When I started playing over 30 years ago, most
great players were mainly palm blockers.
I must've missed this one......
Sure looks like pick blocking...or am I seeing things?
Dave Zirbel
From: Sebastopol, CA USA
Posted 23 Oct 2006 2:06 pm
Norm Hamlet told me that Vance Terry taught him pick blocking in the late 50's early 60's.
DZ
Herb Steiner
From: Spicewood TX 78669
Posted 23 Oct 2006 4:25 pm
Barbara freakin' ROCKS, DUDES!!!
We opened the show for her back in 1990 in Stephenville TX. I always thought the "star-plays-every-instrument" bit was kinda cliche'd, but Barbara really DID play steel, banjo, and sax and IMHO wailed on all three. She flat nailed it.
And she's gorgeous and a great singer, so what, I ask you all, is not to like?
Some people have more talent than they have time to use.
Some of us ..... never mind.
Jim Bates
From: Alvin, Texas, USA
Posted 23 Oct 2006 5:30 pm
I doubt that anyone 'invented' pick blocking. It came natural to me, because I didn't know any better. Best used for fast picking.
Thanx,
Jim
David Doggett
From: Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
Posted 23 Oct 2006 7:17 pm
Seems like I see Barbara palm blocking, pick blocking, and bar hand blocking. She is a genuine musical protege, and dang good on everything she touches.
Blues players have pick blocked or finger blocked, as well as palm blocked, from the beginning, for regular guitar and slide, including lap steel. That's where I learned. I imagine Hawaiian players also used all forms of blocking from the beginning.
I suspect many top steelers also have always used all forms of blocking. Palm blocking is the most obvious to see if you are watching, and I think many people trying to imitate them concentrated on that, maybe without noticing that they sometimes pick block. There do seem to be some great pickers who almost exclusively palm blocked (maybe with the pinky turned under for knuckle blocking). And everybody does some palm blocking. I don't know that there is anyone who exclusively pick blocks.
A. J. Schobert
From: Cincinnati, Ohio,
Posted 23 Oct 2006 7:44 pm
check out that Beehive!
David Mason
From: Cambridge, MD, USA
Posted 24 Oct 2006 12:55 am
Quote:
I don't know that there is anyone who exclusively pick blocks.
There's a fellow named Paul Franklin, who at least claims that he pick blocks exclusively - possibly on that Martina thing he might've palm blocked as a stylistic thing, but it's not a standard tool for him. Joe Wright's video courses sort of mention palm blocking, but it doesn't seem at all necessary to him either. Both methods are sort of natural and obvious, unless you just want to flail away with a flatpick or a chainsaw or something. So many steel guitarists play standard guitar, and a certain percentage of standard guitarists have had enough classical guitar training, that the notion of pick blocking would have entered the lexicon even if it wasn't also homegrown.
[This message was edited by David Mason on 24 October 2006 at 08:02 AM.]
Bobby Lee
From: Cloverdale, California, USA
Posted 24 Oct 2006 7:21 am
When I first heard about it, I discovered that I was doing it automatically on some kinds of passages where it comes naturally. Master players like Paul Franklin, Joe Wright and Hal Rugg advanced the concept into the more difficult areas.
For example, when you have a string assigned to each finger and are ignoring the other strings for a few bars, pick blocking is fairly easy. But when a passage involves a lot of movement from one group of strings to another, the pick blocking technique can be quite advanced. Sometimes you have to bring a pick down on a string to block it with no intention of picking it eventually, and you will end up moving that finger to another string.
Joe Wright's "Technique Bundle" is an valuable aide for training your "muscle memory" in the more advanced nuances of pick blocking.
In the Barbara Mandrell clip, I see that she sometimes blocks by lifting the bar. The back of her left hand rests on the strings behind the bar, deadening them.
Gene Jones
From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
Posted 24 Oct 2006 8:13 am
[quote]Bobby Lee"When I first heard about it, I discovered that I was doing it automatically on some kinds of passages where it comes naturally."
I agree with Bobby. I think that pick blocking, palm blocking, etc, and many other elements of playing the steel guitar, was used by many of the early steel players...but there wasn't a "name" for it in the early days....players just found something that worked...and used it.
The later teachers put a "name" to many things that early player used automatically.
I found a person should learn all the blocking techniques pick, palm, bar, and bar thumb blocking, and etc. No one technique will cover all thats necessary in a song.
I found I use most all in any particular tune.
Ken
When I started playing in 1974 I got a lot of pointers from other working steel players, all of whom tried to teach me to use palm blocking. But, that hurt my right wrist a lot, so over the next couple of years I developed my own method of pick blocking and left hand finger dropping, which worked fine for me. None of the other players could understand what I was doing to kill the notes, but they liked it and agreed that it was effective.
Later on (1978) I had a lesson with Doug Jernigan and he was starting to explore the same technique. He encouraged me to stick with it and I have. Pick blocking allows me to execute extremely fast sequences of notes that would not be possible for me if I had to bounce my palm around all the time.
As a disclaimer, I do occasionally use palm blocking as a special effect, like on chickin' pickin' licks, and Luther Perkins thumping on the bass strings.
Barbara! If it would help me play like that, I'd start eating prunes.
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"I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back." --Henny Youngman
Bill Llewellyn
From: San Jose, CA
Posted 27 Oct 2006 7:56 pm
I'm fascinated by her bar work. She locks that thing in over each fret position like it were glued to the spot. Great intonation. No drift, only vibrato when she wants it. (Bar placement is something I'm horrible at.) Gosh, what a player.
It was in vogue in early 1948 and I don't know who started it. Ask Al Marcus or Jody Carver. I'll bet they were both doing it prior to that time.
Phred
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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904
Mylos Sonka
From: Larkspur CA USA
Posted 4 Nov 2006 11:35 am
To add to what Dave Zirbel said, I asked Vance Terry about his pick-blocking style. He said he had been doing it that way since he was a teenager in the late forties. He started off getting licks from records and didn't at first realize that other players were blocking more with their palms, and by then it was a habit.
Vance thought that killing notes in syncopated time was a VERY large part of making a line swing.
Mylos
Pat Burns
From: Branchville, N.J. USA
Posted 5 Nov 2006 8:13 am
..so I guess the question should be, "who actually glommed pick blocking as their own idea"..
..I noticed, too, that she lifts the front of the bar, but the most noticable thing about her style to me is her right hand position movement up and down the neck..
..and of course, the modesty curtain they hung in front of the guitar...
Al Marcus
From: Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)
Posted 6 Nov 2006 9:33 am
Fred-I don't know who started it originally either. But I do know that we used to use every kind of blocking, Left thumb, picking up the back end of the bar, or even all the bar, and of course the finger picks themselves. But back then we had no name for it all, just did what we had to do, in those days. I am sure that our own SGHOFamer Jody Carver can fill you in on this subject....al
