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Topic: Steel Guitar in Western Swing |
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 11 Oct 2019 8:31 pm |
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I've been reading Guy Cundell's scholarly thesis, "Across the South: The origins and development of steel guitar in western swing". Highly recommended.
click here
Wishing it were available in hypertext (I'd surf it), or as a book (I'd buy it), but the PDF download works for screen reading. I might end up taking it to the printer anyway. 
Great work, Guy. 
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 12 Oct 2019 9:49 am
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On page 48:
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| With the advent of ten string pedal steel necks, bars became larger and heavier. A greater encumbrance of larger bars contributed to the development of a new style whereby the bar primarily rested on the strings and was guided from position to position without being lifted. As a result, the traditional technique of blocking, using an angled bar and trailing fingers, was less crucial. The bar hand of the pedal steeler did not have the same acute demands of agility placed on it as did that of the non-pedal player. This generalisation does not hold for pedal steel luminaries, such as Buddy Emmons and Curley Chalker, who had trained on non-pedal instruments and maintained their left hand skills. However, the move to a dependence on pedal-initiated glissandi in scalar passages has led to a technique that has contributed a characteristic sound to contemporary pedal steel style. Furthermore, the introduction of a mechanized element to performance has had the effect of homogenizing elements of phrasing. A perceptible similarity of inflection and phrasing amongst pedal steel players stands in contrast to the individuality of non-pedal players. The idiosyncrasy of lap steel performance styles is a result of the extensive connection between player and instrument required by the three manual core elements of technique: picking, blocking and bar manipulation. While pedal steel guitarists utilise the same core techniques, their mechanism reduces their physical interaction with the instrument, with a resulting diminution of stylistic individuality. |
"A perceptible similarity of inflection and phrasing amongst pedal steel players stands in contrast to the individuality of non-pedal players."
Ain't that the truth!
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 12 Oct 2019 10:01 am
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Outstanding.
Thanks for the link. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Joel Jackson
From:
Detroit
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Posted 31 Oct 2019 8:26 am
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| Thanks Bob. This is great. |
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Chris Tweed
From:
Cardiff, Wales, UK
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Posted 31 Oct 2019 11:19 am
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| This wonderful, Bob. Thanks for posting it. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 31 Oct 2019 5:12 pm
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I must disagree with many of the premises in the thesis. Similarities in playing styles and techniques are due to the players... not the instrument! It's the mind being focused on what's already been done, as opposed to the mind being unfettered by conventionality, that makes for all the excess commonality. The author is ignoring the fact that the mechanical complexities of more strings/pedals/levers actually increases both the capabilities of, and demands on, the players. (That's why they were added in the first place.) The skills of playing a PSG - using all the pedals and levers in a seamless and inventive manner is, IMHO, far more difficult than learning a few forward and backward slants. In addition, muting technique differences are mostly a personal choice, and they are more dictated by physiology and mimicry than the instrument.
The simple fact is that probably better than 90% of PSG players have copied or molded themselves into the style of Emmons, Green, or Mooney. In a similar fashion (but not to the same extent), most non-pedal players molded themselves to the stylings of Byrd, Helms, Murphy, Remington, McAuliffe, and a few of the Hawaiian players. As communication improved and people heard more and more of the same (few) famous players, things started to become more homogenized and smoothed. The recording industry also increasingly dictated what style/sound was acceptable and what was not, so they also bear some of the responsibility for the "sameness" that has invaded the world of PSG.
All this to say you really can't blame the instrument, as it is totally mute without someone to play it. It has no less "characteristic sound" on its own than a non-pedal guitar. If players get less inventive, lack imagination, and lock themselves into copying one style or one sound, then we must accept that it was their choice. Blaming the strings and pedals added, or the larger bar for what's happened, is just wrong IMHO. Also, you'll have a hard time convincing me that using both hands, both feet, and both knees reduces the "physical interaction" with the instrument. There are probably as many different pedal stylings out there as there are non pedal stylings, we just don't hear them as much.
YMMV |
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Chris Tweed
From:
Cardiff, Wales, UK
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Posted 1 Nov 2019 6:44 am
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Guy Cundell has also written this: Hot and Sweet: The role of the Hawaiian steel guitar in the emergence of western swing. Available at http://bit.ly/2JFCxlf
I haven't read it yet so I can't comment on the quality. |
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Franklin
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Posted 1 Nov 2019 10:19 am
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Certainly a view point based on a purists analyzation. I noticed he was ignoring a lot of nuanced facts about the way pedal players hone their skillset. Both lap and pedal players have to connect to the instrument using theory's rules for improvisation at the highest proficiency levels to achieve individual musicianship.
So, whether we focus on the pedal steel players of the 60's up to today, the same left and right hand skills the western swing lap steeler used in the 40's and 50's happens to be the same "exact skills" required for mastering the pedal steel. Saying one negates the other towards sounding like an original or individual musician because pedals exist is false. ..
I started out playing lap steel and still play lap steel on sessions. They have a tonal voice, more to do with tunings, the scale length, and body composition than anything else.... I need lap steel in my tool box. I also have converted Les Paul's, Tele's, and Strat's into lap steels so I can sound like a bottle neck player....Everything I own says nothing musically until I make them speak within the song, that's why musicianship is the difference between players stylistically, not instruments.
Noteworthy: Bob Wills was not a purist, neither was Tex Williams, or Spade Cooley.....They were innovative band leaders aiming at the dancehalls. That's where the Jitterbug or whatever dances of the day were popular. They pursued a hillbilly groove that pushed the boundaries of Country styled music into the big band sounds of the 40's and 50's. By incorporating the popular big band Jazz approach within a simpler chord progression and a more rural instrumentation they bridged the gap between big band and country. Sonically using Fiddles and Steel guitars with less focus on brass for the arrangements gave the music a Country flair.....
Interestingly Bob ended up with 2 pedal steel guitarists in his band.
Bob's two pedal steel guitarists were not lacking skills for "phrasing, blocking, and their connection with the instrument" is obvious.
This premise reads like a "Whose music has more personality, Jones or Haggard?" thread.
The truth - phrasing, blocking, and especially connecting with the instrument is a part of the musicians mindset needed to play any instrument....That never changes whether someone plays a piano or pedal steel, a trombone or lap steel. Learn to create your own lines through improvisation is the only way to achieve individuality.
Paul |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 1 Nov 2019 11:29 am
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I just want to point out that I pulled that quote pretty much at random. The entire paper contains a lot of history and insight on the role of steel guitar in the heyday of western swing. I didn't intend to grab a controversial paragraph - just one that would reflect the quality of Guy's writing and scholarly approach to the subject.
I urge you all to download and read the paper at your leisure. It's very educational. Even steel guitar experts will learn a thing or two, as it draws from many sources. Guy is preparing a version with error corrections and additions. When complete, it will be available from The Pedal Steel Pages. 
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Dave Campbell
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 2 Nov 2019 2:57 am
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| i'm going to check this out precisely because the opposite position is true for me; i can tell the personality of lots of pedal steel players, but all non pedal stuff sounds the same to me. maybe i can fix this with some guided listening. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Mark Helm
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Dave Campbell
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 26 Nov 2019 4:21 pm
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| thanks donny and mark, i'm digging into it. |
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Joe Goldmark
From:
San Francisco, CA 94131
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Ian
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 12 Dec 2019 7:14 am
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Wow!
Thank you for posting this. Outstanding.
Ian |
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James Flaherty
From:
California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2019 4:36 pm
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| Can't get the article to download in either format. It just doesn't show up when I click download. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2019 4:39 am
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I can understand wherethe author is coming from.. For me personally, I find that pedal players from the 60s' and 70's have more individual character in style, and more "sonic distinctiveness" in their sound than players today..
I think its partly because techniques, learning resources, gear, teaching etc have become more standardized.. In other words many players that are great today, all learned from the greats of yesteryear.. There has to be a common denominator, because to me, I do sense a sameness in playing styles to some extent.
The guitars themselves all had much more distinct sound as well at one time.. Fender/Sho Bud/Emmons/ZB not to mention Chalker with his MSA made much of the music back in those days, and the sounds and styles were more distinctive.
Today, steel guitar sounds as great as ever, but I do notice a "sameness" in sound and simply can't distinguish who is who the way I could years ago.
It has a great deal to do with the production techniques, equipment used, and probably the fact that most players today use modern gear thats better than, but not as unique in tone as older gear was.. Just conjecture of course.
Paul still has a tone and style that I can usually recognize as him pretty quickly, but I dunno that might just be because I have heard him so much over the years, and am simply less familiar with many of the other great players out there today.
I can recall Moons playing from years ago, as well Tom Brumleys.. Just VERY unique tone.. Than later on in life, Moon started playing GFI guitars and Tom was often seen playing an Anapeg and I think a Mullen or Zum as well. The style was still there of course, but that signature and very distinctive sound was not there. It had morphed into a sound that was reflective of the gear in use,, Still great of course, just "not the same".
Times change and its all good.
But I dunno, think of Hendrix playing an ES 335
or BB King using a Tele... bob
_________________
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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