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""Quaking" is a term I coined to describe one of Curly's signature approaches
to emphasizing that a chord change was about to occur. He would move his
bar almost a fret above and a fret below the actual chord he was voicing at
a particular fret. The speed of the bar movement would depend on the tempo
of the tune. The effect exaggerated the fact that a chord change was about
to occur, such as changing from the tonic chord to sub-dominant chord (C7th
to F, for example) or from the dominant chord position, such as G7th or
Gaug7th, back to the tonic position (C major). He would also increase the
volume of the chord he was "quaking," reaching a sort of crescendo just
before moving to the next chord. If you listen to any of Curly's recordings
you will quickly recognize this technique. Also, he developed another
technique that I dubbed "shiver," which exaggerates the common bar tremolo
that all steel players employ to increase string sustain. Moving the bar
rapidly within a 1/4" of the fret, Curly gave a different kind of emphasis
to a chord voicing.

Curly also used volume swells, using his foot volume
control, to create an explosive quality to his chords. I called this
"gutting," although the term has long been used to describe the same thing
that organists create with the volume pedal on their instruments.

Many steel players use this technique in their playing, but few (Bobbe Seymour, David Wright, Jim Murphy, and a few others being the exceptions) perfected it as Curly did. This
technique is achieved by increasing the volume rapidly just as you are about
to voice a chord, then instantly backing off the volume. Chord gutting was
Curly's most recognizable trademark."

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