Alvino Rey
Father of the Pedal Steel Guitar
Alvino Rey and the King Sisters
Alvino Rey was the first pedal steel recording artist. A popular bandleader, Rey worked closely with the Gibson guitar company in the 1930's, developing and promoting their early electric instruments.
The following E6th tuning is from the liner notes of an anthology LP called The Big Band Steel Guitar of Alvino Rey, produced by Tom Bradshaw in 1977 as part of the Steel Guitar Record Club series:
# note 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 knee levers 1 E _______+F#_+F#_________________________________________________ 2 C# ___-C__+D#_____+D______________________________________________ 3 B _______________________-Bb_________+C________-Bb__+C___________ 4 G# ___-G______________________-G__-G______+A_____________-G__+A___ 5 E ___________+F#_____+F#_________________________________________ 6 C# ___-C__+D#_____+D__+D__________________________________________ 7 B _______________________-Bb_____-A__+C________-Bb__+C___________ 8 G# ___-G______________________-G__-G______+A_____________-G__+A___ 9 E _______________________________________________________________ 10 B ___+C__________________________-A______-A______________________
Alvino Rey was constantly experimenting with different tunings to obtain his characteristic chord expressions. This one is a "snapshot" of the tuning he was using for public appearances in 1977. It is typical of the complexity and sophistication of Alvino Rey's approach to the both the pedal steel and big band arrangements.
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