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Topic: "Just One More Time" solo question |
John Polstra
From:
Lopez Island, WA, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2009 12:58 pm |
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I've been trying to learn the pedal steel solo from "Just One More Time" on the "Reverb Deluxe" album by the Derailers. Scott Walls played pedal steel on the album. I'm a beginner (less than 2 months), so I may have bitten off more than I can chew. It's going surprisingly well but I don't see how I'll ever get it up to tempo, because of the quick bar movements that seem to be required. Could you guys give me a reality check and make sure I'm playing the solo the easiest way? Here is the solo at speed. Note: it's in G# on the album but I pitch-shifted it up to the key of A, since that's the key my band is planning to play it in:
Link to the solo
Now here is a little snippet that starts around the 11 second mark of the solo. I slowed it down to half speed to make it easier to hear the notes:
Link to the snippet
As far as I can tell, it's played on strings 4-5-6 using only the A and B pedals. It starts with a slide up from fret 5 to fret 7 on the first note, then plays a few notes there. Then it jumps really fast up to the 12th fret. Then it jumps up to the 19th fret.
Have I got that right? He sure is executing those jumps fast.
Thanks,
John |
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John Polstra
From:
Lopez Island, WA, USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2009 8:21 am
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I must not have asked the question very well, so I'll try again. Do you think this tab is more or less correct for this part of the solo? I mean are the positions right, or is there a better way to play it that doesn't involve so much bar motion?
Thanks,
John |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2009 9:48 am
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| Yes, it sounds like he changed position really, really quickly. |
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John Polstra
From:
Lopez Island, WA, USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2009 9:57 am
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Thanks, Earnest. I'll keep practicing it, then.
John |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 24 Mar 2009 2:47 pm
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Yes, it's three different positions spanning an octave. It seems hard now, John, but once you have some more experience, it's really a piece of cake.  |
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John Polstra
From:
Lopez Island, WA, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2009 3:02 pm
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Thanks for the encouragement, Donny. My big difficulty with it currently -- as I'm sure you remember from when you were learning -- is in coordinating the palm blocking with the bar motion so I don't get a big loud ugly "wheeeeeee" on the way up. It's gradually getting better with practice, though.
John |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 27 Mar 2009 6:41 am
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| John, some beginners have a tendency to hold their right hand normally off the strings, so it may help if you sometimes think about blocking more as "un-blocking". That is, you're right hand rests on the strings whenever you're not picking (or you don't want the notes to ring). Then, when you're playing (picking), you're only lifting your hand (un-blocking) as you pick the strings. That way, the act of picking the strings and "un-blocking" them almost become one and the same, as opposed to thinking of them as two separate actions. |
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John Polstra
From:
Lopez Island, WA, USA
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Posted 27 Mar 2009 5:34 pm
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Good point, Donny. I took a few lessons a month ago, and my teacher said the same thing. But I think I had kind of drifted away from that approach. I'm going back to the blocking exercises in the Winnie Winston book and working on them some more until it's in my bones. I need to be more solid on the fundamentals before I try to tackle difficult solos.
John |
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