When Speed is not the Issue

Paul Crawford · From: Orlando, Fl

Of all of the perfomances I've seen, my personal favorite was when I saw my favorite guitar hero, Joe Pass. The entire concert set up was a folding chair, a beat up 15w tube amp, him and his guitar.

One of the great music lessons I had was his comment between songs on the young players and their machine gun picking. "You know guitar playing isn't a gun fight. I don't care if someone can cram in more notes in a measure that I can. In all my years of playing, I've never had someone come up to me after a gig and say, 'Man, you were really fast tonight!. I sure wish I could play that fast.' It just doesn't seem to be much of an issue."

This doesn't keep me from enjoying bluegrass. And I certainly spend some woodshed time on speed picking. But before I put down a track at a session or choose a rift fill in a new song, I always look back at those words of wisdom. It reminds me that good playing is more than a demonstration of a technical skill.

Ernie Pollock · From: Mt Savage, Md USA

Paul, that was very well said, enough said!!

Ernie Pollock Very Happy

Franklin · Posted 6 Jul 2010 1:16 pm

Paul,

Joe Pass is one of my all time fav's. Joe Pass was also a very fast technician. He just didn't let that rule his musical approach.....Was he really saying " you don't need the technical proficiency of a fast player"...I doubt that was his point.. "Focus on the musical content, not the speed of the composition" seems to be the point on which all great jazz legends agree.

Paul

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Interesting post! When I was learning steel and for quite a few years into it, I was caught up in the "How many notes can you play" syndrome. I was really involved with this malady, but, I finally realized that, it's not how many notes, but, how you play the notes, that really counts. There's more beauty in a slow phrase with a lot of passion, than, a machine gun volume of notes. Don't get me wrong, though. I still like to rip them out, but, not so much. I prefer to play pretty solo's with lots of soul and feeling. I believe, that, that's the true sound of a pedal steel, the syrupy notes, continuously connected with raising and dropping patterns

Twayn Williams · From: Portland, OR

Jeff Harbour · From: Western Ohio, USA

I like this topic. Specifically contrasting "upbeat playing" versus "note cramming". I'm a very rhythmically-driven player and strive to play quick stuff... but there can be a clear difference.
To me if you look closely what is actually impressive about "speed", it is when notes go by quicker than the listener can predict them. This can happen at any tempo and the key to the impressiveness is actually in the context of the song.
Take Mr. Franklin for example. He played two lightning-fast solos on Mark O'Connor's New Nashville Cats album, both fine musical statements... but they fit the tempo, and to me the very same "quickness" hook of those is also present in his instrumental of How High The Moon, which is a considerably slower song.
On the other hand, there is a well-known steel player Ive seen a few times who plays very "fast", but just doesn't excite me as much. It's all in the context of the song, and whether the player trys to over-play it or not.
Joe Pass is another great subject. Any time I feel myself getting too mathmatical in my chord theory thinking, I revert to his outlook. He loved to keep things as simple as possible!

Jeff

Jeff Harbour · From: Western Ohio, USA

By the way, I took the term "Quickness" directly from an old post by Buck Reid... another excellent example of a well-balanced uptempo player!

Les Anderson · From: The Great White North

It is rare that these professed high speed pickers stick to the melodie of the piece they are playing. Most grab at chords and pick away as fast as they can move their fingers. To me, that is not high speed playing.

Two or three who I can think of off the top of my head that can/could play the actual melody at a very high rate of speed is/was Tom Brumly, Roy Clark and David Hartly. Their ability to stay on the melody without having to throw in a bunch of garbage noise is remarkable.

William Lake · From: Ontario, Canada

My guitar teacher of many years ago in Toronto, Tony Braden, used to call them "Lotsanote guitar players"
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Bill

Tommy Shown · From: Denham Springs, La.

The man that taught me steel,told me that smooth is better. I have always tired to keep to those words. When I play smooth, I play with a lot feel and emotion it comes out clean. And Clean is what I want. I have nothing against the players that do the speed, It just that if you want to win over a crowd play a slow sing with some smooth licks in it. My daughter, who I think is biased has heard me do "Midnight in Montgomery" many times. She thinks I do it better than it was recorded. I tell her Paul Franklin does a far better job on it, than I do.
And Paul was the man on the recording.This is a great thread.
Tommy Shown
SMFTBL

Larry Bressington · From: Nebraska

If a songs fast, why not pick fast? Shocked

Nothing worse than a player playing slow on a fast song, pick brother!
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A.K.A Chappy.

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Jeff Harbour · From: Western Ohio, USA

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

One of the most admired steel players of all times, Mr. John Hughey was capable of playing very quickly and cleanly when it was required (witness his amazing C6 playing with the Time Jumpers!)However, when John's name is mentioned, most will agree that the range of emotion he could bring forth from his ballad playing is what made him a legend.

Paul Crawford · From: Orlando, Fl

Don't take me wrong on this guys. I was not saying that speed is unneeded or in any way inappropriate for a lot of arrangements. I stand in absolute awe of the players mentioned, (especially PF who is another of my heroes.)

The point of view I'm representing is simply that speed picking is easily abused and over used particularly at weekend warrior level. I'm certainly not a top tier player and still very much a student of the instrument. When I go out to see other players, and when I reviewed my own playing, I see a speed trap that's too easy to fall into. Players sped hours practicing and perfecting their speed picking technique and when it comes gig time they too often pull it out of the tool box. You don't need to flash your newly honed capabilities on every song faster than 120 bpm.

When I'm sought out to add to a recording or expand the sound of growing group, it's not because they think they need another fast picker. They are looking for the soulful sound that only a steel guitar can provide. It's the long gliss, the moving counterpoints beneath the melody, the well timed pedal squeeze that the lead guitar cannot provide that sets us apart. If I can rip out a double speed 8 bar riff, it's simply a bonus.

Even on my Holy Grail of speed playing, Four Wheel Drive, it's the open string notes, the bar pulls, and the blending chords that set it apart as a Steel Guitar song.

When I sit down to my practice sessions, I'll always have some time set aside for speed picking to build both speed and clean intonation. But the majority of my time will be spent polishing tone, chord composition, bar and volume control, and the other aspects making music on this infernal machine. For me, speed is impressive but a hot spice reserved for those times when it's needed to compliment the mix which is somewhat rare in a well rounded diet.

Les Anderson · From: The Great White North

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

The vast majority of speed picking, be it on guitar or steel, amounts to what I call "fingerboard diarrhea." Speed for speed's sake and look-at-me playing. Only a few players actually SAY anything when they're in the fast picking lane. I can recognize both types of players after only a few bars.

I remember when I saw Joe Pass play decades ago at a huge opera house in Chicago. He opened on solo guitar and then played with the feature act - the Oscar Peterson trio (Peterson, Ray Brown & Pass).

Anyway, for his solo act they placed a single chair and a Polytone mini-brute amp on that enormous stage. No gigantic PA setup. Nothing else. Joe walked out with his 175, sat down, and started playing. His performance awed everyone. It was a lesson I never forgot.

Twayn Williams · From: Portland, OR

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

At the Convention, a couple of decades ago, after a weekend of machineguns, Jerry Byrd took the stage on Sunday afternoon, stepped up to the mike and said, "I've spent a lifetime trying to play as few notes as possible."

Hal Higgins · From: Denham Springs, LA

Speed......hmmm......good topic.....I wish sometimes I could get mine back. For about 10 years I had speed....and could chase the wind with it.....then one day it was all taken away in less than 10 seconds, by an industrial accident that nearly ended my steel playing days, and took half of my right thumb, the dexterity in my index finger away. The next few years were spent just trying to regain the mobility. The first words from my mouth after the nurse cut the bloody glove (literally) from my right had were, "My God, I'll never play steel again"! After about 3 surgeries and 10-12 months later, I sat down behind my D-10 Emmons P/P for the first time and just tried to play something....couldn't put a thumb pick on because of the raw nerve sensitivity at the top and sides of the tumb. The mended broken bones in the index finger left the knuckle stiff at the hand, and mobility was hard. Needless to say, I tried many different things to try and get picks, etc. on this right hand so I could start playing again. I was determined that nothing would stop me. I'm very passionate about this instrument.....like it was my destiny to play steel guitar, and I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way or deter me from doing so. Oh, Speed-Picking, yeah.....I lost most of mine.....I can only still play at about half-the speed I used to. I think of my heros of steel guitar, the Big E, Jimmy Crawford, Doug Jernigan (awesome speed), John Hughey, Paul Franklin Jr. and so many others that I could name......and see where they really shined.......and even though their speed could be incredibly fast, it was on the beauty of what and how they played that got each of them their accolades. This is just my .02 worth.
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HAL...Excel D-10 w/ 8 & 5. SteelSeat.com w/back,SteelSeat.com Pedal Board on Legs with Quilter Tone Block 200 amp, Boss GE 7, Boss DD 3, Boss RV 6, Boss RT-20 Hilton Expression Pedal, Evans Cabinet with 4 ohm Eminence 15" speaker. BJS birthstone bar, Powder coated Tone bar by Michael Hillman. Dunlop Coated finger picks and Zookies L30 thumb picks.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 7 Jul 2010 10:49 am

which do you like better: Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis?

I like them both. One can play blistering fast and owned the high range. One never could and owned the middle range. Both were brilliant.

One of the most brilliant solos I know is Theloneous Monk playing on The Man I love on the famous Christmas eve session with Miles. It was simple, single notes, slow over a fast tune, and utterly inspired and brilliant.

Jeff Harbour · From: Western Ohio, USA

Something has stuck with me that I heard once from a non-steel source, drummer Neal Peart. He was talking about playing ability and made a point that too many players use the old "Less Is More" phrase as an excuse to not learn difficult things. He said the phrase really should be "Less Costs More". In other words the fewer notes you play, the more perfect each one needs to be.
Personally though I don't like to compare Fast versus slow because to me it's still all in the song. There are some things where I can hear that even quarter notes are too busy, and others where eighth notes sound empty.
One of Paul Franklin's points I hear him stress often is that (paraphrased) speed comes from how fast your ear and ability to think are coordinated. Joe Pass was pretty much of the same mindset. I would add to that: "...as long as your fingers are trained to keep up!"
The players who use raw speed to cover up their lack of musicality aren't fooling me! But, I still believe that the quicker you can get your fingers to work the broader your musical possibilities are.

Jeff

Jeff Harbour · From: Western Ohio, USA

Ah, I got it!
When is a fast solo good?... When it can be slowed down to half speed and still sound just as musical...

Joe Miraglia · From: Jamestown N.Y.

Then there are the players that use a Delay pedal set way fast. Would you say there where cheating Embarassed

Joe

Ricky Hagan · From: Elm City N.C. U.S.A.

I agree with you Jeff. It takes time and hard practice to be able to play fast licks.I don't post much on this topic or any other because the guys seem to take a lot of things personal.But most of the guys that don't like speed picking probaly would if they could do it.

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