Every Now And Then...

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Every now and then, the abrupt realization returns, of how fast time slips away while playing steel. It's not uncommon for a player to think back to where it all started. It could be ten or seventy years ago, the harsh reminder's impact, jars a moment of peace and tranquillity. I've often wondered how often these thoughts occur within the minds of others.

Rick Nicklas · From: Verona, Mo. (deceased)

As a child I remember seeing my father's bedroom at the end of the hallway at night and he would sit practicing his steel guitar with a cigarette hanging from his mouth and would occasionally wipe a tear from his eye caused from the direct line hit of smoke.

This is a rememberance of me envisioning my future.

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

In another recent thread about Willie Nelson's black and white video for the song, "Undertaker," I mentioned that as I get older, I'm tending to think of this sort of thing more often. As time goes by I will come face to face with my own mortality. But even at my current age, I wouldn't say I think about it very often. Every week, maybe. But certainly NOT every day.
_________________
Amor vincit omnia

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Edward,

Reality disappears behind the curtain when the good times roll. I know what you are saying, and what it means. It could be more of those familiar seasonal temperamental attitudes, that are seriously lagging; as is evident in recent threads. We've always been able to run, but hiding is another matter.

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

I'll try Hank's recipe for "keeping busy all the time." Hank once wrote those now famous words; "Mind Your Own Business, And You'll Stay Busy All The Time. Truer words have never been said.

Bo Legg · Posted 16 Jan 2008 8:24 am

The older I get the better I was.

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Yeah, Bo, like, it takes me all night to do what I used to do all night

Laughing

Ricky Newman · From: Ontario, Canada

I might be way too young to even pipe up on this, but I've been thinking about it from another direction. The first few years after college, I noticed the weeks were going by WAY too fast. I was working hard, playing guitar where and when I could, and sleeping when time permitted.

Since a pedal steel guitar has come into my life, two major things have happened. 1) I have all this really quality time in my life: Hours spent alone playing, tuning, fixing, cleaning but mostly figuring stuff out - organizing notes and intervals into music. 2) I don't mind watching the weeks go by because I'm getting better all the time. Rather than looking at 30 with fear, it's become the year by which I want to be ready to tour with confidence.

So there.

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Ricky,

I appreciate the fact that you've taken the time to express some of your feelings on the subject of TIME. Other than pedal steel guitars, and their "ancestral" connections to lap steels, "Time" is by far my favorite subject. There are many different thoughts that connect with, and are associated with every person on the planet. Making light of the passing of time, will ultimately evolve into a situation where trivializing approaches to calendar dates, will no longer be a part of attitudinal thinkings. I remember well, the year of my 30th birthday. That was the birthday that produced a more defined reality. Good-by to the youthful twenties. While batting this subject around for discussion, it becomes apparent that it ties in with musical practice sessions. Every steel guitarist in the world can learn something new every single day of his/her life. That is the challenge that places the multi-stringed instrument near the top, wnen agendums listed as formats, invade our plans for the day. As you recall reading a quote by the late and great Jeff Newman; "I've always wanted to play like that, and now I can", it becomes a small wonder that teaching others was his main goal in life. His stature belied the profound potential of his determination to teach others. Newspapers that I have in my possession, from the sixties, picture Jeff offering steel guitar lessons. Faron Young was Editor of the Nashville newspaper at the time. Getting back to the subject of how absorbed a steel guitar student becomes, as the study of the instrument intensifies, and then fades with the passing of time. It really is quite similar to all activities that involve pleasures. The body eventually becomes wearisome on any given day, as then we rise and walk away from the lessons learned. Despite the thoughts of losing something gained, the other alternative is trusting in memory, and continue to walk away and digest the amazing results of a more determined approach to resolving the effects of practice. I can think of three issues that would more or less improve progressiveness on the steel guitar. Locating those who have a lot in common with oneself, that is, the ability to relate at levels that create something learned through creative thinking processes. Another would be training attention on consistencies. The individual who fits into off and on tendencies, unfortunately has become more of an issue with the passing of time. Lastly, the time issue pervades our lifestyles with regularity. The intermingling of time and musical studies, overwhelmingly become an issue as calendar issues slip away.

Ricky Newman · From: Ontario, Canada

Wow Bill,

Who knew I'd get onto a message board to talk about my fancy antique guitar and end up talking about the relativity of time?

My thoughts as it relates to music:

A note or pitch is the name for the specific frequency of a wave of energy that is usually small enough to fit between air particles as it travels through space. It is defined entirely against its mathematical relatives: its fractions and products.

Its frequency is directly related to its pitch through a simple mathematical function and represents the number of times that this waveform repeats its shape over a given period. The measurement Hertz (Hz) refers to the number of cycles (events) per second - that arbitrary period that we base our entire measurement of time on.

So we take this 440hz and we call it "A above middle C." Then we multiply or divide it, chance upon "pleasing overtones", arrange it into 12 separate tones, (mis)name them an octave, and love to hear the way they repeat themselves in small integer fractions.

Some of us even play two necks of ten strings with 8 pedals, 4 knee levers, an expression pedal and a digital delay unit to manipulate these little "bombs" of time into nice little flower arrangements for peoples' ear drums to see.

And time itself could be accelerating all around us and we'd still have no goddamn clue except that vague feeling that maybe it might be.

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Ricky,

Wow now, brown cow, it's time for me to rein in thoughts of profound matters, that are rarely trained upon by average string plucking entities. Changing courses at midstream to satisfy disgruntled chanters is distasteful. The main reason would be a prompt crackling reordering of "Let sleeping dogs lie", or "Don't shake the bulldog's chain." There are tons of quips that will deter the best chances to explore new avenues of thought. Anti this, and anti that, outbursts, are commonly resorted to in close quarters, rather than nurturing the seeds of adventure. Play it safe! Buckle up! Look before you leap! Unnecessary warnings by the hundreds of lessons learned by the 20th birthday. Things become quite apparent as soon as we take on new responsibilities. Your in depth paraphrastic references to electronics leads me to believe that you've delved into the subject to a great extent. I like to experiment with the mechanics of properly adjusted steel guitars. Getting the feel of pedals and knee levers, isn't an overnight experience. Neither are the constant ferretings of chordal positionings, as they apply to melodies. It would be very interesting to hear more of the progress you've made on your steel, and to read about the builder's name. By all means though, I encourage you to keep with the technical accounts of unique subject matters.

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Every now and then, the appeal of practicing the melody lines of selected tunes is greater. The results of these exultations, can benefit the player. The miraculous impact of "discoveries" that have been there all along, yield to persistent searching. As the enticement becomes more intense, we move closer to mapping out our best efforts to speak by way of musical renditions. The steel guitar features an unique quality that separates it from other musical instruments. A piano at one time represented a certain pitch for each key, whereas a steel guitar offers a licidity unmatched, by way of bar slurs, pull-offs, harmonics etc. Optative reasonings, that offer endless opportunities to be creative in musical expressions, should mark the advent of steel guitar studies.

John Roche · From: England

It's worse I'm improving

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

John,

Cohesion is very desirous while attempting to communicate. Contrary to a state of somnambulism, there is a chance for improved exchanges, should the well versed care enough to participate.

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