To Slant Or Not To Slant

Steven Finley · From: California, USA

Has the art of bar slanting been lost to the modern-day steel guitarist?
Are you only half a steel guitar player?

I know, I’ve heard that with the coming of the “pedal” steel guitar that slants are no longer needed, and to use the bar slanting technique is old school. However, the bar technique is a valued aspect of steel guitar and increases the potential and flexibility of the instrument.

Instead of relying on a pedal to raise or lower a tone by one or one-half, the use of the bar slant extends the range. This can open up a whole new world of variations while maintaining the unwelcome enforcement of using only E9th for country music. Although I am allowed, and even encouraged, to use C6th with Tom Bovine’s band, whenever I use slants on the E9th it brings a smile to Tom’s face. Bar slanting when used along with the pedals brings a unique sound to the tired and worn out “rock two pedals” style. This also eliminates the need for a cluster of knee levers which brings added weight.

By using the bar slanting technique you can play almost anything with 4, maybe 5 knee levers. Example: Lloyd Green used this technique with 3 pedals and 4 levers. If you doubt my opinion, just tune in to Bobbe Seymour site and see some prolific bar slanting.

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I'll bet some time playing non-pedal steel would do every steel guitarist some good. Very Happy

What do you think?
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Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

After spending a lot of time on the bandstand playing non pedal I find myself using slants on my pedalsteel without thinking about it. I look at slants as a different sound that is exactly what works sometimes.

I also find myself practicing E9 licks using slants instead of pedals to help wrap my head around what is happening with the tuning.
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Jay Yuskaitis · From: Massachusetts, USA

I'd be lost without them, even playing with pedals. Learn as much as you can both ways, but don't expect pedals to make it easier than "practice". Just watch the "For Sale" section of the forum, and see all the "Dreams for Sale". There is no easy way out, and as Rick Alexander once said, "The Key To The Kingdom is Practice". THE ONLY WAY. Jay Y.

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

who was disputing this in the first place steve?

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

Starting out on a barebones 6 string has its advantages.

It's slant or die...
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Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

Just barely learning a few slants,but thinking real hard about getting a lap steel just to learn the technique better.

Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

If you use slants AND the pedals simultaneously you can get some sounds that you can't get with slants or pedals alone...

Thiel Hatt · From: Utah, USA

The question of using slants and or pedals or a combination of both I thinks is masterfully displayed by the well respected Hall of Fame member Lloyd Green . His unique style and impressive execution is admired by all who love steel guitar and recognize what a gifted performer he is.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

When SGF members are discussing the topic of 'slants', most will indicate they're going to go back to a lap/non-pedal steel.......for practice.WHY go thro' all the fuss?

Why not just play your guitar, whatever brand, and keep your feet off of the pedals and your knees away from the knee levers. Leave the pedal bar attached but leave it alone.

You can play the guitar with/without pedals.....
No need whatsoever to drag along a lap steel to your gig for those one or two Hawaiian songs that's on your play list. Just play the TUNING.....and use the slants that are required where required.

A steel guitar is a guitar. A TUNING is extremely important and indicates when and where slants are to be played.

SLANTS are only a problem if you make them a problem.Those of us that learned years ago.......took it in stride and had to adapt to pedals. Either way, don't forget you're playing an Electric, Hawaiian, Lap Steel, Console Steel guitar. Play it and enjoy it. LOL.

Billy Tonnesen · From: R.I.P., Buena Park, California

IMHO, forward slants can be learned and used much easier than backward slants. A backward slant requires much more manipulation with the fingers and steel bar. Sometimes when going into a backward slant it is possible to lose control of the Steel Bar when it is an up tempo song and the slant has to be made and recovered from quickly. Slants require a lot of practice.

Dean Holman · From: Branson MO

I use a couple of slants with the pedals. One slant I use is just with the A pedal and another slant I use both the A and B pedal. I've used slants, chimes and any other sounds I can get out of a steel guitar. In my opinion, you can make slants work in today's music. I know slants can be sort of hit and miss but if you keep practicing on them they will become easier to play. But I think slants add a lot to music and plus it is also fun to watch a player use them. I saw on a clip a few months where Buddy Emmons use to spin the bar all away around a complete circle. I don't know how he did it but it worked. I'm not going to let today's music limit what and what not to play. If had to do that I would quit playing.

Kevin Mincke · From: Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA

Lloyd Green.....forward~backward slants

Bob Simons · From: Kansas City, Mo, USA

Ray's advice is excellent. I constantly practice and often play with only the open tuning of my U-12 or with the E's lowered only. Really helps understand the neck...
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Scott Henderson · From: Camdenton, Missouri, USA

"I'll bet some time playing non-pedal steel would do every steel guitarist some good."

One of the most profound statements made about steel guitar in 20 years...

Thanks Mike
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

ray...'leave the pedal bar attached but leave it alone!'

that's kind of like telling charlie sheen ..'you can sleep with a naked playboy bunny but don't touch her!'

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I use bar slants as necessary to get the notes I want. Sometimes on slow tunes I use them for the unique tone change they make. Changing the length of a vibrating string sounds different from changing its tension.

For example, sometimes I slant the bar instead of using a lever on the 8th string of E9th. That's easy. Also, since I only raise my 1st string half a step, I use a forward slant to get that high unison lick effect on strings 1 and 3.

There are others. It becomes sort of automatic once you understand your copedent. When you want to slide from these two notes to those two and there's no pedal or lever combination that does it, you slant.

On C6th, there's no lever to lower the 7th string C so I often use a forward slant on strings 5 and 7. This carries over to E9th, which is why I often slant on the 8th string of E9th instead of using the lever.
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David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

There are some astonishing things that happen in C6th with slants - AND pedals. Just spend an afternoon on forward slants, pressing pedals and combinations and naming your chords... you could fall in and never come back. Shocked

Damn those kids look skinny... hey, it's 2010! Whoa!

Ben Godard · From: Jamesville NC

I hardly ever use slants on the E9th but I do it all the time on the C6th. I guess thats because I'm use to playing a nonpedal E6/E13. I still haven't learned how to use the pedals on the C6 yet.

I do love experimenting on C6th neck. Escpecially with Paul's setup.(almost) There is absolutely no limit. I find myself getting "zoned" and I don't even know what I'm doing but I'll try something way off the wall and it will sound good many times. Lots of good rock and roll stuff and even heavy metal on that neck as well. Like I said, there is no limit except the person playing.

Dana Blodgett · From: California, USA

This is the stuff I've been looking for as I have been contemplating adding the B to Bb lever and have been wondering if I really need to add it?
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Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

Adam Sorber · From: Pennsylvania, USA

I use bar slants in tandem with the pedals and knee levers. I remember reading once that Lloyd Green disconnected his peadal rods on one of the early hawaian instrumental albums that he recorded so that he wouldn't be tempted to use the peadals on the album.
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Dallas Cheked · From: Pennsylvania, USA

Garrett Foster · From: Illinois, USA

I’ll admit that the spacing on most modern pedal steels doesn’t allow for slanting from a one chord to a full four chord as the 5th (middle string) will often be out of tune, but I do enjoy slanting a lot, especially sliding up to a slant with two strings as it sustains better than relying on pedals (though a good right foot on the volume can fix that). I do, though, have a tendency to forgo pedals for anything using 1-2 notes (single note lines and double stops), which is pretty old-school. I would like a Billy Robinson-style 10 string lap steel with extra spacing to really get slants going strong. Slants give a little more control and a little more sustain, but you have to work on the control.

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