| Author |
Topic: What would you have liked to have known... |
Rick Myrland
From:
New Orleans
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 6:34 am |
|
After a long search I finally found some guys in my area looking for a newer steel player. Actually, the group is new and we're all learning so it was a great fit for me. It may be a while before we are "gig ready" but that's okay, at least I can finally get out of the bedroom. After our first rehersal last week I noticed I have a few questions and there's no place in the world where anyone can have as much access to as much steel experience is on this forum, so here goes...
1. Who should I be listening to? I find myself paying attention to the vocals, but I'm wondering if I should be cueing into the bass player.
2. Any advice on where the best place for the steel guy to sit? I think I read somewhere on here to stay away from the keyboard.
3. They don't have a lead player yet and it seems they think I can handle all the leads. I know a bunch of fills and licks but nothing seems to fit (for instance) Faith Hill's "If My Heart Had Wings." How do you say "I just can't come up with anything I like?" to the other band members? I can do some improve but don't have enough experience to sit down for 10 minutes and come up with a long lead or have the skills yet to know that I'm playing an acceptable melody line.
I am lucky in that they have the sheet music with the chords so I'm able to throw in some chord-based fills but unless I can come up with tab or find the instruction on Youtube (thanks Joe Barcus and Mickey Adams!) I'm always afraid it's not authentic enough. For instance, I thought I had started to figure the into to Josh Turner's "Your Man" until I found Mickey Adam's rendition -- nope, I wasn't as close as I thought. Frustrating.
MOST IMPORTANTLY -- Any good advice on any topic for someone in my situation, something that I don't even know to ask for instance? Looking back, what do you wish someone had told you when you first sat on a bandstand?
Thanks...
_________________
Mullen G2; Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb; Goodrich L-120 |
|
|
 |
Ben Jones
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 7:07 am
|
|
Its great your getting out there Rick. Its the best thing for your playing. I waited far too long.
before taking up steel I had always been the band leader. The lead guitarist, the singer, the songwriter, and the vocalist. So it was difficult for me to adjust to a supportng role. So what I wish someone had told me was to keep my mouth shut and play. that advice wont be beneficial to everyone or even most, but it woulda saved me alot of grief.
Ive experienced the same thing with regards to be the only lead insturment in the band. They wanted me to take a solo in every song and you cant help but start to repeat yourself a bit after ten to fifteen solos. I dont know what one can do except explain the situation and suggest they take the occasional lead even if they are not skilled lead players for the sake of variety and dynamics. |
|
|
|
Chris Dorch
From:
Wisconsin, USA
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 7:15 am
|
|
Bring a recorder to practice and record the sessions. You can then go back and play with it to figure something out... This is easy to explain especially if you are just writing songs. If you are covering, then you have an easier road. Find tabs and play along with the songs...
FWIW, you are in a great position in my opinion. I love to be thrown into the mix without a direction and run. This can be daunting for a novice at anything. Believe me, I'd be in the same position as you on the steel. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't love the challenge. Eventually, what you hear in your head will come out of your fingers. The problem will be if you don't hear anything in your head.. |
|
|
|
Clyde Mattocks
From:
Kinston, North Carolina, USA
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 7:37 am
|
|
Chris' advice about bringing a recorder is right on. Since it is new to everyone, you have a clean slate and some nice, inventive things can happen.
Stay with the idea of the chord based fills till you start getting other inspiration. Remember, YOU'RE the authority on steel guitar in that situation, so though you are somewhat inexperienced, you still know more about what the role of your instrument is. Good luck and enjoy the ride.
_________________
LeGrande II, Nash. 112, Fender Twin Tone Master, Session 400, Harlow Dobro, R.Q.Jones Dobro |
|
|
|
Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 7:43 am
|
|
I also recommend buying Band in a Box, if you don't already have it. Enter the chords for the tunes you need to work on and play along, at slow tempo, while you work out parts that sound good to you. You don't have to be able to create them on the spot on the bandstand yet; just tell them you're gonna woodshed on those tunes and come back with some ideas.
Oh, yes, and listen to the bassist, if he/she is good and especially if you're not totally confident of the changes. A good bassist will walk you up and down to the next change so you hear it coming in advance of getting there, and you're better prepared for it when it happens.
Good luck!
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
|
|
|
Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 7:47 am Re: What would you have liked to have known...
|
|
| Rick Myrland wrote: |
1. Who should I be listening to? I find myself paying attention to the vocals, but I'm wondering if I should be cueing into the bass player.
2. Any advice on where the best place for the steel guy to sit? I think I read somewhere on here to stay away from the keyboard.
|
Sitting near the keyboard would help you to hear pitch, which you need in order to play in tune.
Listening to the singer is very important. Also if possible try to hear the sound of the entire group at once and imagine what you can do or not do at that moment to make it better. Listening to a recording the next day can help.
Simple chord based fills are good, and always better than something complex that may be too much for the songs, or may be a little beyond what you can play cleanly now. |
|
|
|
Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 10:12 am
|
|
A lot of great advice, here Rick, you have the luxury of sitting in the drivers seat right now with little risk of going down in flames publicly.
I would add a few notes and expound on some already delivered here:
1) Listen to the singer so that you can play around their lines, i.e. fill the holes and try to compliment the melody figures rather than simply playing through everything. This being said, simple chordal pads at low volume can add a lot to a sparse arrangement as well.
2) As Jim says, listen to the bass, the steel is all about inversions and the bass provides the root and rythm for what you do on the steel.
3) On the pedal steel nearly everything is ultimately "chord-based" - that is one of the things that makes it such a marvelous instrument, all the great moving harmony lines just sitting there for you to make use of at your leisure, provided you have the chords right in the first place.
4) Sit where you can hear yourself distinctly and see the other members of the band (especially the bass and guitar fret activity) easily without losing your place on your own instrument. I place myself differently on stage depending on instrumentation, familiarity with the material, preferences of prima donnas in the band and sometimes just the known acoustics of a given venue. When I can I prefer to be Stage Right so that I can look up and to my left to see the other players, across the top of my left hand rather than away from it.
5) This suggestion will no doubt start a huge flame-throwing session, but our old friend Jerry Garcia never played anything that you can't replicate within a few minutes, basic but tasteful, and you can get a lot of mileage out of that while you grow your chops. If you don't already have it get a copy of The Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" and play with it every day, JayDee and Lloyd play some beautiful, clever fills and lines on that album that are not at all inaccessible to a newbie and you will still be using them thirty years from now. Buddy Emmons plays some ultimately classic pedal steel on John Sebastian's "Rainbows All Over Your Blues" and in fact anything you can get your hands on from Buddy, JayDee, Lloyd or other legends of the pedal steel will edify and satisfy your hunger for new ear fodder, not to mention giving you something to work on for a long, long time. Also, don't neglect the work of the great pre-pedal players, get out your old Hank Williams and Bob Wills albums and study, study, study!
6) Lastly, remember the melody when it's time to solo, a few tasteful notes will suffice if you don't have anything fresh and new in mind. Flashy and fast is mostly for folks with nothing else to say and while it may impress, simple and meaningful lines will MOVE people. Learn how to play the melody of every song in your book, remembering to use the appropriate chordal positions throughout, and learn which licks can be accessed from each of these positions (No Pedals, A+B, A+F, B+Eb, A alone, B+C, Eb alone) as each of these inversions has strengths and weaknesses that you will learn to build on and eventually connect together. Practice moving from one inversion to another of the same chord until you can nail what you hear without terror. Well, maybe there will always be some terror (at least there is for me) but practice still helps a lot.
Most importantly don't take it all too seriously, just have a lot of fun. The one thing I was once told that I wish I had heard earlier: "It's not the notes you play so much as the energy you play them with." |
|
|
|
Jim Robbins
From:
Ontario, Canada
|
Posted 28 Mar 2010 7:16 pm
|
|
| Figure out where to play and where to lay out. A very simple lead will sound great if it's a change of texture. Listen to Ben Keith on Harvest. |
|
|
|
Rick Myrland
From:
New Orleans
|
Posted 29 Mar 2010 4:06 pm
|
|
Thanks so much for all your insight, I've read every word and will take it to heart. This week is session #2 and I already feel a lot more comfortable going into it.
Thanks again,
Rick
_________________
Mullen G2; Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb; Goodrich L-120 |
|
|
|
Eric Philippsen
From:
Central Florida USA
|
Posted 29 Mar 2010 5:26 pm
|
|
Some things I wish someone had told me decades ago.......
- Rule #1. It's not about you.
- Your job is make the other guy and the song sound good. See rule #1.
- Know when to shut up.
- Show up early. Dress professionally. Don't get drunk or stoned. |
|
|
|
David Griffin
From:
Jimmy Creek,Arkansas via Cowtown, USA
|
|
|
|
Bud Angelotti
From:
Larryville, NJ, USA
|
Posted 30 Mar 2010 7:40 am
|
|
| What Eric said - Also, play along with the radio (at home). Play along with every different kind of music that pops on. Play along with the commercials. It'll not only help your playing, but will help your listening. |
|
|
|
Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
|
Posted 30 Mar 2010 5:34 pm
|
|
| ...and what Bud said! |
|
|
|
Steve Becker
From:
Daytona Beach FL
|
Posted 31 Mar 2010 8:25 am
|
|
Hi Rick
Just thought I'd add my two cents worth...
Keep trying to get a lead guitar player ASAP, because you (the steel player) can't possibly cover all of those guitar parts , esp. in a Top 40 band, and it gets very frustrating when you are expected to be able to do so. |
|
|
|
