Pedal mashing?

Leslie Ehrlich · From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

I've seen the phrase 'pedal mashing' in a few threads on the SGF and I'm wondering what that means. I use the A and B pedal a lot to get major chords on the E9th neck, and I use the B and C pedals to get the minor chords. Is this pedal mashing? I also discovered a knee lever that might help with some chord changes, but the other three knee levers make things sound too jazzy and dissonant.

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

When a gorilla operates the pedals, he is mashing them.

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

"Pedal Mashing" is an unkind term used to describe some steel players that never go beyond making the sounds that you get by stepping on the A & B pedals. Everybody mashes them some, because one of the prettiest things a pedal steel can do is make that chord change using those two pedals. But steel players only tend to call it mashing when someone else is doing it! Particularly someone they don't much like. So mash away don't worry about it - just take advantage of all the information you can get in order to learn other stuff as well. One of the knee levers you have probably not had success experimenting with is the one that raises your e's (4th and 8th strings) (sometimes called teh f pedal because that's what it raises the e's to)a half tone. Used in conjunction with the "A" pedal, it gives you a major chord on any consecutive three string combination of strings 10,8,6,5,4, and 3. Try a G chord at the third fret (no pedals), slide up to the 6th fret with the a pedal and the f-lever applied, and you have the next inversion of the g chord. Then slide on up to the tenth fret, with the A and B pedals appled, and you have the next inversion of the G chord. And, for good measure, head on up to the 15th fret with no pedals or levers and you have another G, an octave higher than the first.

The knee lever you have probably had some success with is the one that lowers the e's. It makes a nice minor chord for you. Try this though - play a C at the third fret with the A & B pedals "mashed", on, say the 8th, 6th and 5th strings. Then slide back two frets, while releasing the A pedal and applying the lever that lowers the E's. That gives you a nice c7th, which resolves nicely into an F when you take your foot off the B pedal and release the knee lever.

Good luck.

[This message was edited by Bob Blair on 27 November 2002 at 06:45 PM.]

Joey Ace · From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

I have an old Buddy Emmons instructional record somewhere. He uses the term "mash your A and B pedals" a few times on it.

I don't think the term is derogatory, just slang.

Neil Flanz · From: Austin, Texas (deceased)

Forumites, I used the term "Mash" pedals "A", "B", or "C" on my E 9th Instruction album which was first released thirty years ago and which has been recently re released. I first heard the word when Jimmy Day used the term in a letter that he sent me a long time ago describing how he played a particular lick on a certain song on an album. The term is by no means derogatory.

[This message was edited by Neil Flanz on 29 November 2002 at 07:47 PM.]

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

I'm never happier to stand corrected when its my good friend Neil Flanz doing the correcting. (And Joey, I don't mind at all being corrected by you either!).

If mashing is good enough for Neil, Buddy and Jimmy, it's sure good enough for me! As I said, mash away!

I think I do recall somewhere or other the term being used in a negative fashion though. If I remember where, I'll get back to y'all.

Steve Feldman · From: Central MA USA

You have to mash it when you want to milk it.

Terry Edwards · From: Florida... livin' on spongecake...

"Mashing" is one way to engage a pedal. There are others.

"Stomping", "Pressing", "squeezing" are other ways.

Terry

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Pumping! I had some memory of an article somewhere that I though had dissed "mashing". I found the article, but I had the term wrong. In a long ago issue of Steel Guitarist, Tom Bradshaw wrote an editorial which complained about the quality of some steel playing going on at that time. He spoke derisorily of "pumping the A pedal". Hmm - maybe I confused "pumping" with "mashing". So mashing is ok, but pumping is not!

I suppose one could "apply" the pedal, but that seems pretty boring to me........

Stephen Gambrell · From: Over there

Whoever heard of "pressed" potatoes with gravy?

Tom Olson · From: Spokane, WA

The term "mash" is a coloquialism which generally means "depress with your foot." For example, the phrase, "mash the gas" means "depress the accelerator pedal extremely quickly, you fool, before the cops catch us!"

Such colloquialisms are generally employed by folk who don't want to have to remember so many words. That is, if you don't want to have to remember a bunch of different words, then you just use the words you already know in different ways to mean different things.

For example, one of the first words Bubba learned (when he was almost two years old) was "mash pertaters." Since Bubba wants to simplify his life, he simply uses the term "mash the pedal" (since he already learnt the word "mash") rather than learning to say, "depress the pedal with your foot."

A similar coloquialism is "cut." This generally means "switch." For example, you may hear someone say, "cut the lights off" or "cut the lights on."

[This message was edited by Tom Olson on 04 December 2002 at 09:14 PM.]

Earl Yarbro · From: Bowie, Texas, USA

I'm working on trying to work (mash) the pedals more smoothly. I have a tendency to stomp the pedal, making the worn parts sound off with rattling sounds. I guess they are worn but have found when I conciencely soften up my stomp, it makes a lot less noise. A little oiling helps the situation also.

Earl Yarbro
Zum D110
ZB D10

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

When I mash the pedals real fast on my player piano it makes purty music. I tried mashin the pedals on my steel real fast, and it didn't make a sound unless I picked the strings while mashin. Danged thing must be broke.

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