Your Stages of Learning

Leah McPhail · From: West Virginia, USA

A question to pros and very experienced pickers:

How would you divide up the stages of your steel guitar journey? Could you even divide it into stages of learning?

(ex. mechanics, fretboard, theory, etc.)
Feel free to expand on the experience of each stage you recall too!

Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

I have been fortunate to learn in stages, reach a plateau, then with some time get a little better.
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Jacob Yergert · From: Centennial, Colorado, USA

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Learn as many melodies as you can. Learn them at various starting places on the fretboard. Play them without pedals. Then play them with pedals.
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Leah, I've only been playing for ten years or so, but there's enough in my rear view mirror to answer you.

I've always been fascinated by the mechanics of all kinds of instruments, and when I first got my hands on a PSG my time was taken up with discovering all the different chords it could make, and the various moves between them.
When I got my breath back it dawned on me that to get results that other people might want to hear, I should knuckle down (literally?) and learn proper right hand technique.
So my journey's been in two parts, theory and practical. I now have adequate technique, supported by musical understanding which helps my confidence.

Now I'm sure there are many fine players who have done it the other way round, maybe even dispensing with theory altogether! Smile

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Fred Treece · From: California, USA

If you are new to music, your path to learning pedal steel will be somewhat different than it is for someone with a musical background. The very beginning is the same for everyone, though. How do I sit, how do I hold the bar, how do I train my fingers to pick the strings, why do I have to use fingerpicks and how do I get them to fit right and keep from falling off, what the heck do these pedals and levers do, how do I tune the thing and why is that so important?

Though this foundational technique may need adjustment as you grow into the instrument, it’s probably the most important step to get right. After 7 years, I think I’m still there - or at least keep referring back to it.

Rick Kornacker · From: Dixon Springs, Tennessee, USA

Hey Leah! Saw your post yesterday...thought I'd lay back a bit and see what others might offer. Self- discipline is the key to progressing with your learning experience. So, the pedal steel guitar is like a "box of chocolates". A new player, excited and enthusiastic, will rush in and pick out all the good looking pieces, and leave out the less desirable(more challenging) aspects of a proper learning approach. Many guitar players are enamored with the more obvious, neat sounds they can find right off...and overlook(ignore?) the essential right/left hand techniques that will make you or break you in the long run. And, the likelihood of the time it will take to "un-learn" the bad habits and misinformation that you probably will experience. Having prior musical knowledge and experience will be helpful, but the aptitude of the student will determine the progress and quality of his trek. If you can locate a great teacher/player he will steer you clear of lots of pitfalls and be well worth the money and time invested. If you can get over the initial "humps" (you will if you perservere) you will reach the point where you will be teaching yourself and learning more and more at a satisfying pace. One more thing is to listen to LOTS of steel music and players. You can learn things from almost anybody...and run with it. Hope this helps and hope I wasn't too long-winded. Just about everything involving the instrument takes time. Get used to it....but enjoy every minute of it. Good luck now! Regards,RK😉
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"think MORE...play LESS"

Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

Very well said Rick.
Only thing I can add is learn to play the melody. That will get you more accustomed to the fret board and where to find it also.
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Henry Matthews

D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes.

Ben Lawson · From: Brooksville Florida

Steel and college were the same, the more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew. So after 54 years I quit. Steel that is.

Leah McPhail · From: West Virginia, USA

Leah McPhail · From: West Virginia, USA

How I would describe my steel guitar journey so far: 2-3 years in..?

Mechanics:
At first, most of my time was consumed with the basics of holding and moving the bar and "pick blocking". I'd already played bluegrass banjo for years so picks were familiar, but blocking was foreign! Ironically the less I thought about it, the more it came to me. At this point I was following along with video of other players hands and tab. I had yet to figure out the relationship between chords well..

Basic fretboard geography:
The last half of my journey so far has been piecing together the different positions on the fretboard. Getting full and partial harmonized scales out of different places and inserting diminished and augmented chords for flavor. I suspect it'll be a while before I graduate from thinking about which position I'm playing out of, but the shapes and relationships between chord inversions, grips, and positions is getting more and more in my head and fingers with time.

Vocalization:
This is probably my latest stage as a player. I've tried to vocalize through single string melodies since the start, but there was a lot of fumbling in the dark. Now with a little more fretboard knowledge, I find it much less mysterious. Vocalizing through chord melodies has opened up to me but will remain a lifelong experiment.

Playing in context:
This year, I've been playing with bands and backing up solo acts. I find that this has helped me to be more critical of my mechanics (VOLUME PEDAL lol) and also helped me get an ear for taste and where to fill and back off. This is another lifelong experiment..

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

I documented my first 4 or 5 years with an annual summation.
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=325028&highlight=learning++pedal+steel

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

LOL - true story

Stage 1- I wanted a Pedal Steel so I bought a Maverick

Stage 2- I learned how to tune it and what the AB Pedals did

Stage 3- a friend came over and showed me how to use the 1 knee lever. I owned the Maverick for about 3 months now, I was on my way !

Stage 4- I told a band in town I could play , they hired me

Stage 5, they fired me the first night , I couldn't play and I didn't know any country songs.

Stage 6, back to stage 2 for about a year.

Stage 7, another band hired me , this time I told them I was a novice. They tolerated me as I learned to play slowly and very simply. I was also becoming familiar with the Country Music 4 hour common set list.

It should be mentioned that 2nd time around I was also playing double duty on Guitar and fronting some songs. My journey of Steel learning had begun. Over the next many years , the 1st band that fired me also hired me again many times. It was a great ride !
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J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Learning is so much easier nowadays that so much info on the theories of music is accessible for free on the internet.

I started playing in a country far away from where steel guitars call home, when Internet didn't exist, using records and cassette tapes, by ear without any theory or knowledge. Learning to play "by ear" requires learning BY EAR.
But understanding some principles of music would have helped. But now, that I concern myself a LOT with theoriES (I say theoriES because there are no "Laws" like in physics, rather "explained point of views") because of my dedication to Jazz, I also realize that each time you BELIEVE you now "know" you're just like the captain of the Titanic... seeing the peak of an enormous iceberg. But when you get to speak to great musicians, you do find out, that the know a LOT.... "Artist", that's another deal altogether. My Father InLaw is a life long pianist, has NO way of explaining what he does and why. He can learn a complex Jazz tune in a key he grabs from "thin air" and run with it in 5 minutes... but CANNOT teach you as little as a "lick"... as he seems unable to play anything the same way twice. I asked him what I ask almost as unsuccessfully Buddy Emmons once "what are you thinking"... and got about the same answer: "I am unsure that I AM thinking".

My signature says what I think of Tab. So I am not going to go into that.

Maurice Anderson who was like Jeff Newman a marvelous steel guitar teacher, once said "it's not practice which makes you perfect, it PERFECT practice that does!".

I think that many over emphasize on learning tunes. There's nothing wrong with it, except that we tend to want to learn tunes played by our heroes, professionals, recorded at the pinnacle of their careers instead of learning like THEY DID.
One should LISTEN, memorize music, lines, licks, tunes and songs and learn to vocalize them first. Learning to play an instrument alone AND music at the same time is a complicated proposition. But most fail at investing the time to learn to develop and become physically conscious of music... SING, hum if you can't sing, scat, become ONE with the music you try to learn to play on an instrument FIRST. THAT is playing by EAR.

Scales, Modes, Penta-&-Hexatonics, not even Arpeggios WON'T do the job for you to sound like our heroes. IF playing "by ear" is your goal, WORK your EARS, BODY and MIND. If it's not in there, it WON't come out.

And while we're at it, DON'T only listen to steel guitar players. The PSG is an instrument capable to do things guitarist, horn blowers and even keys do and beyond. Learn from them, like Buddy Emmons DID from Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderly % Co.

And brace yourself, it's an emocional roller coaster. One day soon, hopefully, you'll experience yourself braking barriers and "flying free", even if it's only over one or two chords... you sweat, Adrenaline mixes with Dopamine, it exhilarating! And you'll be flying high for the rest of the day... the next day, it's the "crash"... you realize you forgot half of it, you can't seem to apply it the way you thought you would, and maybe realize too that it's not the break-thru you felt it was, because, we're always only scratching the surface of only the tip of the iceberg. I've come to "understand" why so many musicians succumbed to alcohol and even heavy drugs. It's an eternal roller coaster.

The only players who feel they play great and have learned it all, play horrible, dumb and are self-sentenced to stagnation long before they could discover that they haven't even begun to scratch the surface on the peak of the... did I mention Icebergs before? Very Happy

Learn to understand your instruments tuning and don't try to become a pedal-virtuoso to start with.
Maurice Anderson always started with "Let's ORGANIZE this neck":

Find grips for ONE chord and then find that chord up and down the neck until you have a "map" you can reel-off up and down the neck.
Do that in Major, Dominant and minor.

Once you got that, ask yourself "WHER is IV?"... IV will adhere to the same "map" but you need to "see" IV's under you I-chord, and the closest ones to the left and right (down and up the neck).

Western music, and by that I don't mean "Country & Western" alone, but pretty much what originates West of the Middle East, tends to move in 4ths:
I to IV, or V to I, ii- or II7 to V7, vi- or VI7 to ii- to V, or iii- VI ii- V I are ALL movements up a fourth. 7 3 6 2 5 1 4 (Diatonically ALL up a fourth) should be burned in your mind like your home phone number!

Once you know that and learn to navigate your neck in fourths, you are ahead of many who seem able to play "pretty good"... way ahead. And you will be able to learn how to play most of what you hear fairly easily, it'll even becomes natural surprisingly fast.

... J-D.
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Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"

A Little Mental Health Warning:

Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.

I say it humorously, but I mean it.

Larry Hobson · From: Valley Grande (Selma) Al USA

Not sure but I thought I Just read some aspects of the " number system " .

Rick Kornacker · From: Dixon Springs, Tennessee, USA

Hey Leah! Developing your playing technique early on is essential. Right hand...the shape and position of your hand, making your fingers do the work, is evident in the Jeff Newman "Right Hand Alpha" video(sample on "YouTube"). Worth having the course if you can get one. If you can absorb this information you will be on your way. Your hand will be relaxed, steady, and in the right position to obtain good tone. A!so, your technique will " morph" into developing early "pick-blocking" occasions...and an overall advanced playing experience. Left-hand technique is a "feel" thing. Holding and controlling the bar for vibrato completes the big picture. Developing nice vibrato will take some time and experimentation. Study the way a good vocalist sings(and sustains) their lyrics. Once you catch on you can deliberately change your vibrato style at will. All these elements will give you the good sound you are looking for. The next thing is to learn the guitar and more about music, and what your long-range intentions are! Now...go for it...you'll get there! Regards,RK Cool

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"think MORE...play LESS"

Dennis Detweiler · From: Solon, Iowa, US

I'm 75. I guess I qualify?
Started on a Fender D-8 with a bolted on raise only pulling mechanism . First song, Bud's Bounce. Drafted into the Army and bought a new ShoBud Cross-over. Played when I could on weekends at military clubs. Learned as a went at this point. Out of the Army and played 5 years with a local band. Copied steel intros and rides from records which was mostly Lloyd Green. Moved to Missouri and played with a club band in Springfield and Branson for a year that played country, rock and bluegrass. I had to uncurl my pinky finger at this point for faster picking and better muting. Great learning experience. Then landed a job with Plummer Family Show in Branson playing bluegrass and country, another good experience. After my sons were born and roadwork became a family grind, I moved back to Iowa and played in a couple of bands of contemporary country and classic rock. Another good experience that required some effects pedals to fit in. All good experiences that fell into place and forced me to work harder at more than country music. I went from D-10 for 8 years to U-12 in 1976 to the present. Looking back, concentrating on the right hand is essential. The left hand just follows the right. After a few years of experience, you can generally figure out another players bar position, pedal and knee combinations and string selections from listening to recordings. As Emmons used to say, "we learn as we go."
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1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Revelation preamp, Carbon Copy Delay and Hall Of Fame Reverb, Crown XLS 1002, 2- 15" Eminence Wheelhouse speakers, ShoBud Pedal, Effects Pedals. 1949 Epiphone D-8.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Thanks for that excellent post, Dennis. I am not the OP here, but as someone who seems to be in a state of perpetual novice-hood, I am watching the thread with interest. I don’t really believe I’m a beginner anymore, nor do I believe I’m going to wake up one day and think I’m a pro. But this is bank:

Rick Kornacker · From: Dixon Springs, Tennessee, USA

Hey Leah! Hope you are absorbing all these good pointers and info...and that you may be somewhat overwhelmed...in a good way! Most new players begin their early picking technique using their thumb and one of their two other fingers. In fact, this is advised early on two avoid confusion over which finger to use in certain situations. So,if you use thumb and middle finger...start to use your thumb and index finger deliberately to strengthen it and bring it up to the level of your middle finger. In other words, work to get either finger to be as equally dexterous and useful as possible. You will eventually and naturally find out the best way to execute the notes you want to play. It will take a while for all of this to fall into place, but will feel(and sound) great as it all starts to make sense. I'll hush up now and let you go practice! Go do it...we're with you. Regards,RK Winking

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"think MORE...play LESS"

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

Even now, when I discover yet another new position for a familiar chord, I'm struck by how little I know. And that's after fifty+ years of playing steel.

I like the Emmons quote ("We learn as we go...") but I was standing with Buddy and Hal Rugg in 2004 at the Chattanooga show when, with a look of frustration, he said:

"This instrument is set up to defeat us"!! At this point I asked: 'What would you have done differently?' He replied immediately - 'Learned piano!'.

Maybe he was having a bad day (?) but it didn't sound like it when it was his turn to take the stage.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

"You hear it all the time here, “Seat Time”, but that is an ambiguous term. One can noodle away for years on an instrument and get nowhere musically and develop bad technique that will be difficult to undo later while you’re at it."

Well said, Fred. I'm more than a little guilty of that myself.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

"Seat Time"

Depends on where that seat is! Home or bandstand?

Our band doesn't play that often, so I spend a lot of time at home, going over the songs on our set list. (Gotta stay ready for a last minute gig!)

My downfall is, I can play the notes just fine; but, since I'm usually not playing with my amp on, my volume pedal technique really suffers.

Even with my amp on, or using headphones, that doesn't take into account necessary dynamics, as when playing with a band.

~Lee

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