I've been building and playing for about 3 years now. I mostly play 4 string guitars because that is what Im most familure with and there are lots of places to find uke tabs.
At this stage on 3 stingers I've mastered the major, minor and 7th chords and I can play all kinds of shuffles but I still feel very limited on a three string.
I've seen some amazing 3 string videos here and would love to learn some more interesting arraingements.
Is there a source for 3 string Tabs?
Are anyone of the many advanced players out there willing to share some of there top shelf licks and song arraingements in an Ebook?
I know The CB Nation is always making E albums. How about a book to inspire floundering players like myself.
Tags:
Hey, I'm a bit late getting on to this thread, but did anything eventuate with the 3 string book for beginners? I'm struggling to convert songs to 3 strings, not being a muso and not reading music or anything like that. I can nut out the basics but it is hit and miss. I'm grappling with Ain't No Telling (John Hurt). I love the melody and the lyrics make me smile. Would also like to do Passenger's 'Patient Love'.
this might speed things along for you tab writers ..
http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/music0_tab.html
Weird, my post went blank.
If you want a challenge for 3-string slide this Christmas, here's one. Tab link is in the description. http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/how-to-wooden-soldiers
Hey Ben,
I was just checkin out your videos. The Wooden Soldier video is exactly what I've been looking for. Although I really loved Papa Loves Mama.
I've long held a theory that 3 string instruments are useless for playing chords and this thread hasn't convinced me otherwise.
Different tunings can be interesting but I certainly don't want to be retuning every time I do a new song and so for it to be a viable option there has to be some standard tuning and 151 appears to be it. Even if you did want to retune there are plenty of other problems to be dealt with.
There are two main problems in arranging for solo instrument.
There's just not the scope to do this well with 3 strings. I've just done a very simple arrangement of Amazing Grace for 3 strings and I think it proves my point. It sounds average at best and it jumps around all over the neck.
You've got barely more than an octave on the top and middle strings so if your melody has any depth to it at all you have no option but to be jumping around all over the place. And that's before you've adresses the two problems above.
Maybe someone else can manage it, maybe a simpler arrangement would be acceptable, maybe other tunes are more suitable. I doubt it though.
I love the 3 string because it's so good at doing what it does best (it's a riffin' machine). I've given up trying to make it something it's not.
Hey, you should pop over to any mountain dulcimer forum and post your erudite theory on the unsuitability of the three string instrument in IVI tuning for producing melodic music in solo. Yep, those folks really need to be better informed as they operate under the additional handicap of using diatonic 3 stringed instruments in IVI tuning.
I'm quite certain the enlightenment you could provide would be inexpressibly appreciated garnering you the influx of many new found friends.
It's not that I think they can't produce melodic music in solo, quite the opposite. That's what they do best, the problem is the harmony.
But I'll check out some dulcimer arrangements to see how they overcome these problems.
I've checked out some dulcimer players on youtube, there's not a lot of them around here.
Traditional dulcimer music seems to use a lot of drones, they sound great and work for simple harmonies but make chord changes tricky.
One young lady though is a fine player and played a piece with some complex harmonic changes. She did this by spanning her thumb and fingers a very long way, something that couldn't be done with a guitar played in the usual position. The dulcimer also had a shorter scale which helped.
I'm coming from a guitar players background and could be blinkered by that so I'll check out the dulcimer some more. The problems I stated earlier won't go away though and need to be overcome.
LOL...if you really are interested then check out everything dulcimer.com for a large quantity of tabs. For example there are 4 arrangements of Amazing Grace with variations of the arrangement. The one by Steve Smith is chord based, as are most of his postings.
Many of the tabs on the site can be adjusted for use in guitar style playing though many do have what would be impossible stretches on a guitar.
As far as tuning a three string you could try the 513 mentioned by Ron earlier in the thread or a 135 tuning, you wouldn't need to retune for each song any more than you would for the 151 (158) tuning. Yet another possibility is the 183 tuning that Seasick Steve uses frequently. These three alternate tunings give you several different options when arranging.
There are also more than one or two 3 stringed instruments in world culture so it might be of worth to do a little research to see how arrangements are handled. Insight applicable to the CBG will likely occur.
The real limitations of the 3 string format are part of it's appeal. It is more about what ya do with what ya got than anything else.
I agree. The limitations are what it's all about. I play mostly in 513, and the chord shapes are similar to both guitar and banjo. Sure, sometimes the root is not in the right place, or you are playing a fragment, but usually it's close enough, especially if you are playing accompaniment. Single note lines are also familiar in this tuning without ridiculous stretches.
With this tuning and a capo, I feel like I can play in just about any key. Some songs might work better than others, but it'll do.
Interesting discussion. On the one hand, CBGs have freed me from the world of 6 strings, but on the other hand, it has made me take a harder look at the theory behind it all.
Started by Bill Andy in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Southern Ray May 7. 11 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Bill Andy in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Taffy Evans May 5. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 26. 8 Replies 1 Like
Started by Southern Ray in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 26. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by BrianQ. Apr 25. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Rich Butters in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Crazed Fandango Apr 22. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Nomad Jack in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by J. D. Woods Apr 17. 7 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Moritz Voegeli in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 14. 6 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Apr 10. 14 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Tom T in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 9. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 4. 7 Replies 1 Like
Started by Timothy Hunter in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 27. 1 Reply 2 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 10. 1 Reply 3 Likes
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by BrianQ. Mar 9. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ken I in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Brian partington Mar 8. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 5. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Posted by Vlad on March 31, 2024 at 11:48pm 0 Comments 1 Like
Posted by Vlad on March 6, 2024 at 2:32am 5 Comments 2 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 28, 2024 at 2:09pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 17, 2024 at 11:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2024 at 1:06am 1 Comment 1 Like
© 2024 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker. Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!