Copedent
Most of the instructional material on this website uses the following copedent (though I attempt to use the most common student pedal and levers as often as possible):
You can find a full explanation of the copedent diagram below.
Pedal and Lever Names and Locations
Bar Copedent
You can find a complete explanation of this diagram below:
Copedent Explained
The copedent is the steel guitarist's way of saying "this is how I tune my instrument." It's a diagram showing where the pedals and levers are and what action they take on the strings.
The reason the copedent exists for steel guitar and not other instruments is that, unlike other instruments, there is no standard tuning for the steel guitar. In fact I've read somewhere that there are as many tunings for the steel guitar as there are steel guitarists.
This is both a good and bad thing. The bad news is that learning can be difficult and communicating ideas is confusing. Though I will try to make the lessons here easy to use regardless of your particular tuning.
The good news is that this versatility means you can develop your own tuning and style and experiment with things that may have never been tried. I think of the PSG as a sort of "design-your-own" instrument. It feels very rewarding knowing that you created your own tuning setup. Some players keep their copedent as secret as a chef might hide their recipe.
Here's the standard diagram of a copedent:
So, in the example above the [a] pedal raises strings 5 and 10 up from B to C# in the open position (no bar used). And the [e] lever lowers strings 4 and 8 up from E to D# in the open position (no bar used). You can also see from the diagram that the [a] pedal is found on pedal 2 and the [e] lever is found on the LR lever.
My Copedent
In developing the instructional material for steelguitaracademy.com, I analyzed setups of several pros and amateurs. The open tuning is somewhat uniform among most players (the variation usually occurs in the pedal and lever tunings). There are some who alter the basic open tuning slightly - usually on the 2nd and 9th strings. There is also a handful that changes it beyond recognition of an E9 chord. For this website we will assume the most popular tuning as written below.
I tried to incorporate the most common pedal and lever tunings and locations in my copedent. The less common pedals (I call them [v], [g], and [x]) were used because they added the most chord voicings and scale positions to the basic tuning assignment.
Don't worry if you don't have all these pedals and levers on your instrument. In every part of this website, I try to explain how to play the exercises with the basic pedals/levers.
This is the copedent I use for this website:
Names of Pedals and Levers:
[a] - Raises strings 5 and 10 two semitones
[b] - Raises strings 3 and 6 one semitone
[c] - Raises strings 4 and 5 two semitones
[x] - Lowers strings 3 and 6 one semitone
[f]- Raises strings 4 and 8 one semitone
[v] - Lowers strings 5 and 10 one semitone
[e] - Lowers strings 4 and 8 one semitone
[g] - Raises strings 1 and 7 one semitone
[d] - Lowers string 2 one semitones
[dd] - Lowers string 2 two semitones and string 9 one semitone
Combinations:
[h] - [a] and [v] engaged together raises strings 5 and 10 one semitone.
It can also be accomplished by pushing the [a] pedal halfway down.
You will often see me mark this as [h] rather than [av].
[cv] - [c] and [v] engaged together raises string 4 a full tone and string 5 a semitone.
This is not a common combination so I have never given this combo a single-letter name.
This tuning arrangement makes the E9 tuning chromatic. At every bar position, every semitone is playable between the lowest and highest pitch notes. This gives the E9 tuning great flexibility. It also makes it difficult to grasp its complex harmonic variety. Simplifying the complexity of the instrument was a primary motivation in developing this website.
Pedal and Lever Locations
This is where I have placed the pedals and levers on my instrument:
On double-neck guitars, the pedals on the right of the [a], [b], and [c] are usually assigned to the other neck, usually tuned to C6. On single-neck guitars like the 12-string in this photo, the unused pedals are sometimes used to acquire a "universal tuning," which is supposed to combine the basic elements of the E9 and C6 pedal arrangements of the double-neck pedal steel. However, personally I use these extra pedals to experiment with different tuning ideas.
This picture shows where I have assigned the pedals and levers, though this website can be used even if players assign some of their levers elsewhere on their instrument since the most-common pedal names are used.
Student Model Copedents:
If you are a new player and looking for a less-expensive "student model" to get started on the pedal steel guitar,
I consider the following as the bare minimum needed for playing a lot of pedal steel music:
the [a] and [b] pedals with the [e] and [f] levers.
Beyond that, I would include the following pedals/levers in order of importance:
[c], [d], [x], [g], [v], [dd].
Bar Copedent
There is another way to think of the tuning arrangement of a steel guitarist. I developed a "bar position copedent" in order to see what the pedals do in reference to the bar position. This way, I can imagine how many frets to the right or left I would need to move the bar to get the same note as a pedal or lever.
Here are the names of the Pedals and Levers again:
Names of Pedals and Levers:
[a] - Raises strings 5 and 10 two semitones
[b] - Raises strings 3 and 6 one semitone
[c] - Raises strings 4 and 5 two semitones
[x] - Lowers strings 3 and 6 one semitone
[f]- Raises strings 4 and 8 one semitone
[v] - Lowers strings 5 and 10 one semitone
[e] - Lowers strings 4 and 8 one semitone
[g] - Raises strings 1 and 7 one semitone
[d] - Lowers string 2 one semitones
[dd] - Lowers string 2 two semitones and string 9 one semitone
Combinations:
[h] - [a] and [v] engaged together raises strings 5 and 10 one semitone. It can also be accomplished by pushing the [a] pedal halfway down. You will often see me mark this as [h] rather than [av].
[cv] - [c] and [v] engaged together raises string 4 a full tone and string 5 a semitone.
As you can see, the bar copedent tells you exactly what each pedal does relative to the bar position. This creates a mental map of the notes you can acquire as you move the bar along the fret board.
To explain more fully:
The bar position is the center column of the diagram. The string numbers are noted in the center column. Pedal names that raise that string are written to the right (+1/2 raises one semitone; +1 raises one full tone). Pedal names that lower that string are written to the left (-1/2 lowers one semitone; -1 lowers one full tone).
If you are a beginner, you can use this chart to quickly locate which pedals do what. You can then find their locations on the instrument, and use the related instructional material as usual.
The bar copedent can also be used to find notes rapidly. By substituting the actual notes in for the pedal names, you can see the overall tuning structure at each bar position without getting bogged down in which location for each pedal/lever is the best. So if you know the notes at the center bar position, it is easy to see what the new note a pedal or lever will make at that bar position.
For example if the bar is at fret 3, and you know the central notes, the bar copedent will tell you what the relative notes are.
I call this the "note finder" diagram. This diagram helps me mentalize where the notes are as I move the bar across the neck.
Here is what the notes at the open position (no bar) look like using the note finder. The bar copedent is placed below it for reference:
This open position "note finder" can be used to easily compare one tuning to another.
Examples of Bar Copedents
The following is a collection of open position notes from various student models, pro-models, and actual pro players. Each one is named after the most famous player who uses it. The number of pedals and levers on their instrument is noted at the top right of each diagram below.
I put this list together to see how different a player's copedent really is from someone else's. Of course, assigning a tuning to a different lever or pedal will limit some combinations and create others. But if you want to know the bare bones of their tuning and what actual notes can be reached at each bar position, then these diagrams are helpful. They will also give you an idea of what notes are considered more "valuable" to players, because they have the change present somewhere on their instrument, wherever that may be.
How to Tune the Pedal Steel Guitar
Depending on what kind of changer mechanism you have will determine whether you tune the pedals first or the open strings first. Older steel guitars, as well as some student models, required tuning some of the pedals and knee levers first and then the open strings. Most modern pedal steel guitars use all-pull changers and so this lesson will assume you have to tune the open strings first.
The open strings are tuned with the tuning pegs at the left. Turning them clockwise and counter clockwise raises and lowers the pitch.
The tuning nuts for the pedals and knee levers are at the right end of the instrument. They are usually plastic hex screws or occasionally metal allen screws. They are tuned with a hex socket wrench or allen wrench.
Tightening the hex nut will shorten the distance between the changer finger and the bell crank finger. This makes the raise or lower more drastic.
Loosening the hex nut will increase the distance between the changer finger and the bell crank finger. This makes the raise or lower less drastic.
You may notice the string will not raise or lower to the note you want it to. In other words, you are not getting enough pull.
First try to tighten the hex nut. If you tighten so far that the open string pitch begins to change, then the pull rod needs to be put on a lower hole in the bell crank finger. The lower a pull rod is located on the bell crank finger, the farther the changer finger will be pulled.
If the pull is assigned to two strings and neither of them is getting enough pull to arrive at the correct pitch, then the pedal stop may be the reason. If adjustable, the pedal stop can be tightened or loosened to increase or decrease the overall pedal travel distance.
If you still can't get all the pull you want, the problem may be with the string gauge. If you use a thicker gauge string the original and final tension of the string will be higher, but the distance will be lower to get to the next pitch. Thicker wound strings reduce some of the tension that plain steel strings have, but they also will require more tension and less distance as you increase their gauges. If you use a thinner string you will get the opposite effect: the original and final tension will be lower, and the distance required will be higher, to move to the next pitch.
If these terms don't make sense to you click here: CONSTRUCTION for a detailed description.
If you are still having tuning or other mechanical issues, contact me at patrick@steelguitaracademy.com and I'll try to troubleshoot with you to see if we can get your steel back in playable condition.
Tuning Methods
There are three ways to tune the PSG:
1. Tune with an electronic tuner.
2. Tune with harmonies.
3. Tune with chords.
Ideally, we want our instrument to have "JUST INTONATION." But because this is mathematically impossible, we seek the closest intonation to that.
Out of the three tuning methods, tuning with chords gives the closest example to just intonation on the PSG. But by the time you finish tuning all the strings, there will always be an interval that is significantly out of tune, called the "wolf interval". This makes some chords difficult to play. Tuning with dyad harmonies will also create the wolf interval.
Tuning with a tuner results in "equal temperament." Every interval is equally spaced from each other in terms of vibration frequency. This however causes all intervals except the octaves to sound slightly flat or sharp. So, there's definitely a trade off whether to tune with chords or with equal temperament. On a student model, tuning with chords works well, but with a chromatic tuning equal temperament might be the way to go.
There is a further complication with tuning a pedal steel guitar, which is "cabinet drop." Cabinet drop is an intonation change that happens on some strings while others are pulled. For example, if you push the [a] and [b] pedals to pull strings 5 and 6, you will find that the E string will lower in pitch, even though no pedal affecting it is being engaged. This happens because pulling strings with rods puts a torsion effect on the body of the instrument. This torsion will de-tune certain strings unintentionally. All pedal steels, as far as I know have some degree of cabinet drop. Some are worse than others depending on the quality of their construction.
For tuning purposes, cabinet drop can be accounted for by tuning with chords and trusting your ear. Since every instrument has different amounts of cabinet drop, there is no way to standardize the tuning adjustments needed with an electric tuner. You have to customize your procedures for your instrument. If you decide to keep things simple and tune with equal temperament, you will have to at least alter the E strings for the cabinet drop, since the [ab] pedal combination is so frequently used.
Tuning with a Tuner
The easiest way to tune the instrument is with a tuner. There are hundreds of models out there. Technically speaking, electronic tuners are not the most accurate tuning device. Your ear is actually more accurate. (See "tuning with harmonies" section below.) However, tuning with a tuner will give you an equal temperament.
Each string is picked and the tuner tells you which note is playing and how flat or sharp it is. Tune the tuning peg until the indicator on the tuner is dead center.
When using a tuner, start with the 10th string and move toward the 1st, tuning all the open strings to their proper notes. Then tune the pedals in left-to-right order, then the knee levers from left to right. In this way you will not forget any string or pedal.
In order to correct the cabinet drop on your E strings, push the [ab] pedals, and note the amount of de-tuning of those strings. Then use the tuning pegs to adjust the E strings half-way back towards true E on the electronic tuner. This way the E's will be only slightly sharp when you play the open chords and only slightly flat when you play the chords with the [ab] pedals.
Tuning with Harmonies
Once you've trained your ears to recognize HARMONIES, you can tune your instrument by ear, which will allow you to create just intonation for each interval.
Listen for beats
Even though beats in music theory are stressed parts of the rhythm of a piece, beats have another meaning in the physics of music. When two notes are struck together and the wavelengths they form in the air are out of sync, they form beats, which are deciphered by our ears as a quick wah-wah sound. Notice in the image below that the note that vibrates at 447 Hertz has more waves squeezed together than the one at 440Hz. The result is that the waveforms become out of sync over time and our ears recognize this as beats.
When both notes are tuned to the same frequency, 440Hz in this case, the notes form a "unison interval" and are said to be in tune.
Two different notes that are related mathematically may also be sounded together without beats resulting. For example, the third interval, the fifth interval, the sixth interval and the octave all sound "consonant" when struck together. This is because their frequencies are related to each other by simple ratios.
For example, an octave note is one that is twice the number of hertz as the original note. In this case, "A" at 880hz is twice the "A" note that is at 440hz. It has a ratio of 2:1.
The easiest intervals to hear in tune are the unison, the octave, the perfect fifth, and the major third, in that order. They're easy because there are no quavering out-of-sync wah-wahs when they are in tune.
For an in depth explanation of intervals, CLICK HERE.
When tuning by ear, the idea is to play the consonant intervals and try to eliminate the wah-wahs.
First tune a central note using a tuner or another instrument. On steel guitar, the 8th string E is probably your best starting note. Then tune the high E note (string 4) to it, eliminating any beats.
Here is an outline for tuning the rest of steel guitar by ear. The intervals between the two notes are written in parentheses:
Open Strings:
String 8: Tune the E to a tuner or another ins. (Uni)
String 4: Tune the high E to the low E (Oct)
String 10: Tune the low B to the low E (5th)
String 5: Tune the high B to the low B (Oct)
String 6: Tune the low G# to the low E (3rd)
String 3: Tune the high G# to the low G# (Oct)
String 7: Tune the low F# to the low B (5th)
String 1: Tune the high F# to the low F# (Oct)
String 2: Tune the high D# to the high G# (5th)
String 9: Tune the low D to the low F# (3rd)
Pedals and levers:
[a]
1. Tune the low C# to the low F# (5th)
2. Tune the high C# to the low C# (Oct)
[b]
1. Tune the low A to the low E (5th)
2. Tune the high A to the low A (Oct)
[c]
1. Tune the C# to the low F# (5th)
2. Tune the F# to the high F# (Uni)
[f]
1. Tune the low F to low C# (A pedal down) (3rd)
2. Tune the high F to low F (Oct)
[v]
1. Tune the low Bb to low D (3rd)
2. Tune the high Bb to low Bb (Oct)
[e]
1. Tune the high D# to high open D# (Uni)
2. Tune the low D# to high D# (Oct)
[g]
1. Tune the low G to low D (5th)
2. Tune the high G to the low G (Oct)
[d]
1. High D to the Low D (Oct)
[dd]
1. High C# to High G# (5th)
2. Low C# to string 10 C# (Uni)
[x]
1. Tune the low G to low D (5th)
2. Tune the high G to the low G (Oct)
Tuning with Chords
If you are able to detect out-of-tune beats with harmonies, you most likely can detect them with full chords too. When a chord note is out of tune from the others, the whole chord will quaver and the chord will not sound consonant. You can tune the other chord notes until this quaver is eliminated. This is probably the best way to tune the PSG in order to attempt just intonation. However, be aware that if you tune your chords with just intonation, some of your vertical scales and some seldom-used chords may sound a little out of tune due to the wolf interval mentioned above.
- Start by tuning the low E on string 8 to a tuner or another instrument.
- Tune the E major chord.
Tune strings 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 to the 8th string E (already tuned).
- Tune the A major chord. Depress pedals [a] and [b] and tune strings 3, 5, 6, and 10 to the 8th and 4th string E's (already tuned, but at this point should be adjusted for cabinet drop).
- Tune the C# major chord. Engage the [a] pedal and the [f] lever. Tune strings 4 and 8 so they're in tune with the already tuned chord notes on strings 3, 5, 6, and 10.
- Tune the F# minor chord. Engage the [b] and [c] pedals. Tune strings 1, 7, 4, and 5 with already tuned 3 and 6. Strings 4 and 5 are C pedal notes; 1 and 7 are open notes.
- Tune the B major chord. Tune string 2 with the already tuned strings 1, 5, 7 and 10.
- Tune the D major chord. Engage pedal [b]. Tune string 9 with already tuned strings 6 and 7.
- Tune the G# minor chord. Engage the [e] pedal and tune strings 4 and 8 with already tuned strings 3, 5, 6, and 10.
- Tune the E minor chord. Engage the [x] pedal and the [g] pedal, and tune strings 1, 3, 6, and 7 with the already tuned strings 4, 5, 8, and 10.
- Tune the A minor chord. Engage the [a], [b], and [v]. Tune the [v] notes (strings 5 and 10) with the already tuned strings 3, 4, 6, and 8.
- With Pedal [a] down, engage the [dd] lever and tune strings 2 and 9 to match 5 and 10.
- Tune the B minor chord. Engage the [d] lever. Tune string 2 with the already tuned strings 1, 5, 7 and 10.
If you have the [d] and [dd] change on your instrument, which adjusts strings 2 and 9 with a half-stop feel on string 2, then tuning the [d] lever will require an adjustable half-stop tuner. It is sometimes located under the instrument and sometimes at the right near the hex tuners. If your instrument does not have an adjustable half-stop, then I'd advise tuning your RR lever as just [d] which will be a string 2 lower from D# to D, and leave out the [dd] option that further lowers strings 2 and 9 to C#.
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TUNING
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Section:
LEGEND
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BEGINNERS
SCALES
DYADS
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TECHNIQUES
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