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Topic: why pedals? |
Dion Stephen
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2007 8:58 pm |
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| this maybe a dumb question, well here i go. what is the main point of the pedals/knee levers? i don't play pedal steel (not yet) & i dig what you pedalers do i just don't grasp it yet. i know they change tunings and what not but is that the main purpose or is there another point? |
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Gary Shepherd
From:
Fox, Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 23 Jul 2007 10:19 pm
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The pedals and knee levers do exactly that - change the tuning. Just like a 6-string guitar player might move his fingers to get different chords, we move our toes and knees to do the same thing.
For example... if I put my bar at the 3rd fret with no pedals or knee levers I have a G major chord. Then if I step on the A and B pedals I have a C chord. With the B pedal and D lever I have a D7 chord. If I hit just the D lever it's a Bm chord. Just the A pedal gives me an Em chord. B pedal and C pedal at the 3rd fret is Am.
So I can get all of these chords (and more) without moving my left hand. The bar stays over the 3rd fret the whole time.
On a normal fretted guitar, when you play a certain string at a certain fret, it's always the same note. On pedal steel, that certain string at that same certain fret can give you many different notes depending on which pedals and knee levers are being used.
_________________
Gary Shepherd
Carter D-10 & Peavey Nashville 1000
www.16tracks.com |
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Harvey Richman
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2007 4:51 am Pedal steel
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Hello Dion, everything Gary said but there is more. Early non pedal guitars had three four or more necks to allow for different tunings. The pedals originally evolved as a way to get different tunings and reduce the number of necks needed.
Then, some creative players got the idea of pressing the pedals AS the notes were being played to change the string's pitch (in addtion to moving the steel bar). That's a big part of what gives the pedal steel its distinctive sound (vs. the sound of a lap steel or regular guitar played with a "slide").
Regards
Harvey |
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James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 24 Jul 2007 5:00 am
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| To me, it's the difference between shaping notes on the move and just playing notes. The pedal steel has a certain sort of "voice", because of pedals and knee levers. |
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Carlos Polidura
From:
Puerto Rico
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Posted 24 Jul 2007 5:22 am
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YES..."THE PEDAL STEEL GUITAR" THE GREATEST INVENTION SO FAR!
With all do respect.
Carlos  |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 24 Jul 2007 5:27 am
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A guitar player has to "MOVE" his/her fingers to voice a chord or phrase. Fingers change the pitch of the strings based on fret location.
A Pedal Steel player uses Pedals and Knee Levers to accomplish the same task along with Bar movement. |
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Casey Lowmiller
From:
Kansas
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Posted 25 Jul 2007 12:23 pm
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What part of Kanas are you from Dion???
Casey
_________________
Known Coast to Coast as
"The Man with The Plan" |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Jul 2007 1:27 pm
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| Long before Bud Isaacs rocked the steel world with Webb's "Slowly" (and I mean, he ROCKED it, like the beatles rocked Rock 'n Roll music), the idea of using pedals for moving tones was known. Exactly why it took so long for someone to come up with the simple "E" to "A" change is anybody's guess. |
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Jim Mathis
From:
Overland Park, Kansas, USA
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Ernest Cawby
From:
Lake City, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 25 Jul 2007 8:20 pm hi
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1. With open strings you have E tuning
2. with pedals A&B pressed you have A tuning
3. With the B&C pedals you have C#m.
this is on certain strings.
So 3 necks in one.ernie
You have to skip some strings to find these tunings.
ernie |
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Dion Stephen
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 26 Jul 2007 2:18 am
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| thanks for all the info ya'll. there is something special about the pedal steel that i want to learn. i know robert randolph calls it the most expressive instrument. i wish i could make it to overland park but i'm way on the other side in holcomb, hour west of dodge city. thanks again. |
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Casey Lowmiller
From:
Kansas
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Posted 26 Jul 2007 11:38 am
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Dion,
There are a few Pedal Steel players here in Wichita & there is 1 or 2 up in Hays, KS.
Wichita is about a 3hr drive and Hays is about a 2hr drive from Boothill. You should make the drive & talk to a pedal steel player in person & hopefully see a pedal steel in person. Feel free to email me, or if you want to, we can talk about steel on the phone.
I know that the music store in Garden City sells Carter Starters and sometimes will get a steel in on trade and I think the music store in Dodge sells the Carter Starter as well. I don't know if either place has a steel on the showroom floor or not.
Casey
_________________
Known Coast to Coast as
"The Man with The Plan" |
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Al Marcus
From:
Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)
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Posted 26 Jul 2007 12:03 pm
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nklin does that right today...I now split them and find them very useful...al
I just lost a nice informatimve post. Just hit the wrong key, and all I got on my forum post is above. This should not happen to my post that is already typed in.
I mentioned on my post that was wiped out, that we just had to move the bar from E to A from open E on E6 to 5th fret A. I had only 6 pedals as Alvino Rey had, and had the minor 3rd, flatted 5th, maj79, straignt 7-9, thats 4 pedals right there,but I had one that dropped the 5th and the 3rd a whole tone which gave me E to A. As I mention Paul Franklin, has that on his E9. But I split them on knee levers to give me lots of passing tones with other pedals, and still get the Amaj 7th to Amaj6 ,sound. I think that Bud Issacs did lower from A6 to E major That way, but I never believed in 1953 that it was going to get so popular with steel players.....al.
_________________
Michigan (MSGC)Christmas Dinner and Jam on my 80th Birthday.
My Email.. almarcus@cmedic.net
My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus |
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Dion Stephen
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 28 Jul 2007 1:33 am
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| i saw in the back room of my church they have a pedal steel sitting in a case covered with dust. i opened it up once to see it had 3 pedals & 1 knee lever. i do believe it is way out on its tunings as far as pitch shifts any advice on how to fix this? (should i start a new post?) {if post is not the right term please forgive me not real wise in computers, not bad at plumbing though.} |
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