I need some help!

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 20 Aug 2014 11:40 pm

Well, as the subject says, I need some help. To give some background, I have been fiddling with the pedal steel for around a year now, and have been absolutely loving it. I've been trying to learn primarily by ear and have ran into a lot of stuff I can't pick out.

The things that really escape me are the slower, smoother pedal steel sounds. For example, I've figured out a little bit of Whiskeytowns Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart and I've managed to learn a good bit of Steve Earles Someday. These seemed to go alright. An example of something that's really throwing me, I learned the intro to the Byrds Hickory Wind, with the help of an excellent tab from this forum. However, I could only find tab for the intro, and the stuff I'm really looking for that I can't seem to get my head(ear?)around is the smooth subtle transitioning and fills in the rest of the song.

So, what I'm looking for are tabs and songs that have sounds like this. The real trouble with this is I'm not that familiar with a lot of pedal steel music. I recently ran across the Jeff Newman Just Jammin' stuff, and while I can't afford it, a lot of that is the sound or parts I'm looking for, like Faded Love or Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. What would yall suggest I learn(and even just listen to) to better grasp some of this? I would greatly appreciate any and all help

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 21 Aug 2014 12:04 am

If you can learn from youtubes, poke through Mickey's channel at www.youtube.com/singlpilot
You should find plenty to soak up

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 21 Aug 2014 3:06 am

One good place to listen would be a handful of Ricky Skaggs early stuff. Bruce Bouton laid down real tasty stuff.

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 21 Aug 2014 4:29 am

Scotty had a book available on Mel Bay Productions that dealt strictly with playing backup behind a singer. Includes many of those classic licks we all use on occasion. Should be sold (or ordered) at any Guitar Center or local music store. May be others out there as well.

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 21 Aug 2014 11:18 am

Lane, my internet is currently used up for the month so I can only look at video titles until the weekend, but some of this seems like exactly what I'm looking for, thank you! And thank you as well David, that is definitely something I will look into next time I'm at the store!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 21 Aug 2014 11:45 am

Austin, if you like, and you think it'd be useful, I could do a video where I'd sing a line, drop a fill, explain how and why I played what I did. Sounds like a fun, interesting and useful video. I'm thinking now of Today I Started Loving You Again. Faded Love is a little short on places to drop a fill, I could do Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain...

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 21 Aug 2014 12:32 pm

That sounds really cool, I'd like that as long as it's not putting you out to do it. I think that would be useful to a lot of people as well!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 21 Aug 2014 12:44 pm

Austin, a poke around my channel shows that I LOVE doing things like that. With my day job, gigging is hard to fit in. And I like sharing the steel. And I'm not good at the Mickey Adams kinda thing.

John Bresler R.I.P. · Post by **John Bresler R.I.P.** » 21 Aug 2014 1:27 pm

Austin:

Check your email.

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 21 Aug 2014 2:36 pm

That's awesome, Lane. I can't seem to find your channel though, what is it called? I can't wait for my data to reset this weekend so I can check some of this stuff out!

John, I don't seem to have any new emails. Did you send it to my gmail?

John Bresler R.I.P. · Post by **John Bresler R.I.P.** » 21 Aug 2014 3:28 pm

Austin:

I sent a message to the email you have in your forum profile. I don't know which email it went to as emails are not listed here on the forum.

You can send me an email to the email in my profile and I believe I can help you out fairly quickly.

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 21 Aug 2014 5:31 pm

Ah, okay, I sent you an email. Thank you!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 21 Aug 2014 5:59 pm

My youtube channel is www.youtube.com/steelguitarlane

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 21 Aug 2014 9:17 pm

Cool. I will check that out this weekend! Thanks once again for the help.

Jack Aldrich · Post by **Jack Aldrich** » 22 Aug 2014 7:39 am

I believe that instruction books cannot replace individual instruction for left hand movement. I played pedal steel for years before I started on Hawaiian steel. Alan Akaka (via Skype) worked with me the entire summer of 2012 on my left hand so that my sound became smooth, no lifting the bar and controlled moving between frets. It was not easy, but I finally got it, including the Jerry Byrd "pa-tah". My pedal steel playing has improved, too, with coordination between my left hand and my feet. If you watch the great ones, you'll notice the smoothness, too.

Kevin Raymer · Post by **Kevin Raymer** » 22 Aug 2014 8:43 am

As a learner myself, I will second what Jack said, and add right hadn technique is also critical.

I started taking lessons a few months ago and my teacher completely changed my right hand technique and my grip on the bar.

I think it made mp improvment quicker, and perhaps kept me from many hours of frustration.

I had the Bruce Bouton DVD and he described the right hand position pretty well.
I just couldn't translate it into action.
There is no substitute for sitting in front of a good teacher.

Mike Sweeney out of Nashville is who I've been working with.

Mike offers lessons via Skype in a "distance learning" mode.

If interested: You can contact him via the forum messaging PM or EM.
Or if you'll message or email me I'll share his phone number.

Either way.. Good luck, this instrument is truly a beast....

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 22 Aug 2014 11:09 am

For the time being, I think I am going to continue what I've been doing. I'm primarily a guitar player, I started playing steel because I joined a band to be the 'utility' guy, and a couple songs(the two I mentioned in the first post, actually) called for steel, and we had one sitting around. As the set list has grown, so has the number of pedal steel songs and I'm finding that half a chop doesn't quite cut it

However, I will definitely keep what yall have said in mind. I agree that a book can't replace someone sitting in front of you, and smooth is definitely something I'm looking for. Thank you both for the advice!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 22 Aug 2014 11:54 am

I'll try to help with approaches and thinking.
Building a vocabulary of licks et c. is largely just a matter of time in the seat.

Austin Harper · Post by **Austin Harper** » 22 Aug 2014 1:44 pm

I greatly appreciate it!

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 26 Aug 2014 7:22 am

I just uploaded one I shot yesterday, I'm going to bed and youtube says it's" processing"
I can't share a URL yet, but it should be on my channel within the hour. Watch my channel at www.youtube.com/steelguitarlane and it'll be up soon.
I wish I could do these things as smooth and cool as Mickey Adams, but I don't work that way: if I try rehearsing it, each take is miles different, I don't get more polished, I just sidetrack myself each time.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 26 Aug 2014 12:09 pm

Youtube finally got it done:
http://youtu.be/bLmRycbOHiU
Jeez, Mickey makes these look easy.

John Peay · Post by **John Peay** » 26 Aug 2014 1:47 pm

Lane Gray wrote: Jeez, Mickey makes these look easy.

Mickey's not singing !

Thanks, Lane, this stuff is helpful to me...

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 26 Aug 2014 2:02 pm

John, it's not the singing, it's the way the thought process works in me, and the different nature of the subject material.
Mickey says he'll rehearse his videos several times til he gets the flow down with nary a mistake. He's also showing how to play a piece he could play several times the same way.
When I back up a song, only some fills will be the same every time ("He Stopped Loving Her Today", I go to the C6th neck and play that Phil Baugh lick after "He Said I'll love you til I die". That's just perfect.), but most of them are completely extemporaneous (on-the-spot), and flow off my head. So I make up/choose a line on the spot, and then have to figure out how best to explain it, while the camera rolls. And I'm slightly ADD, I may not even REMEMBER what I played 5 seconds ago.

EDITed to say: thank you/you're welcome. I enjoy doing these, but I enjoy more the knowledge that I'm helping and not just wasting an afternoon.

John Peay · Post by **John Peay** » 26 Aug 2014 2:13 pm

Lane Gray wrote:most of them are completely extemporaneous (on-the-spot), and flow off my head.

That's where I'm trying to get to. I've struggled with playing fills (3-yr player now), and I think I'm being too mechanical or analytical or "rehearsed" with it, trying to find the perfect thing to play. Of course, by the time I think of that "perfect thing" I'm 2 measures late!

I need to "keep it simple", and your approach is helping me with that.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 26 Aug 2014 2:27 pm

If you already KNOW the song, you know where it is and where it's going next.
There are three types of fills that work well, and two of them are easy-ish to generate.
1) a simple phrase that serves to transition from the last line to the next
2) something that acts almost like an "amen corner" comment on the last line, drawing from and reinforcing the content of the last line
3) something else that fits. That can be a quote from another song, a wholly out of thin air passage, who knows. As long as it fits.