Top 10 Songs To Learn

Ron Forrest · From: Logan Ohio, USA

Hi,

Whats the top 10 songs for a newbie to get under there belt?

Thanks

Ron

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

There is no SET defined top 10 but there are plenty of songs which you should have under your belt which LEAD to other songs that may be similar or have similar voicings.

My position has always been prepare for a GIG, such as a Dance Hall or venue where folks will dance. You may not play these songs at a concert but none the less. You can never go wrong having some standards in your pockets as instrumentals. The band leader will LOVE you for this as [color=black]will those on the dance floor.

3/4 or 4/4's

here's a few that play well with ANY band on a dance gig.

Waltz Across Texas
Tenn Walts
Sweet Memories
Danny Boy
No One Will Ever Know (shuffle)
Together Again
Silver Wings
Last Date

and a few Hank Sr songs
Cheatin Heart
Jambalaya

and yes Learn Steel Guitar Rag ( E ) , don't dismiss it, you will get a request for it whether you want to or not.

Its real easy to study Hwy 40 Blues and not study and play something simple and pretty like Tenn Waltz which will pack a dance floor.

Just my opinion here.

Good luck, have fun
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Jack Hanson · From: San Luis Valley, USA

Sleepwalk, Steel Guitar Rag, and eight more of whatever strikes your fancy.

Ron Forrest · From: Logan Ohio, USA

Awesome advice and list of songs!! I'm a huge believer in simpler is better and the lessons that are learnt from concentrating on basics first.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I agree with the simple advise.
Remember, you're playing for the audience, not a bunch of steel guitar players. Very Happy

Er

Larry Baker · From: Columbia, Mo. U.S.A.

Tom Brumleys Neosho Waltz
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Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

What songs you play depends on the type of music you're playing, and the singer. Due to changes in the audience preferences over the past few decades, instrumentals are just not that popular anymore. Older people sometimes still want to hear an instrument featured, but young people these days probably don't even know what an instrumental is. Laughing

(To my knowledge, there hasn't been an instrumental hit on the charts in over 25 years.)

Ron Forrest · From: Logan Ohio, USA

Erv,

I absolutely agree. My current practice regiment is to learn the song in it's simplest form and and add the embellishments that i can pull off consistently. You're tab for Blue Eyes Cryin In the Rain was great and I was able to learn the song and and taylor it to what i could play. I'm a firm believer in "Practice to your potential and play live to your ability"

I have the extreme honor of living with an hour of two great steel players, Mike Sigler and Greg Jones. Two completely different styles of playing but what a learning experience for someone trying to tackle the Steel Guitar.

Ron Forrest · From: Logan Ohio, USA

Larry, This is a great song!!! I'll put it on my list!

Donny, I would love to see instrumentals make a comeback. I'm in the process of learning Sweet Memories and My Weakness is to Strong by John Hughey. Such great and emotional representations of these songs.

Thats the thing that attracts me to steel guitar is the emotion and being able to tell the story of a song.

Paul Strojan · From: California, USA

Here is my list of 10 essential songs for a new steel guitarist. I have tried to pick iconic songs that show the range of the instrument.

Aloha Oe
Buckaroo
Ghost Riders in the Sky
Hey Good Looking
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Sleep Walk
Slowly
Steel Guitar Rag
Till I Can Make it on My own
Top of World- Carpenters Song

Ron Forrest · From: Logan Ohio, USA

Paul,

Those are excellent choices!!

Andrew Frost · From: Toronto, Ontario

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

You never know when you'll be asked to play a rather obscure song.
I was playing with a group in Phoenix and we set up in a bar in North Phoenix.
There happened to be some folks there who were having a birthday celebration.
The birthday lady came up to us and asked if we knew "Harbor Lights".
I knew it, played it for her, and she was so happy that she actually started to cry.
And I didn't think I played it that bad!! Whoa!

Erv

Andy Vance · From: Graham, Washington, USA

Ron,
You haven't mentioned if you are learning these songs for your own enjoyment, playing at home or if you are wanting to learn songs beneficial to being in a band and performing with them.

That may help give you some ideas, although... you will probably get 100 different answers Very Happy

rick andrews · From: Westminster Co 80031

Monk's Mood
Anthropology
A Night in Tunisia
Straight No Chaser
Giant Steps
Countdown
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too
Sister Sadie
I Mean You
Along Came Betty

What do you mean I'm fired?

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Familiarity breeds contempt! Very Happy

Erv

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

If your question is specifically about instrumentals then I've got nothing to add to the generally excellent advice here.

But if your question is more general, about learning songs you need to know to start playing with other people, then I personally think learning instrumentals should be pretty far down your list of priorities, as others have also suggested.

If there are any places near you where you can hear live music with a steel, I would strongly recommend you spend as much time as possible hanging out and listening closely, and speaking to the players. You'll get a much better idea of what kind of skills (and songs) you need to be working on. A search on the forum should turn up many threads about the most common country tunes typically played by bands, but those lists are all over the map depending on era etc., which is why I suggest seeing what bands might be playing in your area.

A little off-topic from the original question, but a few related thoughts come to mind:

For a long time going to see live music with a pedal-steel would have likely meant a band playing country music. My feeling is that things have shifted a lot and a lot of whatever opportunities are out there may be more about accompanying singer-songwriters or music that might have been considered more "folk" at one time (what people often call "Americana" these days). It seems to me that's a likely place these days to get first playing opportunities (that's true even in Nashville) and that becomes more about getting the skills you need to learn songs from a basic chord chart and by ear rather than knowing a group of songs.

With any of the above, one thing that I found fun starting out (and still do years later) is to just put on music that you like and try to play along, finding ways to fit what you know in with what you're hearing, however rough. That's the best way to start developing your ears for real world playing situations, in my opinion.

All of the above is just my opinion of course!

Larry Ball · From: Airdrie, Alberta, Canada

Someone once said in a thread on the forum â€œLike the Song Firstâ€ â€¦Your musical background (if any) will help you. Pete made a wise comment â€œDevelop your earsâ€. This is so important as this instrument starts to talk to you as you start learning phrases etc. Your taste in music and the instrument will blend together to select your choice of songs. All the traditional songs have been played by many, many, great players and they all make them sound fantastic in different ways. The PSG has the potential to be played in many areas of music. So play what you like and as Pete said find groups to play along with to develop your musical ears

My Two Centsâ€¦
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Fred Treece · From: California, USA

I also agree with what Pete Finney said about developing skill sets.

There are no wrong questions, of course, but maybe the better question would be, what ten skills does a newb need to get under their belt first? I made a snarky comment about struggling in my early weeks to learn the Winnie Winston version of Red River Valley, but the brilliance of his arrangement lies in the fact that it is not meant to give the student the instant gratification of â€œlearning a songâ€ in a day or two, but to develop a skill set over a longer period of time that can be applied to hundred songs.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Ron Forrest · From: Logan Ohio, USA

Everyone thanks for the great advice!! I'll give you some background on myself and where I'm at with learning Pedal Steel Guitar.

I've been a lead guitar player for 35+ plus years and it has been my primary instrument when playing in bands. Mostly rock bands were the pedal steel really didn't have a calling with the type of music I was playing. Mostly 80/90's Rock, Marshall Amps, and Les Pauls!!

I bought my first steel over 20 years ago after listening to Greg Jones play with a local band and was instantly hooked. I picked up an old ZB Custom and its been a love/hate relationship ever since. I absolutely love the instrument and listening to people play. I would go to listen to Mike Sigler every chance i got or catch his shows at local venues. I'm very fortunate to live within an hour of these two incredible players. They have taught me a lot over the years and i am very grateful for that.

Over the years i would get discouraged with my ability to play and put the steel away and focus on guitar, get it back out, put it away and so on. I aways had my guitar playing to fall back on and I did.

As i get older and am starting to slow down on the playing schedule and bands I've decided to put my guitar on the back burner and really focus on learning the steel. I find i enjoy it more know than i ever have. Even though i have been "playing" off and and on for 20 years i still consider myself a newbie on the steel and have lots to learn.

So my question of whats the top 10 songs to learn would be for me songs that teach technique, education of the instrument and build strong fundamentals that i can build off of. My end goal is to be able to play steel full time in a band and not play guitar for awhile.(i love playing guitar and will truly never give it up!!!). I think that i learn pretty fast but the steel is different as it requires so many different techniques and processes. The work is hard but the results are amazing.

One of the problems I have is in my area it seems like there aren't any classic country bands or people that want to play the traditional stuff anymore. I'm not a huge fan of the main stream pop influenced country music or whats on the radio today. There are some great steel parts in them but the overall genre doesn't appeal to me much. I'm a true fan of Merle Haggard, George Jones, Ray price, Etc. I do enjoy some of the Americana based music as it in my opinion is closer to a traditional sound. I do also like a lot of the 80/90's country stuff too.

So i hope I didn't babble on to much and bore you to death but this forum has been a great resource and all the advice is greatly appreciated.

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Daniel McKee · From: Corinth Mississippi

Ive talked to a lot of players that mention getting a lot of requests for "Last Date" even though it was mainly known as a piano classic. Depends on the environment you play in though.

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