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Topic: Things to do when stuck in a rut |
Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 29 Sep 2020 10:40 am |
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Often I find myself practicing the "same old @#$it". I'll get some 1 4 5 progression in my head and improv till my head caves in. Great, if that common progression comes up I'll be prepared.....but there's so much more to learn of course.
Here are a couple of things I do now to break the pattern. I've been playing for long time and I'm really getting to know the neck and my copedent. My ultimate goal is to be able to "play what I hear/feel". To that end I:
1. pick a tune with a melody so ingrained in my head I can hum it in my sleep and play that melody immediately. If I can do that without fishing I feel validated. Sometimes I'll work on adding harmony parts, perhaps using three finger sting grip even - ya know, the thing that steel is good at.
2. Pick a favorite old rock lead guitar part and emulate it. With this, I allow myself to fish quite a bit, but it's gratifying once I get there.
3. Tune in the radio and wale along! This improv training is really valuable when I get in a studio situation.
4. Learn some steel guitar standard song or break. I did this the other day with Buddy Emmons' solo on Ernest Tub's "Walking the Floor Over You". Also very gratifying.
Just some suggestions.
Anyone else? |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 29 Sep 2020 10:52 am
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These decisions are out of my hands.
Our singer sends out YouTube links to songs she wants to do, I diligently learn them, and then she mysteriously forgets about them before we get to rehearse.
But it's great for my education 
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 29 Sep 2020 11:05 am
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| Haha Ian, been there. |
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Jack Stanton
From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
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Posted 29 Sep 2020 3:18 pm
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| Join the Paul Franklin Method. Yes, it seems pricey initially, but the return on investment is tenfold. He walks you through the fundamentals (that was worth the price of admission to me, and I've been playing 45 years), and then takes you everywhere else you need to go. |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Posted 29 Sep 2020 4:06 pm
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Here's a couple I'm just beginning to try.
Take a piece you've learned/arranged/written/etc and relearn it without using the 10-8-6-5-4-3 grip. I'm learning the 10-7-5-2-1 is surprisingly versatile - especially if you're setup with the string 2 half stop. With my copedent (which isn't really far off from a standard Emmons Extended E9 - or D9 in my case), I have 3 major and minor inversions on this grip within 12 frets just like in 10-8-6-5-4-3. A big challenge I'm actively practicing is getting my right hand to grab 10-7-5-2-1 as easily as 10-8-6-5-4-3. I still have a long way to go with that 
Another thing I'm doing to learn the neck better is take a measure from a song I'm arranging, and try to find how many different ways I can play it. Different fret positions with different grips and different pedal/knees, etc. This to me is one of the magic things about pedal steel and endlessly fascinates me...there are so many ways to approach any chord, style, riff, etc
_________________
Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_xXTx4&list=PLfXm8aXRTFz0x-Sxso0NWw493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2Pz_GXhvmjne7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2f0JOyiXpZyzNrvnJObliA |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 30 Sep 2020 12:21 am
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Your alternative grip is half way to being B6 (or A6 in your case).
Lower your Es (Ds) and add in 8, 6 and 4!
Then get a uni 12 - just a suggestion
It's true though what you say about this instrument - there are so many different ways to play the same thing, and I'm sure even the best players find new ones.
One thing we'll never be is bored.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Al Evans
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2020 5:24 am
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One of my favorite things is to take an album that really needs pedal steel -- anything by Tom Petty or Joe Ely is what comes to mind, but I'm old --- and try to add something good to it.
I'm only three years into this, though, so I'm easily amused. I've been a student of the Paul Franklin Method since the beginning, and I can always find something I haven't mastered there, regardless where I look!
--Al Evans
_________________
2018 MSA Legend, 2018 ZumSteel Encore, 2015 Mullen G2, G&L S-500, G&L ASAT, G&L LB-100, Godin A4 Fretless, Kinscherff High Noon |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 30 Sep 2020 5:33 am
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I do that too - fill in the missing steel.
Couple of examples - Paul Simon's Slip Slidin' Away
Steve Stills and Judy Collins' recent remake of And So Begins The Task, where I work on my Al Perkins impression.
I shall think of others no doubt.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2020 9:28 am
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I like to play along with rhythm tracks.
I also bought some other Steel Players Instrumental CD's to see how other people approach the instrument.
Did you try that Gerry Rafferty song?
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover is a good brain teaser.
I Google em up or use YouTube.
There are Karaoke tracks that make good rhythm tracks for pretty much any song, on YouTube.
They are a good way to get good at playing the Melody. |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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John Spaulding
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2020 11:48 am Musician's Honey-Do List
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Learning the concepts in Paul's blog post leads to fewer ruts!
Musician's Honey-Do List |
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Peter Leavenworth
From:
Madbury, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2020 7:42 pm Stuck in rut
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Jim, two suggestions: find other musicians (often guitarists) to play with for fun on a regular basis if possible. I think you’ll find your improvisation really comes along as you adapt to whatever the group comes up with.
And - try a looping pedal at home where you play different, chord patterns, simple at first, on guitar or keys, and again play along ad infinitum.
Pete
_________________
2008 Zum D-10, 1996 Mullens PRP D-10, 1974 Emmons D-10, 1976 Emmons D-10, early 70s Emmons GS-10, Milkman Sideman head w/Telonics 15" speaker, 1966 Fender Super Reverb, 1970 Fender Dual Showman head, Wechter/Scheerhorn and Beard Dobros, 1962 Supro lap steels, Gibson 1939 RB-11 banjo, Gibson 1978 RB-250
banjo......and way too much more |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 2:01 am
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Well, repetition of practice is what defines us. While I have not been on Steel since March of this year , I have been on guitar , well I've always been on guitar as well. Equal. Two regular duty gigs, one on Steel and one on guitar. I do have DUO gigs booked and have been performing duo gigs at small venues.
I practice the same songs and solos over and over again. I actually enjoy it and have come to "position play" each of them, various root positions up and down the fretboard. I have reverted to re-studying the fretboard and various root positions again rather than the just the same ole same ole. Its kind of a game, almost like a math quiz.
A song such as Peaceful Easy Feeling, how many variants can I play across the chord structure, as simple as it is. I am playing on a B Bender so it makes it that much more interesting and challenging. In my brain and mind I am SAYING the chords ahead of the "move" and thus substituting positions.
Several songs which we play, I run them thru this routine, then apply on the gig. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes not, but I'm certainly not doing the same ole same ole !
Take songs and phrases that we are very comfortable with, move the psotiions. It ain't so comfortable anymore ! WOW, I thought I knew this song ! 
sometimes when I change root positions its like driving home in the dark with no lights on . I know where my street and house is but I can't find it !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Al Evans
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 5:32 am
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| Ian Rae wrote: |
| ...Paul Simon's Slip Slidin' Away.... |
I have an English friend who plays that, and I love to play pedal steel with it. Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes, too.
--Al Evans
_________________
2018 MSA Legend, 2018 ZumSteel Encore, 2015 Mullen G2, G&L S-500, G&L ASAT, G&L LB-100, Godin A4 Fretless, Kinscherff High Noon |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 5:33 am
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| Jim Pitman wrote: |
| Often I find myself practicing the "same old @#$it". I'll get some 1 4 5 progression in my head and improv till my head caves in. |
(I'm not a genius or great player, but here's my thoughts.)
The fastest way I know to get out of a rut is to play songs you've never played before. Throw out anything you've already played and do something different! Stuck in 1-4-5 progressions? Play something like "Color My World", by Chicago, a song which doesn't hang around the dominant chord, and play it in these five ways:
First, play it as a single-note melody, but do it both ways...by just moving up and down the neck, and then by using the pedals levers to find the most "economical" way, using all your pedals and levers to avoid bar movements.
Second, embellish the song! Play around the melody using both chords and single note stuff. Use chords and notes to "lead" the melody to the next chord. Singers and other band members often appreciate this as it makes their job easier, especially if they aren't that familiar with the song.
Third, learn to play some rhythm! That's right, learn to use block and arpeggiated chords to provide as much backing and fill as possible. One of the most common gripes about steelers is that they sit on their hands too much. Don't get me wrong, there is a time for that. (Almost always, when you're in a big band.) But there's also a time when you should approach the instrument as a piano player does when they're backing a singer. For up-tempo songs, try playing "comp" chords with a walking bass line! This will prove valuable when there aren't a lot of instruments around to fill all those holes.
Fourth, learn to play harmonies with the guitar player, or other instruments. This is pretty much self-explanatory.
Fifth, experiment! Play moving harmonies with barred and open strings, learn to play in octaves, try emulating the sounds other instruments, play behind the bar, learn some sound effects, or play using just the bar! Do things out of the ordinary...but be tasteful. Smile and have fun! If you look like you're enjoying yourself, it will have a positive effect on the band and your audience! Save the "stone-faced, head-down-serious" attitude for the studio, or for songs that demand that deportment. |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 6:01 am
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Great comments everyone. I played the devil's advocate in my post hoping to elicit responses for the sake of folks "stuck in a rut". It seems to have worked. I'll admit I have fallen into the trap of playing what you know well too often.
Donny, I especially like your "learn to play some rhythm". Buddy Cage was a master at this. Palm blocking a stacato chord grip worked well for him. Let's admit it, you don't have a flat pick in your hand and all that sustain can get you in trouble so you have to come up with some other way to impart one. Wow, playing a walking bass line! I recall Bobby Seymore "Travis Picking" his Emmons but this was an alternating bass.
A common theme here is pick a song you know well in your head and play it. TX posters and keep if coming. |
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Peter Leavenworth
From:
Madbury, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 2:20 pm Stuck in a rut
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Jim, I think what Don and I are suggesting is just the opposite - jump in the deep end to learn how to swim...
he has a lot of pertinent exercises while I'm just saying play along with things you don't know. Figure them out, don't be afraid to make big mistakes in your living room playing along to any recording or with friends. Develop an ear for chord changes within any key in terms of relationship to the root.
I got my first PS, a Sho-Bud Maverick, in 1974 and within 3 weeks I was playing in a band as a, get this, steel player! Most kids my age hadn't ever seen a PS, and I'd been (sort of) playing dobro for a year. The tuning was a completely alien language but I quickly figured out the most basic ruts. I have recordings of a year later, and although I was still terrible, I could play passably. My idea of blocking was picking the bar up. I could continue with many embarrassing tales but I fervently believe - playing with other musicians and tunes you don't know is critical.
Pete
_________________
2008 Zum D-10, 1996 Mullens PRP D-10, 1974 Emmons D-10, 1976 Emmons D-10, early 70s Emmons GS-10, Milkman Sideman head w/Telonics 15" speaker, 1966 Fender Super Reverb, 1970 Fender Dual Showman head, Wechter/Scheerhorn and Beard Dobros, 1962 Supro lap steels, Gibson 1939 RB-11 banjo, Gibson 1978 RB-250
banjo......and way too much more |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 2:35 pm
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Jim, listen to what Stu Basore does in this clip with a "walking bass line". Stu was a big help to me when I started playing, and a big influence on how I play:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u_p_dlEX5o
Also, listen to what Sneaky Pete does, rhythm-wise, in this song Featuring him and Buddy Emmons. (Pan so you're hearing just the left channel to hear all the details):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Zgd6Ctz1Q
Yes, we do play pedal steel, but we don't always have to play it like the "typical" pedal steeler! |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 1 Oct 2020 4:00 pm
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Nice Donny, surely Stu walking the bass.
Gosh, and I thought I was the only one who plays Yesterday. |
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