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Topic: mechanics of slanting |
Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2006 7:25 am |
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Just got my first resonator (cheap Johnson squareneck). I'm having a blast and, having never owned one before, it sounds fine to my uninitiated ear (I'm sure I'll lose that innocent attitude quickly).
As a pedal player, I am woefully unfamiliar with bar slants, and I'm particularly unclear on the actual physical movement needed to slant a dobro bar . I'm using a Shubb with the channel on top for the index finger. Am I right that I need to lift my finger out of the channel and push the bar at an angle with my thumb and middle finger? I could use my wrist on some of the higher frets at wider string spacings, but I'd have to be Gumby to bend my wrist enough for anything below the 12th fret.
Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks,
Dan
p.s. per my earlier thread about tunings, I’m finding the G tuning more flexible than I expected.
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Dan Beller-McKenna
Big Red
Blue TrainDurham, NH
[This message was edited by Dan Beller-McKenna on 09 November 2006 at 09:52 AM.] |
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Stephen Dorocke
From:
Tres Piedras, New Mexico
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Posted 9 Nov 2006 7:39 am
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| Personally, I use a round steel, coming from playing pedal myself. In fact, I've never even tried a dobro type bar. When moving into a slant, the tip of my index finger stays in contact with the bar, while my thumb and middle finger move the bar into the slant. I've tried different size bars, but feel most comfortable with 3& 1/2" X 3/4". |
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John McGann
From:
Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 9 Nov 2006 7:48 am
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Dan- Scotty sells a Jerry Byrd video that shows the moves. You never slant your hand, but rather arch the index finger for downward pressure, and let the thumb come to the back of the bar, pull it back for the forward slant. For a reverse slant, the thumb goes the other way. The Hand stays straight in any event.
The 1st 30 years are the hardest.
Try not to practice too close to a picture window 
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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Joseph Rush Wills
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2006 9:46 am
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John McGann writes <>.
When I was learning reverse slants, I was sitting bare foot on a couch. Drop a bar about 18 inches onto your big toe once or twice and you'll learn how to hang on to it! |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 9 Nov 2006 1:11 pm
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I am glad you find open G versitile. I do and am amazed at what I can get out of it.
I too use a round bullet bar. my slants are accomplished in the same manner as Stephan, who posted just a bit above this post. |
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Mike Fried
From:
Nashville, TN, USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2006 12:38 am
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| Bullet bars are much easier for most people to slant with, especially if they have a recessed back end to hold your thumb on reverse slants. The shape of a stevens-type bar make it clumsier to change hand positions on the fly. On the other hand (no pun intended), the sharp-ended stevens-type bars that bluegrassers tend to use get much better pulloffs and hammer-ons, and bluegrass players tend to not slant nearly as much as other stylists anyway (and use their wrists more when they do). I choose the type of bar depending on what I need the most at the time, and keep both types always handy. |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2006 5:17 am
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Thanks for all the advice guys.
My biggest difficulty is with reverse slants on the Schubb bar. Sounds like I need to get a smaller bullet bar than the one I use for pedal steel.
John--I'm hoping to cut the learning curve down to about 28 years!
Dan |
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Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
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Posted 10 Nov 2006 6:42 am
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I use a Dunlop JB model round bar with the red plastic cap in the back popped out. It gives me even more room for the tip of my thumb, and makes reverse slants waaaaay easier, at least for me.
The other thing about slants, as I'm sure you're finding out, is that with each half step further up the neck, you have to micro-adjust the slant angle for the same intervalic slant. IOW, for example, if you're picking the third string, fifth fret, and first string sixth fret, and slanting with a forward slant, and then you take that up to the 10th and 11th frets, respectively, your slant angle, or pitch, will need to slightly contract. Even more important than the visual ques from looking at the frets though is using your ears to really hear that the harmonies are in tune. After a lot of time doing it, your angle adjustments will become more or less internalized in your muscle memory.
Have fun!
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Todd James Weger --
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, A6, B11); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Regal resonator (C6); 1938 Epiphone Electar (A6); assorted ukuleles; upright bass
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2006 12:29 am
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| In the superslide slide off video it looked like both Maurice Anderson and Bobbe Seymore were using the big pedal steel bars to me. There may be some advantage to that. Maybe it's just what they're used to. |
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Mike Fried
From:
Nashville, TN, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2006 1:36 pm
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| The added mass of bigger bars provides more sustain and a more "solid" tone (especially noticeable on electric steel), the downside being they're less nimble-handling and visually obscure the frets more. Maurice and Bobbe probably have logged many more hours with the big bars, and consider the tradeoff worthwhile. |
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Don Barnhardt
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2006 8:59 pm
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| Dan...I've tried several bar styles and the Shubb suits me best. I think once you get used to it you'll prefer it to a round bar especially for bluegrass and other fast picking. It's hard to describe how to slant but for a forward slants I leave the tip of my forefinger in the groove and sort of pivot on it. For reverse slant I leave my forefinger extended in the groove, remove my thumb and angle my wrist back. I recommend you experiment for a good while with the Shubb and round bar and see which is most comfortable for you. Oh by the way, I cut about 3/4" off the square end of my Shubb bar and found it much more easy to manipulate. |
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