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Topic: Ralph Mooney Right Hand |
Caleb Melo
From:
Porterville, CA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 12:26 am |
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Can anyone tell me what Ralph Mooney is doing with his right hand at the 1:32 minute mark in this video? I always see Ralph doing it, but I've never understood what it was. If any of you have any theories or actually know what he's doing, I'd love to know. Thanks in advance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qzctdbSRQI
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Caleb Melo |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 2:28 am
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Looks like a timing mechanism that a lot of steel players use. When I was playing onstage, and was laying out for a short period, I was always thumping the strings with my right hand in a very similar way to what Moon was doing in that video.
I have seen steel players do this for years.
Depending on the song, I might even have the volume pedal engaged half way, to get a nice "thunk" sound going on the 2/4 beat, or at times even the 1/3 for a cool counterpoint.. Its not something you want to do constantly, but on the right song, it could be a good addition to what the bass/drum/rhythm section was doing...
Many times the volume pedal was off, and that right hand movement kept me tuned in to and "feeling" the meter of the song, until I was back in "the mix" and engaging the volume pedal again..
Can't speak as to exactly what Moon was doing there, but I think he was simply hitting the strings with his palm to "keep time"... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 2:36 am
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Actually, think about it this way-
The guitar/bass guys could tap their feet-
The drummer is on the bass drum, doing the same..
A steel player would typically have his right foot on the VP, left foot just above the pedals, bar in left hand, so what else could he use to "keep time"?..\
His right hand of course, and the closest surface to tap with that right hand is 10 strings layed out horizontally..
Everyone playing in time, just "feelin' the groove". bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 4:20 am
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Bob, good to see you posting. Your number disappeared when I got a new phone. Tried emailing you and it looks like that's been changed. Assuming that was not to avoid me  send me a PM with how to contact you. I'm due for another lesson!
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Many play better than I do. Nobody has more fun. |
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Curt Trisko
From:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 7:49 am
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| Bob Carlucci wrote: |
Actually, think about it this way-
The guitar/bass guys could tap their feet-
The drummer is on the bass drum, doing the same..
A steel player would typically have his right foot on the VP, left foot just above the pedals, bar in left hand, so what else could he use to "keep time"?..\
His right hand of course, and the closest surface to tap with that right hand is 10 strings layed out horizontally..
Everyone playing in time, just "feelin' the groove". bob |
And here I thought that being a high-level pedal steel player meant having a supernatural internal sense of time. It's reassuring to see this. Doing intricate phrasing while also keeping track of where I'm leaving off in the rhythm has always given me trouble. |
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Caleb Melo
From:
Porterville, CA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 9:43 am Ralph Mooney Right Hand
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Thanks for the information! Makes a lot of sense!
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Caleb Melo |
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Jerry Horch
From:
Alva, Florida, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 9:59 am Percussion
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Id say he's doing it for a percussion effect...and chording it to boot.
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Franklin D10 /Walker Sterio Steel JBL's /DigiTech Quad4/ Korg Toneworks/ Dobro DM 1000 / Santa Cruz Guitar VA |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 10 Jul 2019 2:17 pm
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Yes, I often do similar percussion EFX on steel, and I think that's what he's doing here. Kind of a scratching noise, and guitarists often do the same thing.
Listen to the intro on the "Shaft Theme", which is the same technique done using a wah pedal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q429AOpL_ds |
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Jonathan Shacklock
From:
London, UK
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Posted 12 Jul 2019 9:04 am
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It's possible he's scratching the strings with the ring on his right hand which might explain why his fingers are so flat. But then again it could just be a bit of eye catching pantomime. Nothing wrong with a bit of flash if you can play like Mooney 
I think it's just that bluegrass thing where, rather than just stop after a solo you go into background rhythm mode and back off the mic as you hand over. Here it sounds like he's doing offbeat dobro style "chucks" although it's not 100% clear it's the same hand movement: https://youtu.be/AhYy26-kV1g?t=118
Here he is again... hard to hear anything coming off his guitar after the solo though:
https://youtu.be/ghdtHx4gWJI?t=92
I keep meaning to figure out those those bar tipping hammer-ons he does too, leveraging off the strings. So cool. |
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David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
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Posted 12 Jul 2019 9:19 am
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| Jerry Douglas uses basically that same technique on the Dobro. |
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Bart Bull
From:
New Orleans, USA/Paris FR/Berkeley USSR
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Posted 16 Jul 2019 2:40 pm
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It thrills me to think that there's at least one element of Moon's technique — and on the right hand, no less! — that I've mastered.
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Undoubtedly the finest pedal steel player in Paris' 18th Arrondissement
Disaster of Touch, Tone & Taste; Still mastering the manifold mysteries of the Sho-Bud Maverick
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