Realistic Dreams

[John Billings]

ab⋅stru⋅si⋅ty   [ab-stroo-si-tee] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -ties for 2.
1. the quality or state of being abstruse.
2. an abstruse statement, action, etc.
Origin:
1625–35; abstruse + -ity

[Bill Hankey]

Bo Borland,

I remember reading about "THE DOG THAT CAME TO STAY", by Hal Borland. Hal passed away on 2/22/78. I also remember a true story written by Hal after his lost beagle traveled for days over mountains and valleys after they became separated while in the deep woods. The dog showed up after traveling for days through unfamiliar places. I wondered if you are related to the writer of adventurous travels? I'm quite certain that there may be two publications, possibly about two animals of the canine categories. One book is a hard cover, and another is a paperback about dogs. Hal was born in Sterling, Nebraska, and later moved to New England. No relation, I presume?

[Bill Hankey]

John,

It shows how it can be used, however the definition is not clear. As a matter of fact, I see none. In noun form past instructions listed the word suffix as "ness". I hope my dreams are unaffected by this nonmusical probe into proper English.

[Bo Legg]

Bill Hankey...

Bo Legg,
Correct me if I'm in error of making proper distinctions. I do believe that abstruse is strictly an adjective. Are you trying to use the word as a noun?

Bill, The word ab⋅stru⋅si⋅ty (John see what you started)to me is used at times for the word "Obsolete". So maybe this will clear it up.
Plugging the word obsolete for ab⋅stru⋅si⋅ty in my statement "The benchmark for obsolete here is the only level I wish to achieve less I loss my insignificants."
Well I tried but I just could not bump up my level of abstrusity high enough to play here.

[John Billings]

I agree Bill! Just an exercise in verbosity! I enjoy your posts, even if I have to use translation sites to figure out what you're sayin!;

[Bill Hankey]

John,

Neither of us are of the type to skirt around issues that become assertive. I appreciate your civility when it comes in short supply after I've been stumped. Years ago, I purchased an old REO truck from a wood dealer who sold wood for heating and cooking. In those times a cord of wood probably was cut and delivered for about $10. I've noticed that dealers today are receiving over $200 for the same services. The old Reo truck lured me into taking many chances in the worst Berkshire County winters. These English language skirmishes triggered by an earlier desire to drive around stumps, and snowdrifts, are actually very refreshing to a repetitious lifestyle. I believe that we reach an age that allows us to be less touchy about small matters, like the "city slicker" in the song called; "White Lightning". The big difference created by exposures to harmful effects, is that we've learned to look longer, before we leap. Last night, I dreamt about a kitten that came scurrying past me. It was out in the rain and damp November weather. The kitten acted the part of wanting to be taken indoors. I moved closer and scooped up the furry creature before the dream moved on to more adventurous settings. I had listened to dozens of steel guitarists on You Tube yesterday afternoon. I then proceeded to practice my own music while contemplating the excellent, and virtually faultless performances given by the known technicians of the steel guitar. How that tiny kitten entered the equation is problematic, although I did feel rather insignificant after listening to the best of the best. In other words, I became a kitten surrounded by a pride of lions. Dreams could be just that; almost the opposite of reality.

[Bill Hankey]

Musicians have a tendency to become extremely muted, I've noticed, whenever a thread doesn't lock into matters that have been "gone over" several times. This Ancient Egytian belief that "SILENCE IS GOLDEN" has been written about by poets for centuries. Thomas Carlyle expounded on the virtues of silence in 1831. There are several variations of those who lose their tongues and become muted, rather than take part in discussions that are distant from their personal interests. This has been proven too many times to count. A man could grow tired and be forced to reconcile and become indifferent to this centuries old mutism.

[Pete Finney]

Could it be that somehow people just aren't interested in talking about your old trucks, or books about lost dogs, or your dreams about kittens?

Just wondering...

As always there are lively discussions about steel players, music, instruments etc. going on all over the forum. Doesn't seem like silence to me at all...

[Mike Schwartzman]

Yes Bill...guilty as charged: on one count of silence. However,

I do appreciate your dream about the wet kitten and the interpretation of the dream as related to the video watching and then sitting down to play steel. No question on a valid interpretation. Nice example...no kidding.

Here's the thing...I'm pretty new to forum and I don't want to skirt the rules. Now that dream could have many, many other possible interpretations by you and others that "how shall we say?", go pretty close to the bone. Maybe so close that we would need this topic in the "Pedal Steel Psychology Forum", which ain't around here so far. IMO your topic is very interesting...a pretty deep rabbit hole too. I applaud your insight.

Last night I dreamt about 1 friend and 1 family member...both no longer living, neither one a musician, but in the dream I was looking for them in Richmond, Va. I've never lived in Richmond nor did the deceased, but my grandmother is from Richmond. When I sit down to my Carter this evening I doubt this dream will have much to do with my steel practice, but I'll keep an open mind.

On the other hand, The hatching of a this new word "abstrusity" in this thread was my belly laugh of the day. Thanks guys!
Absurdity + Obtuse = Abstrucity.
The big question is: Will it fly in a Scrabble game?

[Bill Hankey]

Mike,

Have you attended any of the steel guitar shows that are on the upswing? I was responsible for calling on many great players for roughly 25 years to attend our "MASSBASH", here in Western MA. Players responded from Nashville, Canada, Texas, Nevada, Florida, and all of the New England States. We've always called back the same "houseband" to entertain and warm the attendees. This is the first year that Bobby Sweet Jr. (lead guitarist and songwriter) will be on the road doing a one year tour with Arlo Guthrie. There have been those who attended and have since passed away. Paul Lambert, Paul Manning, and Art Palazzini, were good friends who have departed.
I'm still saddened since learning in 1982 that Mark Bessette, a steel guitarist from Agawam, MA. who attended, but never played at our show in Becket, Ma. He passed before making arrangements to perform at a later show. The annual show was moved into the Pittsfield, MA area the following year, where Freddie Hart's road band including J.D. Walters played to a standing room only attendance. Buzz Evans, Smiley Roberts, and Bobbe Seymour are not strangers to our gatherings of loyal friends. If we make arrangements for one more show, it will be the 25th "MASSBASH". Time will tell! The eighties were great years here in Massachusetts. Joe Casey, and Leigh Howell (now living in the UK) had been promoting country music, and were featured vocalists. They favored the greater Springfield area, and two young steel guitarists (Jimmy Roule and Doug Beaumier) always made the trip to hear the bands totally worthwhile. Jimmy was Joe's favorite, and I'm told that they helped each other, from the start. Doug Beaumier who now travels further into Connecticut, and Central Massachusetts, to fill gigs, is a huge favorite wherever he performs. He possesses a rare congeniality, that sets him apart from entertainers who lack the important attribute. If you think the devil made a big fuss with his fiddle in Georgia, let us see what happens when he meets Jimmy in Chicopee, MA. and his version of Orange Blossom Special on his steel guitar. Let the good times roll...

[Mike Schwartzman]

Steel shows...not yet Bill. Right about now (early Dec.) marks my 1st year anniversary of attempting to play a pedal steel. But I have read about the shows here on the forum, and they sound like a great experience.

[Danny Bates]

My Steel Guitar dreams want me to emulate the White Queen from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, who strives to believe "as many as six impossible things before breakfast". Then again, even the White Queen would have trouble believing that the rigors that any Steel Guitarists dreams have been called upon to undergo have been amply justified in the sphere of concrete achievement.

I prefer to believe things that my experience tells me are true, such as that the Steel Guitarists thesis is that it is not only acceptable but indeed desirable to use our weaknesses to our dreams advantage. That's totally crafty, you say? Good; that means you're finally catching on. Try, if you can, to concoct a statement better calculated to show how unsympathetic Steel Guitar Dreams are. You can't do it.

I know you're wondering why I just wrote that. I'll explain shortly, but first, I wonder if Steel Guitar dreams are really believable. We know they're not true, don't we? If I'm not mistaken, there's a painfully simple answer. It regards the way that the impact of Steel Guitar dreams are unforgiving ventures such as: Evil will preside over the land. Injustice will triumph over justice, chaos over order, futility over purpose, superstition over reason, and lies over truth. Only when humanity experiences this Dream on Earth will it fully appreciate that Steel Guitar's opuscula dreams reek like rotten eggs. Don't make the mistake of thinking otherwise. Of course, thinking so doesn't make it so.

Mankind, with all of its accumulated knowledge, wonderful machines, scientific methods, and material power, still has much to fear from cruel wastrels like Steel Guitar dreams. An equal but opposite observation is that Steel Guitar is squarely in favor of recidivism and its propensity to get everyone to march in lockstep with our dreams. This is so typical of Steel Guitarists: I wouldn't say that we must demand a thoughtful analysis and resolution of our problems with Steel Guitar dreaming. As mentioned above, however, that is not enough. It is necessary to practice more. It is necessary to lay out some ideas and interpretations that hold the potential for insight.

I do, however, indisputably believe that if you think you can escape from Steel Guitar's deplorable dreams, then good-bye and good luck. That word is "solipsism". Let me explain: Stated differently, anyone who hasn't been living in a cave with his eyes shut and his ears plugged knows that I am truly at a loss for words. Steel Guitar dreams are like hothouse plants. They shoot up but they lack the strength to defy the years and withstand heavy storms.

I'd say that now dreams sometimes are megaavaricious. By this, I mean that it is more than a purely historical question to ask, "How did Steel Guitar's reign of dreams start?" or even the more urgent question, "How might it end?".

All of this once again proves the old saying that behind the amazing degeneracy of the modern stage and motion picture is a solid wall of Trotskyism with Abstrusity's name written all over it

[Bill Hankey]

Mike,

Steel guitarists are much like fruit at the local shopping center. Bananas, oranges, grapes, strawberries etc., can be sweet, sour, spoiled, tasty, or money and time wasted. You've been studying the approaches to playing the instrument of choice for one full year, according to your reply. This is the ideal place to share some thoughts that may have evolved in the course of a year's worth of practice. As a rule, do you practice daily, without failure to do so? Would you stress a few song titles that are favorites of yours? Pete Finney has suggested that there are many things to discuss here on this forum. I think that it becomes fair for a person such as I, to be inquisitive about how far advanced a player can become after one year of intensive practice sessions.

[Bill Hankey]

Danny,

I must yield to your consummatory writing skills. I'm unable to appreciate your excellent witticisms as they were intended. You are by far the first serious challenge in establishing a point of view that lessens the value of dreams. From a musical standpoint, would you block passageways that support accumulated knowledge? If you are as advanced in music as you are in literature, You would be the perfect person to involve in discussions about the steel guitar. BTW, does your RKL on your Emmons PP, push like a stalled Mack truck up a steep grade? I understand that you've assigned 4 changes to that knee lever.

[Mike Schwartzman]

Yes Bill...I do practice daily, and I believe I've been fortunate in this year's introduction to the pedal steel.

In a lesson with a local experienced teacher last Feb. (and after reading this forum as a lurker for a couple of months prior), I asked the teacher why it seemed like some folks give up on this contraption early on. He warned me that it can be a daunting just to get an understanding of the most basic aspects of pedal steel in the first year.
So with my teachers help, one beginner's book, 2 Jeff Newman basic courses, this forum with it's great info/ links, and previous experience on other stringed instruments I survived the 1st year with my desire to continue still here.

E9 only so far and a very basic 3x4 set up. Being a rhythm section player (bass) for many years my challenge is melody. Once a week I've been practicing with other musicians in the classic country genre. Merl Haggerd, Ernest Tubb, George Jones, Hank Sr. etc. The other fellows actually think I can play pedal steel, but I think they just have not listened to any real pedal steel players. I take heart in the fact that I'm not playing too far out of tune, ha ha.

[Danny Bates]

Bill,

There will never be a writer as good as you. I can only try to emulate my writing hero... You!

Albert Johnson did miracles to my push/pull. All of my levers and pedals operate very easy and accurately. He removed all of the slack from pedals 1,2 & 3 and installed some sort of extra leverage so it can be adjusted from "Way Too Easy, Too Easy and just plain Easy" on those pedals.

Peace and Love Comin' at Ya Brother!
Danny

[Bill Hankey]

Mike,

I found your reply to be most friendly and informative. Most of the steel guitarists on the forum have explained that their first musical experience was that of another instrument, before taking up the study of the pedal steel guitar. In many instances, they would still be plunking away on an acoustic guitar, if different circumstances had prevented them the ultimate privilege of beginning to understand the complexities of the instrument known as the pedal steel. I've known many former lead guitarists, who have become featured steel guitarists. The more advanced Spanish guitarists quickly catch on to the challenges that they face, as they become more devoted to practice sessions. It's truly amazing to see a steel guitar that had been slid into a closet and forgotten by family members who may have received it from a departed musician. That would be the low end of adaptation seen in families without musical inclinations. For my money, Charlie Walker's "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down", and played instrumentally by Jimmy Day, is the ultimate achievement in steel guitar artistry. I could name dozens more that make me wish that I could easily play. Jimmy's style that was presented for You Tube by Scotty is much appreciated. I enjoy reading about the advice you are getting from your instructor, and if you are finding the use of knee levers difficult. If I may inquire, I'm interested in learning if you have a knee lever that you favor more than the other three?

[Tony Glassman]

I computer searched abstrusity and it displayed a compilation of Bill Hankey SGF postings.

[Bill Hankey]

Tony,

Are you sure that Roseburg, Oregon would be safe if you were to take refuge in one of their classes to improve your temperance? I suspect that "abstrusity" would be avoided by speakers, due to its awkward definition, and simplistic usages in making a point. Abstruse as an adjective, could be used to bring attention to your latest motivation to disrupt the forum exchanges.

[Mike Schwartzman]

I'll be sure to check out that version of "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down". I have heard that tune (not that version though), and I sure like it, so I look forward to hearing it. Thank you for the recommendation.

My instuctor covered some of the uses of the left knee levers that raise and lower the E's in that first lesson. His guitars were set up a bit differently in that one of his E levers (the raise I think) was on his right lever left, but he transposed that change to my guitar on the CD that he recorded of the lesson as we went along.
Thanks to this forum plus trial and error I've been picking up some uses on the right levers. I don't think I have a favorite knee lever, but the LKR with the B pedal to get that 7th chord 2 frets back from a pedal down I chord is some ear candy.

[Bill Hankey]

Mike,

I'm bouncing back and forth, from computer to T.V. show. There is a tastier bit of candy by pressing the A&B pedals and the same knee lever. Brush all the strings between 3rd and 8th strings. It's the sweetest candy on the E9th neck. If you ever learn to play "The Other Woman", that change is needed. Learn to ride the "A" pedal and work your melodies on the 3rd and 5th strings. Add the 8th string later on, as playing becomes easier. I couldn't resist putting in my 2 cents worth. While scoping out the "ear candy", I was referring to the ninths. They are chords that feature the root, 3rd, seventh, and ninth tones. You can offer "ear candy" by simply lowering your second string one half tone, and brushing all 10 strings. It can be used in swing songs instead of the 4 chord. For example, it would be played at the 1st and 13th frets, which would represent F major. Should you become extremely adept at grips, the 3rd, 5th, and 8th strings in combination with the 4th and 8th raises and lowers will bring home the "ear candy."

[Tony Glassman]

Tony,

Are you sure that Roseburg, Oregon would be safe if you were to take refuge in one of their classes to improve your temperance?.......

Bill, you're definitely the abstrusiest............

[CrowBear Schmitt]

what you don't live while you're awake, you live in your dreams

[Bill Hankey]

Danny,

I feel incapable of presenting an article that could equal your abundant levels of wit. That doesn't prevent me from thanking you for your kind words. Do you remember that comment made by Webb Pierce of Louisiana, to Ray Stevens (The Streak) from Georgia? According to publicized sources, Webb was quoted to have said to Ray; "If I bought you for what you are worth, and sold you for what you say you are worth, I'd make a big profit." Chet Atkins was heard to say in 1985 that; "Ray Stevens was one of the most talented musicians in Nashville." Society, as we see those members who are not camera shy, are like adjustable crescent wrenches. If by chance they don't seem to fit into accepted practices, a few minor adjustments assures much better chances to succeed. Trying to develop a parallel of writing skills that provide an abundance of afterthoughts, such as those that flow from your pen, will not be a simple task.

[Bill Hankey]

Crowbear Schmitt,

Your last reply suggests that you may have more to report on your relaxed acceptance of dreams. I really have a problem with members of society who claim that they do not dream. Crowbear, do you have something in mind that you could add about dreams?