Bill Leavitt's Bb Diminished 9th Tuning

By David J. Stewart | September 2015 | Updated April 2017

       William “Bill” George Leavitt was born in Flint, Michigan on October 4, 1926 and died in Framingham, Massachusetts on November 4, 1990. In 1948, Bill went to Berklee College Of Music, Boston and was the 3rd guitar student they had ever admitted. Graduating in 1951 he worked as an arranger and guitarist for many singers including Ella Fitzgerald, Patti Page and Andy Williams. He also co-authored Les Paul's and Mary Ford's 1953 hit tune “My Baby's Comin' Home.” In his later years Bill invented the “Leavitt lap steel guitar tuning” (from low to high: C#, E, G, Bb, C and D). I have worked much with the tuning and it is truly amazing. The tuning hasn't caught on simply because there hasn't been much recorded with it, but it is really cool.

The basic Bill Leavitt tuning is (from treble to bass): D, C, Bb, G, E, C# (or for 8-string guitars, either: G, Eb, D, C, Bb, G, E, C#; or, D, C, Bb, G, E, C#, E, A). This is not a strum tuning, but has great chord potential. The Bill Leavitt tuning is a completely different mindset and takes some getting used to, it's not for everyone like the C6th. With the C Diatonic tuning of Jerry Byrd, we can clearly see the C6th incorporated into into the new tuning. The Leavitt tuning is based on a diminished chord. Although pretty, the tuning aggravates me, because it lacks the chord possibilities of the C6th and C Diatonic. Albeit, this tuning offers some remarkable sounds.

I highly recommend getting Mike's tabs and accompanying backing tracks for his album “A Different Slant” (I really like playing “The Girl From Ipanema”). The only way to know if this tuning is your cup of tea is to give it a try. From the C6th tuning (6 string), you simply retune a couple strings and Wallah! ... Bb Diminished 9th! I think every steel guitarist ought to at least try as many steel tunings as possible, just to see what they offer. The backing tracks are very nice quality.

Tabs and tracks are available from Mike Ihde for the Bill Leavitt tuning
(Mike has over a hundred tabs written by Bill for his unique tuning.)

Here's some chord progressions and nice things to play...

D_________________________________________2___|___10~~~~_____________________
C_____7_______________0____1__________________|_______10___12~~~~____8_______
Bb_________9____________________4____5____2___|___10~~~~_______12____________
G_____7____8_____4____0____0____4____4________|___10~~~~___12~~~~____8_______
E_____7____7_____4____0____0_________3________|___10~~~~___12~~~~____8_______
C#_______________4______________4_____________|____________12~~~~____________
 
D_____________________________________|________4~5____|____5_________________
C___0___2___4___5___7___9___11___12___|___5___________|____5_________3_______
Bb____________________________________|___5____4~5____|____5____7____________
G_____________________________________|_______________|____5____7____3_______
E___0___1___3___5___7___8___10___12___|___5____4~5____|_________7____3_______
C#____________________________________|_______________|_________7____________
 
 
D_____________________________|______________________________________________
C____3___________________3____|___0___0___0____0___0___0________5____________
Bb_______2~~5~~8____7_________|____________________________6_________________
G____3___2~~5~~8_________3____|___0___0___0____0___0___1___6____5____________
E____3___2~~5~~5____7____3____|________________1___0___0___6____5____________
C#__________________7_________|___3___2___1__________________________________
 
 
D____________________________________________________________________________
C____________________________________________________________________________
Bb___________________________________________________________________________
G____________________________________________________________________________
E____________________________________________________________________________
C#___________________________________________________________________________

I often refer to Bill Leavitt's tuning as the “Bb Diminished 9th” tuning.

Let's use the chart above to see what chords we've got in the Bb Diminished 9th tuning. I am using an 8-string, so I've added the two optional bottom string (and shown some additional chord voicings), but you only need the basic 6-strings.

        C Major      C minor     C9
D________________10__|___5____|___0____|___________________________________________
C____0___7___________|________|________|_________________________________________
Bb_______6___9___9___|___5____|___0____|__________________________________________
G____0___5___9_______|___5____|________|_________________________________________
E____0_______8_______|________|___0____|_____________________________________________
C#___________________|________|________|___________________________________________

Although this tuning is not as comfortable to play as C6th for many musicians, it has considerable possibilities and intriguing irresistible sounds. END

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