The importance of body posture

Mitch Ellis · From: Collins, Mississippi USA

Hello everybody,
I would like your thoughts on something. There have been many threads on seat height, keeping your right arm at your side, setting toward the right-hand end of the steel, and so on. But I have seen pictures and videos of Emmons, Hughey, Brumley, and other top-end players setting in metal folding chairs, on top of wooden crates, amplifiers, or just plain straight chairs. I saw a photo of Emmons in his younger days playing steel, and he was setting in a metal folding chair and the volume pedal and his right foot were not even under the steel. In the videos that I mentioned, the right arm was sometimes tucked in, and sometimes not(Tom Brumley). Some exceptional players set at the center of the steel instead of toward the right-hand end. But they are ALL top-shelf players. So considering this, is "correct" body position and posture really that important or is it just "whatever is comfortable"? thank you.

Mitch

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

1) when they were in the improvised seating, they were young. Young bodies are more tolerant of poor ergonomics.
2) They hadn't yet learned/established good technique. The instrument was in its infancy.

Notice they got better posture later.
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John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

No Pak-a Seats back then.
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Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

It's not just seating and posture. For almost any "must do" part of generally accepted steel practice, you can find some monster player who does it "wrong".

We are all made differently, with different ratios of arm length, torso length and everything else. So if something just plain does not work for you, maybe a slightly modified approach will pay dividends.

I would suggest any deviations from "generally accepted practice" be made because you are having a problem and it seems like that would help, NOT just because you saw Emmons/Mooney/Brumley or somebody do it that way.

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

Mitch Ellis · From: Collins, Mississippi USA

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

I think I'd recommend having a chiropractor/osteopath/sports medicine practitioner look at your playing posture if you ever have difficulty in sitting behind it for a few hours.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

My friend Richie Mintz, who's a musician as well as a Rolfing practitioner, is of the opinion that most steel players have been out of body alignment for years and that it's due in great degree to how we address the instrument sitting behind it and hunching over to play.
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John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

After 42 years of being a carpenter, with being on all fours, climbing ladders, working on roofs, carrying heavy loads and getting into all kinds of odd positions, my posture is shot to hell. I think I've lost an inch or two, when, I'm standing upright. However, the only thing that bothers me once in a while is my right hip joint. It gets a little painful while sitting and the only respite is to stand up and stretch it for a while. Hunching over the steel is natural for me nowadays.

Ben Elder · From: La Crescenta, California, USA

I wasn't yet in my thirties when I got my first Sho-Bud Maverick and even then, the only position that felt comfortable--and would allow even a semblance of pedal manipulation and ankle motion--was sitting up high (~24" seat height as opposed to the accepted standard of 21"). I raise the steels 2" and frankly, I'm no longer concerned if my forearms and thighs aren't parallel to the ground: I physically can't play standard and parallel. (Not that a six-hour gig will ever be a concern of mine.) If I have to extend the rear legs and tilt the body forward, I'll do that too. (Thanks, Rick Schmidt, for making that look and sound elegant.)

Before I was disabused of the notion that anything involving pedal steels is standardized, I was instructed, as if it were one of the Top 5 Commandments--that my navel had to line up precisely with the 12th fret.

Dogma, particularly pertaining to physical alignment, hasn't been particularly helpful in trying to wrestle these beasts.

Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

agree about dogma not being helpful. However, some key spots demonstrate why it exists.
Looking at Rick Schmidt, he seems to be well-stacked on the seat, through the abdomen and chest up to the shoulders, which are relaxed.
As a result, the upper arms and forearms are relaxed, and so will be the wrists. I think on a new video he posted, you can see that the hands
are relaxed. What closes the carpal tunnel is muscle tension. Too much and you lose dynamic range

Having the wrists straight and relaxed, as Ian assures, will mitigate carpal tunnel syndrome. Proper posture--
a firm seat, relaxed stomach, relaxed shoulders--provides the stance that will benefit the wrists, but I wouldn't focus on them.

Raising the back of the steel looks functional to me. Forearms don't have to be parallel with the ground, just straight through the wrists. Sounds like the adjustment to make on psg.

Jeremy Threlfall · From: now in Western Australia

I have appalling posture behind the steel. I try to remember to sit up straight, but I invariably forget in the heat of battle.

I have always been impressed by how straight Buddy Cage sits behind the steel.

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Jeremy Threlfall · From: now in Western Australia

here is another shot taken from side on - emulating the hunchback of Notre Dame. I must remember to stop sitting sideways to the audience!

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Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Besides my terrible posture I have found that I get really bad leg cramps from years of steel playing. It makes it very difficult to take plane trips. My wife got me yoga lessons and it helps quite a bit. I thought I would hate it but it does the trick. Turns out yoga is very popular in Texas and all sorts of people go. I highly recommend trying it out if you want to get stronger, more aligned and relaxed.
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Bob

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