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Topic: Speedy's "Afternoon Of A Swan" (Update: lesson ava |
Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 8:45 am |
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(Update: I didn't want to start a new thread on this, but I have finally gotten around to creating a tab/notation package for this tune with a backing track. I am in the process of rendering a video, so it will be available with the video soon)
http://www.steelinfromthemasters.com/?p=519
This is my favorite all-time steel guitar tune. One of the very first records I ever got into with steel guitar was Speedy's Guitar Spectacular, which I still think is a pinnacle in steel guitar recordings. The compositions, the mood and the playing are all sublime.
Anyway, here's my take on it adapted for non-pedal steel. This is the first adaptation of it, it is surely bound to change. This will be in my next DVD/tab book. It is the hardest tune I've ever played yet, as the original was done on a Fender 1000 and Speedy was pedal-happy on this tune.
Clinesmith S-8 recorded direct into a Boss BR-8, along with acoustic rhythm, Telecaster and bass accompaniment.
http://www.mikeneer.com/swan.mp3
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com
Last edited by Mike Neer on 5 Sep 2011 1:42 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Eric Ebner
From:
Texas Republic
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 9:19 am
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Very cool... and enjoyable. This tune is spilling into the hallway at my work... People walk by and smile. Kind of one-of-those tunes;-)
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Tribo-Tone™ Bars |
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Peter Lindelauf
From:
Penticton, BC
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 9:38 am
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Well played, Mike. Enjoyed that song a lot--especially the ascending run.
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...but you are the music / while the music lasts (TS Eliot) |
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Chuck S. Lettes
From:
Denver, Colorado
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 9:51 am
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Well done, Mike. It's great that the Speedy West spirit is not forgotten. Hope to see you next year at the Dallas show.
Chuck |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 10:52 am
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One of my all-time favorite steel guitar albums too; fantastic vibe and playing.
You've really done quite an incredible job of making a Clinesmith into a Fender 1000 yet without slavishly copying Speedy, Mike. Way cool! I look forward to the book/DVD. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 11:38 am
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Thanks, guys. Hopefully after playing it for a week I'll get it all smoothed out. I just arranged this yesterday and I'm still working from memory, and still always looking to tweak it. It is very difficult to play it down from top to bottom at this point.
The tuning is just a plain vanilla C6, tons of slants, some of them huge.
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com |
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Nils Fliegner
From:
Germany
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Posted 16 Jun 2010 8:59 pm
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| Quote: |
| The tuning is just a plain vanilla C6 |
Does that mean, hi to low: E-C-A-G-E-C-A-G? Greetings from Germany. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 17 Jun 2010 9:19 am
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| Nils Fliegner wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The tuning is just a plain vanilla C6 |
Does that mean, hi to low: E-C-A-G-E-C-A-G? Greetings from Germany. |
Yes, except low string F.
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 17 Jun 2010 9:47 am
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| Nice! Vintage sounding. |
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Steve Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, GA
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Del Bonn
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 17 Jun 2010 8:47 pm
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Thank you, Mike, for sharing this with us. It is certainly one of the best examples of fine steeling I've heard for some time!
I am not familiar with this song and would like to give it a try. Can you tell me, please, how I may obtain a copy of the sheet music? (Piano, voice, & chord) I predate tablature and never did learn it.
-Musical Del |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Paul Bostic
From:
Grants Pass, Oregon, USA
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Posted 18 Jun 2010 6:46 pm
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Beautiful performance Mike!
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60's & 70's country rock is my favorite, Martin & Taylor acoustic, Fender & Washburn electric, Rickenbacher BD 8 lap steel, violin. |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 19 Jun 2010 12:24 am
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Nice tune & nice playing Mike
i did'nt know that Speedy played stuff like that
it reminds me of Joaquin Murphey's style |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 19 Jun 2010 8:10 am
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| CrowBear Schmitt wrote: |
Nice tune & nice playing Mike
i did'nt know that Speedy played stuff like that
it reminds me of Joaquin Murphey's style |
Not only did Speedy play stuff like that, he composed it. In my opinion, Speedy composed the greatest steel guitar music.
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 19 Jun 2010 10:28 am
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I'm totally in agreement, Mike. Speedy was much more than only edge-of-your-seat solos and special effects. Here's "Slow & Easy", one of my favorite Speedy tunes .... fabulous from every angle: composition, tone, phrasing, recording quality, you name it. Very few steel guitar albums - even by the very best players - grab me the way Speedy's solo albums do.
https://home.comcast.net/~aevolk/music/SlowAndEasy.mp3 |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 19 Jun 2010 11:26 am
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Thanx for the heads up Mike & Thanx as well to you Andy  |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 24 Jun 2010 4:22 am
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Again, just wanted to recommend that you purchase a copy of Speedy West's "Guitar Spectacular" record. b0b stocks it as Item # C-074 (CD). To me, it's Speedy's finest work. I've owned it on vinyl since Stetson reissued it in the 80s. This record apparently has some strange history behind it, too, which I wasn't aware of before:
"Guitar Spectacular was legendary pedal steel player Speedy West's last official "solo" album. Augmented by an extraordinary group of session players including guitarists Roy Lanham and Billy Strange, bassist Red Wootten, drummer Earl Palmer, and pianist/accordion player Billy Liebert, it suffered due to a manufacturers glitch that saw side one repeated on both sides of the album. Despite a re pressing, the damage had already been done, as record stores demanded their money back. The music contained within the "fully realized" version of Spectacular was more than worthy of its moniker, as West sounds more comfortable here than on any session in his career. Whether they're tearing it up on Western swing barnburners like "Double or Nothing" and "Wild and Woolly West" or taking it slow as molasses on lazy diversions like "Sunset at Waikiki," this crystal clear recording deserves the cocked ears of a much larger audience than the one it received in 1962."
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http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 24 Jun 2010 9:17 am
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Mike
Excellent performance and true to the spirit of the tune. Bravo.
HS
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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Ambrose Verdibello
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2010 12:39 pm
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The entire 'Guitar Spectacular' LP is included on CD 3 of the 4 CD Bear Family collection of Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant, 'Flamin Guitars.' It's a fantastic set of music.
Terrific rendition of 'Afternoon...' Mike. |
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