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Topic: Instrumentals |
Chuck Morel
From: Pottersville, New York
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 11:02 am
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Hello
What are some instrumentals you guys are playing that aren't super complex. Something other than steel guitar rag.
Thanks.
Chuck |
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Erv Niehaus
From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 12:11 pm
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It depends on what kind of instrumentals you are looking for.
I have instrumentals for gospel, old standards, classic country and Christmas.
Oops, I forgot Hawaiian.
Erv
Last edited by Erv Niehaus on 27 Feb 2018 1:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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James Kerr
From: Scotland, UK
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Bobby Nelson
From: North Carolina, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 4:43 pm
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I really like Jimmy Day's Road Stop. I played a lot of instrumentals on 6-string - it was kinda what I was known for a little bit around here. I have a whole CD of surf guitar instrumentals the guys in the band and I wrote ourselves. I'm sure by the time I'm ready to go with an actual band, I will have a few in the bucket. |
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Doug Earnest
From: Branson, MO USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 5:14 pm
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Amazing Grace, Please Help Me I'm Falling, Wild Mountain Thyme, Shenandoah, Panhandle Rag, Making Believe
I've not been trying to copy any particular version of any of them, I have just been trying to find a way to work every pedal,lever and string into every song while mainly sticking to the melody. If I can do it anybody can do it. |
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Larry Baker
From: Columbia, Mo. U.S.A.
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 5:35 pm
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My favorite is Tom Brumley's Neosho Waltz. _________________ Mullen G2 SD10 3 & 5 The Eagle
NV112 amp===Earnie Ball V.P. |
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Georg Sørtun
From: Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 5:59 pm
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Making Believe, Ashokan Farewell, Annie's Song, Precious Memories. |
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Kevin Fix
From: Michigan, USA
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 6:04 pm Instrumentals
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I have not done the instrumental thing in years but I still like to play Statues Of A Fool, C6 Night Life and believe it or not, Highway 40 Blues. I have played Ave Maria which is a beautiful song. Fun to play around with at home. I used to play a dozen instruments in a 5 set gig just to give the singers a brake. Response was not the greatest so I lost interest. |
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scott murray
From: Asheville, NC
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 6:13 pm
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on E9 we do Buckaroo, Blue Jade, Hammin It Up among others.
on C6 try B. Bowman Hop, Remington Ride, Hold It... _________________ 1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster |
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Tony Prior
From: Charlotte NC
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Posted 28 Feb 2018 2:35 am
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Chuck here is a link to my website below, I am not trying to promote anything but rather show you some typical songs I may very well play at gigs. One gig, twice a month, I am required to play two Instrumentals at each. I try not to repeat them all that often. It's an on going education as well as excellent practice and study.
I probably have another two dozen tunes that are not even listed, maybe more !
You can never go wrong with a Waltz or a Classic turned into an Instrumental, the trick is an identifiable song not a deep hidden album cut that you like. ( of course they make great practice as well) No different than a singer picking songs for the listeners.
and yeah, Sleepwalk and SG Rag are not on my list ! But we have played them now and then by request.
http://www.tprior.com/five.htm _________________ Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Erv Niehaus
From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 28 Feb 2018 8:25 am
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Play a song that the audience can recognize, you're not trying to impress other steel players.
Erv |
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Frank Ortega
From: New York City, NY USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2018 7:30 pm Instrumentals
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I've been working on "Let it be me" by the Everly Bros. _________________ GFI Ultra SD-10 |
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Ben Lawson
From: Brooksville Florida
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Posted 2 Mar 2018 4:10 am
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Old standards usually work without too much chicken pickin'. |
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Bobby D. Jones
From: West Virginia, USA
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Posted 2 Mar 2018 9:49 pm Insturmentals
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Faded Love, I like to kick it off in C use Mr. Green's Farewell Party change lick. Take it to A and let the fiddle player walk it to D, Then end with a verse in D.
Waltz Across Texas, My Elusive Dreams. The Waltz You Saved For Me. Are good insturmentals, If the dance floor is filled with couples. |
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Ricky Davis
From: Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2018 9:39 am
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Here's the only one I get to play; when the singer has to go pee...ha...
Buddy Emmons did "I Love you Because" on E9 once; so I copied that version-ish..ha.
https://youtu.be/NuyR1eB7mMo
Ricky _________________ Ricky Davis
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com |
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Rich Gardner
From: Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2018 11:30 am
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I have worked these up on the E9 pedal steel:
Birth of the blues, Canadian Sunset, Can't Help Falling in Love With You, Georgia, Harbor Lights, How High the Moon,
I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Last Date, Mack the Knife, Nowhere Man, Sleepwalk, Teardrop, Tears in Heaven, Unchained Melody, What a Wonderful World, White Cliffs of Dover, Wonderful Tonight, You Don't Know Me, and It's Been a Long, Long Time.
Some of these are a carryover from my life on lap steel E7 and C6 tunings. |
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Jack Aldrich
From: Washington, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2018 2:46 pm
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Deep Water, Together Again, Boot Heel Drag, and a bunch of Hawaiian meles on my lap steels. _________________ Jack Aldrich
Carter & ShoBud D10's
D8 & T8 Stringmaster
Rickenbacher B6
3 Resonator guitars
Asher Alan Akaka Special SN 6
Canopus D8 |
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Mike Perlowin
From: Los Angeles CA
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Posted 4 Mar 2018 12:57 am
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I ONLY play instrumentals. Mostly classical music. I am trying to introduce the steel to the Mozart/Beethoven community. I have 3 concerts scheduled in July, all in venues that cater to that community.
I perform periodically at one of them, and this upcoming concert will be my 6th appearance there. There will be people there who have seen me before, and know what to expect. Many, perhaps all, of the people who will will be at the other 2 concerts will be seeing and hearing a steel for the first time.
Classical music has been around for 500 years. There are tens of thousands of compositions, and most of them are instrumentals, and there are hundreds of them that are adaptable to the steel.
Check out this movement from Anton Dvorak's 9th symphony. It works so well so on the steel, it's almost as if Dvorak wrote it specifically for our instrument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCydQm83cJQ
This just one of countless steel-friendly classical works that are just waiting for steel players to find and learn them.
The catch is that it's necessary to be able to read music in order to learn them.
I've mentioned this before: I've written a short (4 pages) article on how to read music on the E9 neck, which I will send for free to anybody who requests it. Please send me an E mail, and not a private message, so I can attach the file to the reply.
My method is not quick and easy. It requires a lot of time and effort and study. But it works. If you apply yourself, you will learn how to look at a piece of sheet music and figure out how to play it. _________________ Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin
Last edited by Mike Perlowin on 4 Mar 2018 2:36 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Ben Lawson
From: Brooksville Florida
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Posted 4 Mar 2018 2:08 am
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Very nice Mike. Thank you for sharing. |
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Erv Niehaus
From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 4 Mar 2018 6:46 am
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Mike,
I'm with you, all I play are instrumentals.
My guitar slinging buddy and myself furnished all the music for a wedding a while back with some Bach and Schubert compositions included.
Erv |
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Mike Perlowin
From: Los Angeles CA
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Posted 4 Mar 2018 8:34 am
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Erv. what's I'm trying to prove to the world is that the steel is not a country instrument. It's an instrument, period. It can play many styles: classical, blues, rock, jazz and many other styles. It is not limited to country music.
Look at what Susan Alcorn and Robert Randolph are doing.
Our fellow forumite Ben Elder I recently saw the all instrumental rock band "Steelism" when they played in Hollywood. (There were also 3 other steel guitarists and a dobro player in the audience.) These guys are playing to a crowd of 20 and 30 somethings who have never heard of Buddy Emmons and songs like A Way to Survive and SG Rag.
Here's a link to their facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/SteelismMusic
These guys are not going to appeal to lovers of traditional country and swing. They are doing something different, and appealing to a different audience. Bu like Susan and Robert and me, they are taking the steel into new territory and exposing it to new audiences. _________________ Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Erv Niehaus
From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 5 Mar 2018 9:04 am
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Mike,
The Old Standards lay out real good on the pedal steel. Erv |
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Mike Perlowin
From: Los Angeles CA
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Posted 5 Mar 2018 10:14 am
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No Doubt Erv. There must be hundreds, possibly thousands of tunes that we could play.
Standards, Broadway show tunes, Pop tunes, Beatles tunes (besides Yesterday,) rock and roll songs, Disco tunes from the 70s, Motown, etc. They are all there just waiting for us to find and learn them.
I recently heard our fellow forumite Joel Martin play the the Little Anthony and the Imperials tune "Goin' Out of my Head." Now Joel is an outstanding player who can make anything sound great. But aside from his considerable ability, the song itself really lends itself to the steel.
This is another example of a song not normally associated with the steel that works really well on it.
There is sheet available for all these songs, so again I say that the key to learning them is being able to read music. And again I say that I've written a short article on how to read music on the E9 neck, which I will send for free to anybody who requests it. _________________ Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Erv Niehaus
From: Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 5 Mar 2018 10:20 am
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When I work out an arrangement for pedal steel, I like to work off of music that has both the treble and bass clef.
You can make a more accurate chord determination that way.
Erv |
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