The Steel Guitar and Its Problematic Future by Bruce Clarke

[Marc Stone]

I think a lot has happened with the instrument since that article was written, and before that honestly. Nels Cline, the great Sacred Steel players who have smashed the boundaries of tradition, the use of steel in indie and psychedelic music.

On the radio hit front, I just played w Ed Williams of the Revivalists at NO Jazz Fest. Sacred Steel is his first influence and his first lessons were w Chuck Campbell, but he is def not of or in the tradition. He's the full time psg player in a platinum selling roots rock/pop band def not tied to any one tradition and forging new paths, putting instrument in a lot of new ears.

Also, to relegate innovators like Chuck, Robert and Roosevelt to just being random practitioners of a pre-existing tradition does them a tremendous disservice. I performed numerous times with Chuck and Roosevelt and these guys may come from something with a strong tradition, but they are fiery individualists who have applied their musical skills in a wide variety of situations and love learning new material. Robert's track record speaks for itself. They have all transcended any limitations of "tradition"

You aren't going to find where the instrument is breaking new ground if you aren't willing to listen outside of the usual circles.

[Terry VunCannon]

I don't worry about the future of lap steel guitar future. I live in NC, and play only lap steel, write, record & release lap steel music in a R&B, rock, & blues style. I do not play country or Hawaiian, but modern style music, just using lap steel.
I am a full time musician, at first a guitarist for decades, then switched to lap steel over a decade ago, completely quitting guitar. I have released over a dozen songs since covid shut the live scene 5 years ago(slowly coming back). Of the dozens of songs, over half of them have reached regional music Top 20 charts, and almost all of the songs getting radio play. I find pride in the fact that my music gets any radio play with this lap steel only structure. I use drums, bass, keys, horns with lap steel instead of guitars.
So, I think you should not worry about the future of steel music, but just play, record, & release your music the you choose to make it.

[Michael Kiese]

Hey all,

I came back to this discussion after some more thought.

Maybe the answer is simple. The steel guitar cannot have a "problematic future" as long as young people still recognize and love the sound.

Disney, Merry Melodies, Looney Tunes all used the sound of steel guitar in their soundtracks and sound effects. Then Spongebob Squarepants on Nickelodeon came on the air in 1999 and re-introduced Steel guitar to a whole new generation of listeners. All of us from the 1930's to this very day were introduced to the sound of steel guitar as children, whether we knew it or not. That's almost 100 years! That spans 3-4 generations!

Whenever I play Steel in public, there will inevitably be a "twenty something" person in the crowd go "Spongebob!" and they have such a huge genuine smile. They'll come up to me during the break and say something like "I never knew what instrument that was played on! That's so COOL!"

Whenever I play my steel guitar at the homes of friends and family who have 5 year olds, I let them play the strings with the bar and they have so much fun. They laugh, their eyes light up. The magic is STILL THERE! I have a hard time believing that steel will ever die. Popularity goes in ebbs and flows. Steel will be waiting patiently for the next big opportunity.

The sound of the steel is STILL associated with the enjoyment and laughter of children. Those children grow to be adults. Those adults know and love the sound of steel guitar. So how can the steel truly die? It can't die. Steel guitar still remains within the living memory of society.

As long as children continue to watch the cartoons of Disney, Merry Melodies, Looney Tunes, and Spongebob, the steel guitar won't have a "problematic future".

The sound of steel guitar will live forever in beloved cartoons that will live forever.

Someday a creative person will create the next big cartoon, and steel guitar will be on it.

That means there will be future musicians who will discover the sound of steel and will want to learn it. That's a very solid and hopeful future.

A very encouraging thought.

[Doug Beaumier]

In my experience I’ve found that people respond to the melody of a song, more so than improvisation. Improv is always fun to play, but the melody is what captures the attention of the average listener.

As far as the future of steel... I am very optimistic about it. There are a lot of good, young players out there. Every day I see video clips of good players (mostly pedal steel) on Instagram and Facebook. Some playing on stage and some playing at home. It's a good sign for the future.

[Tim Toberer]

I think I would just omit the words "steel guitar and its". Pretty much sums up how I feel right now.

[Fred Treece]

I think I would just omit the words "steel guitar and its". Pretty much sums up how I feel right now.

Heh. Perfect!

I also agree with Doug Beamier. Steel players have always found, in varying degrees, ways to reach a general audience that gravitates toward melody, and a more sophisticated (I hate that word) audience that is interested in improvisation and chordal complexity. Most of the great players with names we all know were and are capable of doing both, and enjoyed doing both. That is what will keep the music alive for whenever an audience is ready for it. There will always be musicians who are drawn to the steel guitar sound to the extent that will want to learn how to play it, obviously whether the audience is there at the time or not.