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Russell Adkins · From: Louisiana, USA

Ever feel like giving it up and throwing the stinking thing out the door, after spending all that money which is hard to get then you realize that you will never learn to play it like you want ? When you slide that steel bar up and down the neck all you hear is waaannnggggg mixed in with your melody? I thought it would be better than this. When you press the pedals and it sounds so sour you wanna screem? You hit that knee lever and you get it all wrong again ? darn will I ever get it right. When you play that lesson cd and you know you are playing the right notes but it dosent sound like the cd ,what am I doing wrong your thinking then you realize that your never gonna sound like a steel player? You cant do it , you ll never do it, its way above you . you get disgusted and your gonna sell it do away with you don't need the headache. Ever feel like that?

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

It has been said before that it takes two years to sound like crap. Prior to the end of year two it sounds so bad there isn't even a category for it. By five years you begin to realize that it will take twenty to be at a pro level. After 20 years. .. nothing you can play fits the musical trend of the day... you are outdated and moving out of the prime of your life.

So in the final analysis. ... you have to play it because you love every moment with it. .. and nothing else matters.

Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

The only time I have felt like throwing out a steel guitar, was when I was asked to tune up, and then also play, someone else's Carter Starter - earlier this year. A horrible experience for one that is used to Dekley Very Happy

For the first few years after I bought my first PSG - in the early -80s, as I was seriously trying out much of the available lessons, I became quite frustrated by the fact that many of those lessons - and teachers - tried to make me play and sound anyway but me.
Once I started picking out what I liked and wanted to achieve, and began ignoring all else, playing steel turned into pure fun, and that feeling has lasted ever since.

Geoff Noble · From: Scotland

Edward Rhea · From: Medford Oklahoma, USA

Pray for patience.....

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

I have often said that the only thing that kept me from throwing the damn thing out the window was the fact that my first 9 months I was playing borrowed guitars, that would need to be returned.
Hang in there. It does eventually become easier.
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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

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Don't give up!
I remember in my youth when I was taking Hawaiian guitar lessons, I got to the point where I hated to go for lessons and then, just like turning on a light bulb, it all came together and I loved it after that.
Patience produces results! Very Happy

Ben Rubright · From: Punta Gorda, Florida, USA

Every once in a great while I get 2 or 3 notes in a row that sounds to me like something Buddy might have played (well.....almost). Live for those few moments....for me they make it all worthwhile. PLUS....everyone looks good sitting behind one.
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D10 Emmons LeGrande SKH (rebuilt by Billy Knowles), D10 Emmons Push/Pull (setup by Billy Knowles) , SD10 Rittenberry

David Cubbedge · From: Toledo,Ohio, USA

It has to be the most humbling instrument ever made. I just had a 'quit-playing-moment' a few weeks ago. Played a gig backing up the son of a legend, first time with this particular group. Had some good licks, a few train wrecks, and I could see the steel players in the audience wincing.... Didn't help that the drummer tended to kick off songs a lot faster than at practice and the fiddler was in his own world of overplaying. As I drove home I decided that was it, no more. Kept the steel in its' case for three weeks, but it's out again and I'm practicing for my next gig. I can't quit!
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Red Emmons D10 fatback #2246D with sweet Hugh Briley split cases, Black Emmons S10 #1466S, '73 Fender "Snakeskin" Twin Reverb, Peavey Nashville 400, Line 6 Pod XT, Fender 400, Fender Stringmaster Double-8, too many guitars, one bass!

Jack Aldrich · From: Washington, USA

My S10 wood neck ShoBud ProI had dings in the fretboard where I slammed my steel down hard, out of frustration. Didn't hurt the sound one bit, fortunately. I've always regretted selling it.
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Jack Aldrich
Carter & ShoBud D10's
D8 & T8 Stringmaster
Rickenbacher B6
3 Resonator guitars
Asher Alan Akaka Special SN 6
Canopus D8

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

steel guitar isn't for everyone.

Billy McCombs · From: Bakersfield California, USA

Sounds like some adjustment's might be in order, If the pedals sound that bad. Take it to a good Tech. then just play it and don't touch it other than Tune it at the Key head. Have fun and don't get in a hurry.
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78 Emmons PP,Great tone.82 Emmons SKH #56

Hamilton Barnard · From: Oro Valley, Arizona (deceased)

I'm at year 4 playing, only 16 more years to go to sound good. But then I'll be 82. Oops...

Paul Hoaglin · Posted 24 Sep 2015 9:15 am

I'm with you there, Hamilton - I'll only be 60, but still. Oops is right.

So my answer the OP is, yeah, definitely. But for some reason I haven't yet - probably because I'm too stupid to understand Chris Ivey's post.... Devil

Marco Schouten · From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Maybe you can take one or two lessons, to help you tune the guitar and get a start with the first few basics.
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JCH SD-10 with BL XR-16 pickup, Sho-Bud Volume Pedal, Evidence Audio Lyric HG cables, Quilter Steelaire combo

Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

Russell, I understand completely! I looked in my email file and on 8-22 of this year I sent an email to one of my mentors saying I was in a real "down" cycle and felt like walking away from it. And about 2 weeks ago I sent the same guy an email saying I felt like I was finally getting somewhere on it.

What changed in between? Nothing much. I did play a couple days at a country music jam, I got a couple pointers from some long-time players, but overall it was just the "staircase" effect where you make a jump upwards, then are on a flat plateau for a while until the next jump.

And for what it's worth, I have been told by guys who have played 35, 40 or more years that THEY seem to have times where nothing goes right and they feel like taking an ax to the instrument.

Hang in there, try working on some different facet from what you have been, and it will swing the other way. You are FAR from alone in thinking you're stalled, but it DOES get better!

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Even though I said the words I do agree there is no time table. I spent one day with a top pro steel player and felt I moved a year ahead in progress relative to the independent trial and error approach that was the norm. I do believe with Skype. .. wide access to written lessons etc. .. progress could be a lot faster than other approaches.

I also think the age a person starts plays a big role in retention. ... age 5 to 7 is the peak for dialing in brain structure. But there are indeed some people that just have an ability to grab things and run at any age.

Is steel guitar for everyone. .. no. . it is for those that have the commitment to endure and enjoy the challenge.

Ned McIntosh · From: New South Wales, Australia

I've never felt like giving up - the instrument is just far too addictive.

The pedal-steel guitar is a logical, knowable and repeatable instrument. It is difficult and demanding to play well, but it can be done. Indeed, several notable players have done precisely that.

Music itself is knowable, logical and repeatable. The structures, harmonies and tonal relationships are all there and can be understood if you are exposed to them for long enough.

What isn't knowable, logical, or repeatable about this instrument - or music itself, for that matter - is what comes from the heart of the player each and every time he plays the instrument, and that applies to pretty much any instrument.

It's that unquantifiable "something" that the player adds from his heart to his playing that elevates our chosen instrument far above it being simply the sum of its parts.

The emotion, the passion, the feeling in steel-guitar comes from the player's heart. You have to first accomplish the nnecessary mechanical co-ordination to actually play this instrument - and then you have to let what is in your heart come out in your playing.

These are two entirely seperate and distinct things. The second cannot be achieved unless the first is.

Get your steel properly set up, in tune and mechanically dialled in. Then, learn the basic techniques, and the musical relationships between notes and chords which are the result of the pedal and lever-changes. Copedents don't just happen, they are developed for specific musical and logical reasons.

Then, play from your heart. Hear what the message and the feeling in the song or piece of music is and let your heart tell you what to play and when to play - and when not to play, which is even more important.

Never give up - that way lies failure.

However, if you are feeling as if you've hit a wall, having a break for a while can prove marvellously therapeutic. It's astonishing what your "little grey cells" can do if you let them have a little time to themselves.
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The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Get some one-on-one lessons from a good player! Learning from YouTube, DVD's or tab will never make you a great player. Why? Because you need negative feedback, someone to tell you when you're you're doing something wrong, and you can only get that from a live person.

Go out to see and hear other players...visit them, study them, compliment them, bribe them, if you have to. You miss too much of the learning process if all you do is sit at home. Cool

steve takacs · From: beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)

Playing steel is both work and also fun. If it's enjoyable, you will continue and you will improve.

Attitude goes a long way. Concentrate on the improvement you make each month rather than dwelling on the negatives. You do need feedback to correct mistakes as Donny mentions but that is different than constantly beating yourself up.

Many of the suggestions mentioned in this post and others on The Forum will help in your journey.

Lastly, if I have learned to play steel somewhat, anyone can do it. Good luck. stevet

Richard Alderson · From: Illinois, USA

Dear Russell - Very original subject line. For me, personally, the hardest thing was never the E9th Nashville 10 string pedal steel, but going from a 6 string to an 8 string guitar. I went from dobro and lap steel to an 8 string C6th. I was dumb and I thought an 8 string would be louder, but it was just the opposite - more complex and more subtle, I had to play softer and more accurately. I couldn't beat on my big ole 8 stringer !! THAT drove me nuts !! But after I got over that, no problem that the pedal steel has to offer has ever bothered me again, only more opportunities to dazzle.
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Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500.

Billy Murdoch · From: Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

Having paid a lot of money for My first pedal steel was what kept Me going,had I bought a cheap clunker it would have been binned after a couple of months.
One important thing is "mind set" If You say to Yourself "I will never play this thing" You are right,You will never play that thing.
A hypnotist uses post hypnotic suggestions to tell You to TRY and do something,You struggle and TRY then the Hypnotist says "Go on do it" and voila You can do it.
Many steel players grab the basics quickly,others are slower but it does happen.
Stay positive.
Best of luck
Billy

Dave Stroud · From: Texas

I've felt like giving up, until I started getting Jeff Newman's courses and learning from them. You would be surprised how much it helps when you absolutely know you are learning correct techniques and principles. I don't believe anyone can learn to play correctly without any sort of instruction. If they do, it's got to be very very rare.... or they can play alright, but would be so much better had they learned proper technique. I haven't been playing for very long yet, but I've come to really cringe when people say (on the subject of learning steel guitar), "just do what's comfortable to you!" As if there are no right or wrong ways to play the thing.

Take instruction from a professional or someone who has learned well from a professional. Don't waste time learning bad habits that will keep you from ever playing well. I think that's where the saying about not becoming a good player for 20 years comes from... it might be true- without any proper instruction.

It doesn't have to be Jeff Newman teaching you either. I'm not saying you have to play just like him to be playing "correctly". But all of your techniques should be something one of the professionals do. Get rid of all the bad habits only non-professionals do. You will progress quicker and be motivated by a feeling of reassurance that you are learning and doing the right thing- it's only a matter of time now.

Again- I haven't been playing very long, but these are a few of the things I've learned in the first year. Just my humble opinions...

MIchael Bean · From: North Of Boston

Look at it this way: if you practice regularly, you'll never be worse than you are now. You'll only get better.
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