background playing

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

could anyone recommend a good intermediate course for background playing on steel guitar ? I have been focused on licks and blocking and feel that my background playing really needs work. When I am not soloing or filling I tend to just be following the chords of the tune around instead of playing nice background lines. I am going to start transcribing the pro's on my own, but a good course would also be helpful to me. so if you have a recommendation, please let me know ! thanks
Karen
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Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

One background playing idea I use is to not use vibrato, slides or bends. Every time you bend a note or slide you draw attention to yourself which often does not serve the tune.

Another thing to try is to leave the melody note out of your chords. Also play in a completely different register than the singer. Way lower or higher.
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Bob

Dickie Whitley · Posted 22 Nov 2013 4:43 pm

deleted

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I would be careful about having set licks and phases for background playing. Good background playing is completely dependent on the singer and other musicians. It is not "your space" like playing a solo. Try listening to the trombones or clarinets playing background in Ellington's music. Or listen to viola players in classical,string quartets for ideas.

BTW: the Newman coarse is a good one. Has lots of ideas about how to phrase around the vocal in standard country tunes.
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Bob

Tim Marcus · From: San Francisco, CA

I find that when the singer is singing, the best thing to do is nothing Very Happy

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Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

great thanks for the replies. I do understand about keeping quiet during vocals but I do like a little background playing here and there. I will order the Newman course, I have some of his other courses and like them very much.
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Emmons, Franklin, Mullen

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Karen, my thought is that when playing background, you have a similar role to the color commentator on a sports broadcast. Whatever you say should be either relevant to the song, interesting, or both. And the audience and the band should be glad you spoke up.

I found a backing track with vocals yesterday, it made me contemplate doing a video this coming Monday on this very subject. I'm no Newman, I ain't even a Mickey Adams, but I can try.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

thanks Lane. Smile

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Emmons, Franklin, Mullen

Ken Campbell · From: Ferndale, Montana

I myself tend to stick to quiet swells during vocals but damned if I'm not really interested in what everyone else is doing!!!

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

You just might benefit from the background work that one extremely famous steel guitarist did for decades.
His back-up was nearly as beautiful as were his solo's.

Try the JERRY BYRD - Fan Club.comThe Juke Box chapter will provide lots of listening.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Ray, neither thejerrybyrdfanclub.com nor jerrybyrdfanclub.com works.
While I agree with you that Jerry was the master of lap steel backup (like Lloyd for pedal and Mike Auldridge on Dobro), there's a difference between examples of how it's done and guidance on how to do it.
There's an art to knowing which notes you leave unplayed.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Niels Andrews · From: Salinas, California, USA

Karen,
I think one of the true master's of playing in and around the vocalist was the great "Papa John " Hughey. Listening to him from his Conway too Vince days are a real lesson. Another observation that helped me was listening to the call and response in many genre's of music. I have been dealing with the same questions.
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Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Hughey is what brought me to The Steel Guitar, and I didn't even know (at the time) who it was that was playing.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

From one JayHawker to another.....

the Jerry Byrd - Fan Club.com just worked for me and I'm listening to one of the recently posted tunes as I write this response to you on the SGF.

Thanks however, for your thoughtful 'heads-up'.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Ahhh. Found it. Ray, on the net, spelling and punctuation count and there are no spaces.
Here it is www.jerrybyrd-fanclub.com/
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

I misread your first post. If you have a rhythm guitar in your band, I lean towards playing NOTHING if you're not doing the fills.
Exceptions exist when you have a line that helps the groove (Folsom Prison, I play a roll using the ball of my hand instead of the bar, gives a good train feel. Red Neckin Love Making Night, I play the "shortnin bread" line). Or I'll add a low volume 7th chord a few beats before going up a fourth.
Basically ask yourself, before you strike a note, "does this song NEED me here, or does the rest of the gang have it covered?"
In event of the former, play something tasteful. In event of the latter (more likely), put yer hands in yer lap and watch the crowd. Then when you DO make a sound, it'll mean more.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Howard Steinberg · From: St. Petersburg, Florida , USA

Some years ago I attended a Jeff Newman seminar that was based on a course called "Bandstand Backup"(I think). He was focused on the steel interacting with the singer and other solo instruments. Basically, it was when to enter and exit without stepping all over another's space. The general philosophy was we fill, solo and shut up the rest of the time.

The reality for many of us is that we are often playing in smaller groups, some without a lead player where we are playing both steel and guitar. In these situations there is something to contribute by laying down a pad (rhythm steel?). I do this with the lower end of the guitar which helps fill out the sound and stays out of the range of the singer. When working with a keyboard player it's my experience that it's better to stay out of the way due to potential intonation issues, although this seems to vary with different keyboards.
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Justice Pro Lite (4-5), Justice D-10 (8-5)x2 , Quilter Steelaire, Hilton Pedal, BJ's bar.

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