In the mean time, if you were to give only one piece of advice or technique tip to a newbie, what would it be? Or to put it another way, until I can get some type of "formal" instruction, what are things I need to avoid or need to concentrate on doing?

(I've found another similar thread http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/005267.html and am hoping to build on top of this.)

Also, I'd appreciate any recommendations for an E9 instructional book that closely maps to the Starter's copedent http://www.carterstarter.com/cssetup.html

Thanks in advance - and Happy Father's Day!

[This message was edited by Darrell Prichard on 19 June 2004 at 10:12 AM.]

Do this until you find somebody that really makes you want to play like them as far as execution, and melodic communication, and then take lessons from them.

When you do, spend ONE HOUR a day playing and practicing with an amp and reverb that sounds good TO YOU.

That's about all I can suggest.

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84 SKH Emmons Legrand D10
session 400'rd Steelin for my Lord.

[This message was edited by Terry Sneed on 19 June 2004 at 06:29 PM.]

And that's the best advice I could give anyone at any level of playing!!

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Fessy S-12U, Future MSA Millennium S-12U, Stereo Steel

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T.C.
Emmons S-10
Rayline SD-10 (#46)

Strings in Tune or Strings out of Tune;
Pedals in Tune or Pedals out of Tune;
Bar accurately placed above the desired fret.
Right hand in the proper place for picking
and the BEST SOUND achieveable;
Confident picking of strings; not a tentative, tinny sounding metal against metal;
Quality NEW STRINGS; NOT the cheapest set you could find;
Quality chords and electrical jacks;
An Excellent functioning and closely matched amplifier.

REMEMBER, unlike a Sax, or Trumpet, or triangle.... the steel guitar is a carefully selected and matched combination of misc. components, with QUALITY SOUND/TONE being its ultimate and only objective.

If you carefully master the above, you will be on target for your ultimate goal of being
a "better than average" steel guitarist.

Preferred bar, picks, style, pak-seat, etc., will come to you in time......as will the manner in which you stand, tilt your cowboy hat, approach the bar and all of that kind of musician imagry. Good Luck to you.

Pick just one player you really, really enjoy hearing and forget all of the rest for the initial time being. Get some of his/her instrumental tunes (SLOW ONES to begin with!) and try very hard to learn them as accurately as possible. You'll be learning how/why he/she phrases this way or that way and why these/those strings/pedals were chosen over other possibilities. Once you can master several of his/her instrumentals, you can now occasionally listen to other players and determine if you can, how what they're playing sorta homogenizes with your original players techniques.

After sixty years, some of us are still making daily discoveries of how this or that was accomplished; and why this way instead of that way. Steel guitar IS NOT EASY for most, but it will provide you with one of the most rewarding past times one can have.

Best, -Dave

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Mullen D-10 - It's still one smooooth puppy!
Photo page

[This message was edited by Dave Horch on 20 June 2004 at 08:05 PM.]

"Horizontal and vertical..."

Correct me if I'm wrong (which may be likely)...

and all the other stuff mentioned above..

quote:

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Vertical meaning moving from string to string and Horizontal meaning staying on 1 particular string. Correct? Or am I misinterpreting?

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And most of all: Be patient with yourself. It can be really frustrating... I don't think that necessarily ever stops, you just get frustrated with progressively more trivial and arcane things that don't insult the ears of other people anymore.

Every now and again, you'll put a smile on your own face, and as someone told me early on (not that that's that long ago, mind you): "It's an instrument that always gives you just enough back to make you come back for more." Truer words I don't think I've ever been told.

Darrell, get the Jeff Newman "just play the melody" and he shows you a full scale all on one fret(vertically)and scales up and down the neck(horizontally) . this course is priceless for learnin two note harmony scales.
Terry

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84 SKH Emmons Legrand D10
session 400'rd Steelin for my Lord.

In a way his words do to the steel guitar world what Jesus did for man, when he said, John 3:16. For IMO it is the ONLY statement in the entire bible that summarizes the entire bible.

carl

[This message was edited by C Dixon on 21 June 2004 at 01:29 PM.]

Black sounds best.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

It was meant for you. I find the following statement to be profound indeed:

quote:

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"Those are the first three things to learn. Learn them well and you can find your way around any 3-chord country tune."

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You summed up in your post IMO, the most important thing about the PSG regards the E9th neck; which is by far the most played PSG tuning ever.

All the other suggestions are good too. But yours got right to the core of how I believe a good teacher should begin any student. For it wades thru all the mist and mystery as well as gobbledegook of this incredible instrument. And opens up WHAT the PSG is all about.

With your suggestions as a foundation, ANY aspiring Steel guitar player (as oppossed to those just curious), can build on that like NO other suggestion I have ever read.

In a word, it says it all to the beginner IMO. That is why I could only come up with one analogy that would fit.

Did not to mean to cause you a problem.

I'm still working on that one!
lc

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Larry Chung
ZB D-10 8+4
ZB Custom S-11 4+4 Dekley S-10 3+4