Pitch Changes

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This allows you to alter the normal note on a given fret as would be done with a string pull device. It can also be seen as an temporary change of tuning. The function was originally intended for use in tablatures for Pedal Steel Guitar but it's also excellent for simulating de-tuning in the course of a piece or the effect of pressing on a vibrato arm.

To change the pitch of a note, select the note in question and then select {Note}{Pitch change} or press []+[H]. The note can be raised or lowered by up to three semi-tones. A letter of your choice can also be displayed to the right of the note. For quick entry, simply select the note to be hanged then type the letters [A] to [K] in upper case. These hotkeys are only effective if the "Pedal Steel Guitar" option of the "Instrument" dialog has been activated.

If  you select a letter from the list, the dialog box uses the default shortkey values.  If, for instance, you select "B",  the pitch change field is set to 1. To attribute a new value to a label, select the label to be modified, change the pitch change value then press the "Apply" button.

The effect is displayed in the manner specified in the list box. There are fifteen character strings (labels) of a maximum of three characters, each of which you can configure as you wish. To edit a symbol string, modify it in the related edit box and then press the "Apply" button.

The first string on the list has a specific function. It is automatically used as default if you have not selected another string in the list. Its first character is displayed once if the note is raised by one semi-tone, twice if the note is raised by two semi-tones, etc... The second character is displayed the same way if the note is lowered.

Some pedal steelers prefer a system of this type instead of letters to show the pedals and knee levers. If this is the case, the "#b  (default)"  option asks TablEdit to ignore the letters (if any) for displaying #'s and b's (assuming that you've chosen these characters as the default string) instead of depending on the pitch change.

The "Arrows"  option asks TablEdit to display graphical arrows instead of characters.

If the "Pedal Steel Guitar" option in {Score}{Instrument}>Module has been activated, the "Pitch change" dialog will contain a series of extra controls providing pedal steel guitar players more complete control when setting the parameters for their instruments.

In order to define which strings are to be affected by the various pedals, the right-hand portion of the dialog allows you to select the strings corresponding to the effect currently selected in the list box.

These parameters have two, particular, points of interest:

If the "Fingering errors" option in {File}{Preferences}>Screen has been selected, TablEdit will highlight inconsistencies (pedal or lever on a non-affected string, pitch change not different than the value assigned to a specific pedal or lever) within the tablature.
They will allow you to transpose tablature or MIDI files created for other instruments into pedal steel tabs.

Both of these options are saved along with the *.tef file. [Default] allows you to reset all values to the defaults i.e. Pedal Steel Guitar E9 (PSG E9 Chromatic).

Tips:

Under {Score}{Instrument}, set the MIDI instrument to either viola or cello. It produces a nice, natural sounding, tremolo on playback without having to write it into the tab, making it appear "busy". It's really no less PSG-sounding than electric guitar and allows two consecutive whole notes to sound for their entire duration.

"Splits" are defined as either:

The half-press of a pedal

or

A pedal and a lever acting together so that the effect on a string is the sum of their individual effects.

To include "Splits" in the tablature, rename an unused change as "A/2" for the half press of pedal A and another unused change as BRL to reflect the net effect of the changes associated with the "B" pedal and the "RKL" lever on string 6.