Murphey Right Hand Blocking

Dave Mayes · From: Oakland, Ca.

I've seen several old film sequences of Joaquin playing intros or solos. The quality of these films range from very poor to pretty good. In these he appears to be using palm blocking exclusively - the side of his hand relaxed and resting on the stings in a more or less classic palm blocking position.

I'm curious about Lee Jeffriess witnessing Joaquin using right hand pick blocking.
Assuming I'm correct in my observations ( and that's assuming a lot! ) - did Joaquin switch to pick blocking at some point or did he always pick block ?

Dan Sawyer · From: Studio City, California, USA

That's pretty surprising. I was just listening to Jaoquin with Spade Cooley. It sure sounds like pick blocking when he plays those fast, bebop-type runs. It seems like it would be impossible to palm block at those speeds.

BTW, where did you see these clips? Are they collected on a DVD or tape we can buy?

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

When playing single-note licks, Joaquin used just the tip of his bar, lifting it or moving to the next string or freet after each note. In those days that was the way we all played and we never referred to "blocking." I think that term must have started being used with the chromatic tunings -- especially when "speed picking" is dome with the bar laying flat over all or most strings.

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Dave Mayes · From: Oakland, Ca.

Dan,
the collection I saw belonged to a dobro player aquaintance of mine (lost track of him a couple years ago). I think he told me he got his tapes from a western swing collector in the Midwest.
These brief shots of Joaquin never gave me the impression that he was "superhuman" - but we all know otherwise.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Roy has it right. I've watched Joaquin play, and he used the Hawaiian technique of playing with the tip of the bar and the strings just played being muted by the ring and pinky fingers of his left hand. I do it all the time, as a lot of HI'an players I've seen. Doesn't work if the bar is flat on the strings constantly.

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Al Marcus · From: Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)

Roy and Herb are right about that.

When we played in the 30's and 40's that is the way we did it.

Picked up the bar a lot , used the tip for single notes, and did a lot of left hand blocking. It worked good for us in those days.........al

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Dan Sawyer · From: Studio City, California, USA

Thanks for explaing that.

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

. . . . . and I still do it that way.

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Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

......as for playing single string with the "end of the bar", I also learned to play that way.

I remember my consternation when I first began playing E9 with the "fat" bars and the recommended method was to not raise the bar from the strings.

I occasionally go back to my six-string steel and a small bar to remember the way I began.

The thing is, that most of us "older" guys also did palm blocking, pick blocking, left hand blocking, played with the end of the bar, etc, but way back then there wasn't a "name" for any of it....it was just "playing", and by evolution we just used whatever was needed to facilitate what we were playing.

However, I'm glad for the descriptive terms used today. It helps to communicate, especially for teaching or learning.

www.genejones.com

[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 05 October 2004 at 08:05 AM.]

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Hearing about Murphy's technique is good news to me. I learned Dobro before electric lap steel, so naturally gravitate to tipping the bar and left hand blocking. I also palm-block when appropriate. Seems like all a feller needs. What was good enough for Murph is good enough for me.

If those pedal-steelers want to leave the bar on the strings all the time I guess that's their business.

The old Bakelite's calling. I'm outa here...

[This message was edited by Bob Stone on 05 October 2004 at 06:59 AM.]

Dwayne Martineau · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

I find that when you play with a tipped bar, the blocking you need comes with very little effort. It cuts down on right-hand movement (palm blocking) and seems to me like the most efficient way of playing.

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

This description of Murphey's blocking technique also describes what the Sacred Steelers do for fast single note runs. Which is why they prefer stevens type steels (so you can tip the bar).

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Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

.

[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 08:36 PM.]

Travis Bernhardt · From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Easier only in that it's easier to lift up the back of the bar, because of the groove. You can get used to moving up and down the strings with a flat Stevens bar, but I find it easier to use a semi-bullet type. Darick Campbell is somebody who plays with a semi-bullet, and Chuck Campbell plays with a "3/4-bullet"--a bullet bar with the sides scooped out (rather than a Stevens with a rounded tip).

-Travis

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Jim,

Like so many other things, getting used to a Stevens-type bar takes time. Starting on Dobro I played a Stevens first. When I got more into Hawaiian and electric lap steel I switched to a small bullet bar. After several years of that I took up a Scheerhorn-type bar on the Dobro to learn the hammer and pull-off techniques. I hated the Scheerhorn at first--it snagged at every turn.

After putting in some time I can now play either bar with no problem. I still prefer the bullet for electric because I can do the two-strings-on-one-fret technique using the nose of the bar. And in my opinion, you don't need a sharp edge bar to get loud pull-offs on an electric.

For acoustic steel, a sharp-edged bar is necessary to get loud, clear pull-offs. And you can still do bar slants. In a pinch you can turn a bullet bar around backwards to get a sharp edge. It doesn't work quite as well as a Stevens or Scheerhorn, but it works.

I presently use a Gary Swallows wood-handled bar on reso and love it. Half the price of a Scheerhorn stainless and more comfortable in my opinion.

For me, tipping the bar for single note passages seems a lot more natural than any type of right hand blocking. But that's how I started on Dobro.

Peter Jacobs · From: Northern Virginia

I've only been playing steel a few years, coming in as a banjo player. I use a Shubb SP-2, and I've always tipped up the bar as a Dobro player would, because it made it easier to play single notes cleanly. Probably why I've never gotten the hang of bottleneck-style playing...

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

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[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 08:36 PM.]

Dan Sawyer · From: Studio City, California, USA

"Chuck Campbell plays with a "3/4-bullet"--a bullet bar with the sides scooped out".

Is this something you can buy, or did he have it made?

Bill Brummett · From: Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Using the tipped bar for single string notes and lifting the whole bar (so called left hand blocking) is the way I learned and still use most of the time, even on my pedal steel. As I really became consious of all the terms I also noted that I sometimes do the right hand palm blocking but without really thinkg about it.

It's just whtever seems to fit I guess. But I do feel that the "Hawaiian" left hand blocking provides a much smoother transition and sounds better as long as you can handle the bar on and off without adding noise.

Pure palm blocking, to me, aways sounds a bit choppy, unless it's one of the real masters, of course.

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Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

The large bullet bars with the grooves in the sides that Chuck Campbell and some of the other House of God steelers use were custom made years ago buy Sho-Bud, if I'm not mistaken. They had just a few made, probably 6 or fewer.

To my knowledge there is no ready-made bar of that configuration marketed today. I do think (not sure) a few custom bar makers may have made similar bars in recent years.

Dan Tyack might chime in on this one. Dan?...

Dan Sawyer · From: Studio City, California, USA

"6 or fewer". Wow, that's not very much. Surprising, because it seems like the perfect bar shape, although i've never played one. I wonder why they made so few. Do you think it's because players wouldn't like them? Too expensive to manufacture?

Travis Bernhardt · From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

They used to sell them at the Carter website, along with a "three-groove" model which had an additional scoop on top (there might still be pictures at the website--or in an archive). I think they're discontinued. Somebody could probably make you one, though.

-Travis

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Dan,

As I recall, sacred steeler Ted Beard had Sho-Bud make the bars. Four or six (or whatever the number was) was an economical small lot and Beard was sure he and his fellow House of God steelers could use that many. Sho-Bud was not interested in stocking such an item as they had no other requests. After all, lifting the bar from the strings was not "proper" pedal-steel technique.

c c johnson · From: killeen,tx usa * R.I.P.

I've seen Emmons, Charlton, Rugg, Reece, Tom Morrell(when he was playing pedals) and others tip the huge bars they used when it was called for. They are better men than me to lift up those huge bars. I don't have a limp wrist either, Keoki Lake. CC

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

I don't have a problem tipping a standard sized bar, and I've got smaller hands than a 12-year old.

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