View source for E9 tuning

[[Image:Nashville tuning.png|thumb|right|Nashville tuning: E7, [[seventh chord]] subset of [[ninth chord]].]]
'''E9 tuning''' is a common tuning for [[steel guitar]] [[Neck (guitar)|necks]] of more than six strings. It is the most common tuning for the neck located furthest from the player on a two-neck [[console steel guitar]] or [[pedal steel guitar]] while a [[C6 tuning|C6 ]] neck is the one closer to the player. The E9 is a popular tuning for single neck instruments of eight or more strings. This tuning has evolved in the last half of the twentieth century with input from prominent performers including [[Jimmy Day (musician)|Jimmy Day]], [[Ralph Mooney]] and [[Buddy Emmons]] to support optimal chord and scale patterns across a single fret on the 10-string pedal steel guitar.
Corresponding tunings for a six string [[lap steel guitar]] are the E6 tuning E–G{{Music|sharp}}–B–C{{Music|sharp}}–E–G{{Music|sharp}}, or E7 tuning B–D–E–G{{Music|sharp}}–B–E.
A popular E9 tuning for eight string [[console steel guitar]] is the [[Western swing]] tuning E–G{{Music|sharp}}–B–D–F{{Music|sharp}}–G{{Music|sharp}}–B–E, low to high and near to far.
The standard '''''Nashville E9 tuning''''' also called the E9 Chromatic Tuning<ref name="scottanthology">{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Dewitt |title=Anthology of Pedal Steel Guitar: E9 Chromatic Tuning |date=2010 |publisher=MelBay |isbn=9781609749460 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSvxK6TCBEcC&q=tom+bradshaw+%2B+steel+guitar |access-date=April 11, 2021}}</ref>{{rp|7}} for ten string [[pedal steel guitar]] is B–D–E–F{{Music|sharp}}–G{{Music|sharp}}–B–E–G{{Music|sharp}}–D{{Music|sharp}}–F{{Music|sharp}}.<ref name="making-magazine">{{cite web|last1=Borisoff|first1=Jason|title=How Pedal Steel Guitar Works|url=https://makingmusicmag.com/how-pedal-steel-guitar-works/|website=makingmusicmagazine.com|publisher=Making Music Magazine|access-date=September 1, 2017|date=September 27, 2010}}</ref>
==History and evolution==
The Nashville standard E9 tuning was developed primarily from 1950 to 1970 during real-world experimentation by elite steel guitarists. Educator Mark Van Allen called the modern E9 tuning "logical" and the "perfect vehicle for most modern music".<ref name="vanallene9logic">{{cite web |last1=Van Allen |first1=Mark |title=The Logic of E9 |url=https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=299693 |website=bb.steelguitarforum.com |access-date=April 3, 2021 |date=April 4, 2016}}</ref> In 1958, [[Jimmy Day (musician)|Jimmy Day]] added an E string (duplicate of the root note) to the middle of the 1940s-style eight-string E9 tuning (E-G{{Music|sharp}}-B-D-F{{Music|sharp}}-G{{Music|sharp}}-B-E) to make nine strings.<ref name="kurckchart">{{cite web |last1=Kurck |first1=Charles |title=E9 Charts |url=https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=258328&highlight=history |website=bb.steelguitarforum.com |access-date=April 3, 2021 |date=January 3, 2014}}</ref> The change was adopted by other players to become a permanent fixture in the E9 tuning. In 1959, [[Ralph Mooney]] added a G{{Music|sharp}} (a third interval) at the top end, making ten strings, also an enduring advancement.<ref name="kurckchart"/> [[Buddy Emmons]], in 1962 created a [[reentrant tuning]] by adding a D{{Music|sharp}} (a major seventh) and F{{Music|sharp}} (a ninth) at the top.<ref name="kurckchart"/> He also eliminated the lowest two strings, still making ten.<ref name="kurckchart"/>[[File:E9 tuning-Nashville standard ten string pedal steel.ogg|thumb|E9 tuning-Nashville standard ten string pedal steel]] Emmons said, "The thought behind the F{{Music|sharp}} and D{{Music|sharp}} notes was to fill the gap between the G{{Music|sharp}} and C{{Music|sharp}} pedal note of the E9 tuning"<ref name="emmonsquote">{{cite web |last1=Emmons |first1=Buddy |title=Who created the E9th tuning, when, and why? |url=https://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/002738.html |website=steelguitarforum.com |access-date=April 3, 2021 |date=July 8, 2002}}</ref> The Nashville standard E9 for decades has remained B–D–E–F{{Music|sharp}}–G{{Music|sharp}}–B–E–G{{Music|sharp}}–D{{Music|sharp}}–F{{Music|sharp}}. It allows the performer to play a major scale without moving the bar.<ref name="making-magazine"/>
==See also==
*[[Nashville tuning (high strung)]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.b0b.com/tunings/ Steel guitar tunings] indexes many tunings.
{{Guitar tunings}}
[[Category:Steel-guitar tunings]]
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