when you're strumming a song.

But because our C6 lap steel guitar tuning is actually such a different animal, you will find yourself understanding and enjoying your instrument more once you leave this mentality behind.

Most of the time when playing steel, we have to “imply” chords, and choose just the right two or three notes that get the job done in an interesting and effective way.

That means that many times we are leaving out the very note that the chord is based on! This C7 chord in measure 10 is a perfect example.

You don't have to worry that the root note C is not in this chord for a couple reasons.

First, the backing track or your fellow band mates will be supplying the root note for you in their chords—so you don't have to!

Secondly, our melody note is actually the E natural on top while the B flat that's below it is simply harmonizing and supporting the higher note.

In fact, you could effectively play this passage by leaving out the lower note and the song would sound just fine (but you wouldn't get that cool dominant 7th, aka Blues sound, on this part).

As in the previous Cold Heart lesson found in the STEEL MOJO NEWS Issue #3, the best way to approach a slant like this is to slide into it from BELOW, which allows you to make those microscopic bar adjustments on the fly, in a musically pleasing way. It also allows you to use your ears to make it sound right.

Bonus C7 Lesson #1

Bonus C7 Lesson #1: A free video lesson on bar slants, and yet another way to play a C chord, can be found here.

Bonus C7 Lesson #2

We're going to explore this C7 lesson chord a little more just to give you another way to play this awesome chord that has uses in all forms and genres of music. Oddly enough, we're going to start out playing an E minor chord!

Example 2

We're going to start up at the 7th fret where we find the Em chord, use this lesson opportunity to memorize this location and string set as E minor.

You'll be using another very common “grip” found in C6 to play this particular version of E minor, and this grip presents a great way to play all your minor chords as you move it to different position on the neck.

In this case, we're plucking the fifth string, third string and second string at the 7th fret. To pluck it, use your thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand. Notice that the notes you're playing are B, E and G.

Example 3

In this next musical example, we're lowering the B to a B flat, so the 5th string note is now on the sixth fret, while the other two notes from the E minor remain the same at the 7th fret. You now have a three note version of the C7 chord, which in the notation is marked as C7/Bb, which means C7 with B flat in the lowest note.

Compare this to the C7 lesson that's found in Cold Cold Heart, and you'll see that all we're doing is adding the G note on the second string to fill out the chord.

It's a little trickier to keep in tune because of the way the bar has to slant across four different strings to achieve the chord. The best way to get it in tune is to adjust where the tip of your steel bar is located. Move the bar along the line of the slant to hear the difference it makes to the intonation of the chord. As you do this, notice how close the tip of your steel gets to the second string note.

Closely observe the bar location in the following two pictures. Notice how in the first picture, marked C7-Lesson-1, the nose of the steel bar is hovering almost directly over the 7th fret...

C7-Lesson-1

...while in the second picture (C7-Lesson-2), the tip of the bar is shifted further toward the 8th fret, along the line of the slant.

C7-Lesson-2

C7 Lesson Summary

The C7 Lesson that Cold Cold Heart offers the perfect example of how the process of learning a great song leads to multiple educational opportunities across the neck of the non-pedal steel guitar.

Test your knowledge of the material we've covered so far. If you've followed along since the last issue, you should have memorized three different ways to play an F major chord, including a two-note slant, and two different C7 chords.

Let me just conclude by saying that it's truly a thrill to be able to offer you more opportunities to learn lap steel, like that found in this C7 Lesson.

For more, check out the MEGA Pack C6 Lap Steel Guitar Setup found here.

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