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Topic: Little by little |
Jerry Dragon
From:
Gate City Va.
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 8:31 am |
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| I am making progress. Wish I had more time to practice. When younger I would practice 4 to 8 hours a day on guitar, for quite a few years. Now I am lucky if I can get in 1 to 2 hours a day. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 12:57 pm
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The important thing is that you're making progress. I don't get near enough practice time which is ridiculous as I'm supposed to be retired, but at least I go mostly forward. I'm still a little daunted by how much there is to learn, but I do best when I keep it simple.
The good news is that none of us will ever get bored with this thing 
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Jerry Dragon
From:
Gate City Va.
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Posted 1 Oct 2018 11:33 am
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| I told the wife this thing is going to kill me learning it. She kind of laughed and I told her, seriously, this thing is going to kill me learning it. I know I don't have enough time left to learn what I need to know. |
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Don Kuhn
From:
Poetry/Terrell ,Texas, USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2018 1:43 pm
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| Sometimes I think I need to go back to work. I retired 2yrs ago and I asked my wife who did all this stff when I was working I don't think I worked this hard at work. Actually I practice 2hrs a night but like some of you I could sit behind the steel for 4-5 love it that much and yes there is a ton of stuff to learn. |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 2 Oct 2018 11:32 pm
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I had to drop out of pedal steel for over a year due to an accident. I was playing improv E9 at open jams as part of a house band. Today I know half of what I knew a year ago. It will surely take me 6 months to get my instincts back.
Don"t ever stop... The steps backward are 10x faster than steps forward. |
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Jerry Dragon
From:
Gate City Va.
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Posted 11 Nov 2018 4:37 am
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| I actually plugged it in again. First time since mid August and it is the second week of November. My playing is getting to the point that I might be able to stand it amplified, it is definitely louder, I can tell the difference. |
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Ken Boi
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2018 5:45 am
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It would be enlightening to see what others feel is their preferred practice session time. In Jeff Newman's 'Pedal Steel Techniques' course, near the end of Part-1, he recommends avoiding burn-out and suggests doing a 15-20 minute session, but multiple times during the day, as opposed to a single 2-3 hour session.
I see what he is saying although I don't necessarily follow it. I kind of go as I feel. Some days a quick 20-minute workout. Others days 1.5 to 2-hours. I also have days where I just don't feel like playing at all. Maybe I am busy or tired. Sometimes after a day or two off, I seem to hit my notes with more accuracy after a brief warm-up. Weird, but that's how it feels. |
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Jerry Dragon
From:
Gate City Va.
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Posted 11 Nov 2018 9:02 am
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| As a newcomer, there is so much to practice, finger picking, blocking, pedals, knee levers, learning the fretboard, etc. I will spend some time doing a bit of each, then just jamming for fun and to break up the boredom. I can sit there for fifteen, twenty minutes, eyes closed, practicing a finger picking pattern, then do just bar licks, then work with the levers and the pedals, by the time you know it two hours have gone by and the wife is accusing me of being a slacker. She should know after 45 years she is second fiddle to whatever fiddle I am playing with at the moment. |
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Bob Bestor
From:
Ashland, OR
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Posted 11 Nov 2018 12:36 pm
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I've been at it for a little over two years and what to work on is a big question for me as I need to work on everything. Just back from vacation and no PSG for nearly three weeks. Decided to organize and prioritize my practice routine in an effort to streamline things. Between technique exercises, intros and licks I want to work on, I came up with a list of 35! If I spend 5 minutes on each that's nearly 3 hours and I know I am only scratching the surface. What to do?
_________________
Keep on truckin' |
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Bobby Nelson
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 12 Nov 2018 12:24 pm
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| 1 to 2 hrs a day? I wish. I have been keeping a log since I got mine in June, and I average about 5-6 hrs a week. If we get a lot of rain, I may get 10 or 12 - but I can't really afford that kind of week. when I was a kid, like you, I got 4-8 a day. When I was 18-20, I went through a 2 yr period where I got no less than 12 a day. But, in those days, my parents let me hang around and be what could be described as a slacker haha - I defined it as my college days (all lab). Of course, I had no wives (or girlfriends even - had no time for them), no job most of the time, no responsibilities, lord, I didn't even have a good amplifier because I had no job haha! These days, I work 50-60 a week, have a wife, bills and the whole nine yards so, i get practice when I can. |
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Jerry Dragon
From:
Gate City Va.
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Posted 13 Nov 2018 1:54 am
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| Bobby Nelson wrote: |
| 1 to 2 hrs a day? I wish. I have been keeping a log since I got mine in June, and I average about 5-6 hrs a week. If we get a lot of rain, I may get 10 or 12 - but I can't really afford that kind of week. when I was a kid, like you, I got 4-8 a day. When I was 18-20, I went through a 2 yr period where I got no less than 12 a day. But, in those days, my parents let me hang around and be what could be described as a slacker haha - I defined it as my college days (all lab). Of course, I had no wives (or girlfriends even - had no time for them), no job most of the time, no responsibilities, lord, I didn't even have a good amplifier because I had no job haha! These days, I work 50-60 a week, have a wife, bills and the whole nine yards so, i get practice when I can. |
Which times were better? |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2018 5:05 am
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| Jerry Dragon wrote: |
| I told the wife this thing is going to kill me learning it. She kind of laughed and I told her, seriously, this thing is going to kill me learning it. I know I don't have enough time left to learn what I need to know. |
Jerry, I know several players who have about 40 years or more on the steel, and every single one of them has told me they are still learning it. I doubt it will be the steel that actually kills you, but when your time comes you'll probably be telling that guy with the hood and scythe "Wait just a minute, let me run through this lick once more!" 
_________________
Many play better than I do. Nobody has more fun. |
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Jerry Dragon
From:
Gate City Va.
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Posted 13 Nov 2018 11:31 am
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| Don R Brown wrote: |
| Jerry Dragon wrote: |
| I told the wife this thing is going to kill me learning it. She kind of laughed and I told her, seriously, this thing is going to kill me learning it. I know I don't have enough time left to learn what I need to know. |
Jerry, I know several players who have about 40 years or more on the steel, and every single one of them has told me they are still learning it. I doubt it will be the steel that actually kills you, but when your time comes you'll probably be telling that guy with the hood and scythe "Wait just a minute, let me run through this lick once more!" |
I have been playing electric guitar for over fifty years and the same can be said for that or any other instrument I would hazard to guess. I also play keys, sax, harmonica, it never ends. |
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