best advice so far for a new person

Matthew Jackson · From: Tennessee, USA

I have gotten a lot of tips and advice as of late but three seem to stand out.
1. don't get obsessed with gadgets, pick ups and spending your time in search of the "holy grail"
just play the darn thing
2. before you upgrade your speaker on the old peavy 130 special, drop in the Ken Fox mods (29 bucks vs the cost of a speaker....)
3. pull the trigger and buy that GFI you sent me the pictures of.
life is good, my old black hat fits my head, my boots can be cleaned up and polished, the old beather back up peavy really does work very well (and is real easy to move) and every thing on the GFI works. just passing on my blessings here, thanks fuys for all you do to help a new guy (hey it takes a lot of patence to deal with a banjo player and i can tell more banjo jokes than any one i know personally)
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telejo, la 400, a few wonderfull TG banjos, a red tele made from what ever parts I could find, a few dobros and my beat up/butt ugly Pitzfer aluminum upright bass.

Ned McIntosh · From: New South Wales, Australia

I posted this on another thread some time ago, but perhaps it bears repeating?

1. Play as little as possible, as tastefully as you can.

2. Listen to the music; it has an emotional connection to the audience. Help the song make that connection.

3. When the singer gets up on stage, he or she owns the stage and they own the song. Help them to sound good.

4. If you can't think of anything to play, lay out for as many bars as it takes until you can do something that has meaning. Don't be too busy.

5. Your amplifier Gain-Knob controls volume, your volume-pedal controls "expression".

6. Be a good and true servant of the music.

7. Always keep a small thimble either on your steel or in your pack-a-seat or gear-bag. It'll be handy for carrying your ego home after a gig!

8. Accept that when you play, you sound like you; not Lloyd Green, not Hughey, not Rugg, not Franklin...you'll only ever sound like you, so learn to like the way you sound when you play well.

9. You will never be famous. The best you can hope for is to be useful.
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The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

You're going to suck for the first year or two. You'll wake up crying in the middle of the night. Don't worry about it. Everyone goes through that. It's normal.
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Matthew Jackson · From: Tennessee, USA

yea, it may take a while, but, like any thing worthwhile
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telejo, la 400, a few wonderfull TG banjos, a red tele made from what ever parts I could find, a few dobros and my beat up/butt ugly Pitzfer aluminum upright bass.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Play music, not strings/tunings/licks/instruments?

oops. I saw this... somewhere, got a tickle:

"Just because you know what kind of paint Van Gogh used don't make you an artist."

(of course he did die penniless and insane, so mebbe it's a better start than you'd think)

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

Numero 1 is good advice : " just play the darn thing "
as our Capt' mentions, " everyone goes through that. It's normal - it's gonna be tough at first
nevertheless, persist & thou shall get it right

here's my recommendation :
practice the chord grips in a cycle of 4ths
C > F > Bb > Eb > Ab > C# > F# > B > E > A > D > G back to C
dig in BEFORE you pick

Pete Nicholls · From: Macon, Georgia, USA

I just wish I had started this adventure before age 64! Some really good advice here that I will try to take to heart.
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Justice The Judge SD-10, 2007
Justice Pro Lite SD-10, 2011
Quilter Steelaire
Quilter Labs Tone Block 202 Head
Roland Cube 80-XL
American Stratocaster - Yamaha Bass Guitar
1 Fender Telecaster Nashville Edition
Ham Call: N4BHB

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

There is so much to learn that it can and will be overwhelming...

Typical frustrations include:

Why can't I pick string grip 5, 6 and 8 on a whim?

OK, so I've gotten myself out here on fret 11 and I've picked the last note that works here, where the he!! do I go next?

What was the root chord to this tune anyway?

I practiced that chord/note/lick progression last night for over an hour? I had it nailed. Now I can't even remember where it started...

Someday I will get these minor chords figured out... until then, I'll just either suck or not play that part.
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Lawyers are done: Emmons SD-10, 3 Dekleys including a D10, NV400, and lots of effects units to cover my clams...

Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

Have fun.
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Just 'cause I look stupid, don't mean I'm not.

Michael Hummel · From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I'm three months in and really appreciate all of this advice.

One really strikes home -- I must have practiced the solo in "Who's Cheatin' Who" about 10 hours. Wednesday night rehearsal with the band it just sounded completely wrong.

I have 50 years on 6-string and figured learning steel would not be all that hard - how wrong I was. I guess three months might be a little early to copy a Paul Franklin solo! Maybe I'll just work out my own.

Mike
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MSA Classic 5+4
Too many 6-strings and amps to list

Bud Angelotti · From: Larryville, NJ, USA

Michael -
Maybe you are overdoing it? Is 10 hours of the same little solo fun? Maybe it is to you, but it don't sound like fun to me. Relax - take it easy. Smile

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Just 'cause I look stupid, don't mean I'm not.

Michael Hummel · From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Bud, thanks for the good advice.

That wasn't 10 consecutive hours (!) but spread out over a week or two. It's one of the most amazing steel solos I've heard, and I have learned so much from trying to play it (like how to sound like you are playing on the C6 neck when actually on the E9).

You are right -- I do need to relax and not feel like I need to demonstrate mastery of the instrument when I'm nowhere near that point.

Mike
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MSA Classic 5+4
Too many 6-strings and amps to list

Franklin · Posted 17 Aug 2012 9:30 am

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

How ever much you practice, practice more. If you measure you practice time in hours a week instead of hours a day do not expect to ever play well.
Find ways to practice when you can't get to your steel.Get a small practice board to keep on your lap so you can practice picking wherever you are.

Listen to steel parts and try to sing them while you are driving or doing something else. If you can sing it you should be able to play it pretty soon.

Get rid of your TV.(Seriously. Most anybody that has ever done anything worth doing did while everybody else was watching tv.)

Do not post or read the forum until you have spent at least 2 hours at your instrument.

Get a metronome and play everything very very slowly and with accuracy.

Quit smoking so you can live long enough to get it together !
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Bob

Michael Hummel · From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Bob:

Very sage advice! First of all, I'm pleased to say I indeed quit smoking over a year ago. Aside from feeling better, I can now sing harmony vocals a fourth higher than I could a year ago!

I am a big believer in shutting down the TV and doing productive things.

As far as two hours a day, that is just not practical for me. Aside from a full-time job, a wife, family, dog, house, and summer cabin, I am playing 6-string, piano and organ, as well as pedal steel in my current band so I need to balance practice and song learning time on everything.

If I could, I would quit my job, leave my family, and play instruments all day long. But that wouldn't be a very fulfilling existence in the big picture!

At least my accumulation of knowledge on all of these instruments (as well as bass and drums) makes it easier to understand what's going on in terms of chords and harmony theory on the PSG, and how it fits with the rest of the band.

Cheers,
Mike
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MSA Classic 5+4
Too many 6-strings and amps to list

Paul Sutherland · From: Placerville, California

I believe a portion (10-30 minutes) of the daily practice routine should be devoted to intonation. By that I mean, play really simple, virtually mindless licks or chords, but work to make every note perfectly in tune. Use a metronome and a drone CD, or a simple backing track that is well in tune to itself.

Start by playing single note phrases and hit every note dead-on regarding intonation. Play simple scales as slow as necessary, but get the intonation perfect. Play the scales horizontally and vertically, in all keys.

When you can do this with a high degree of accuracy move on to two note, and then three note chords.

Don't assume you are in tune because you have the bar right over the fret. LISTEN, and correct the intonation with the bar as necessary!! Recording yourself is tremendously helpful. You'll hear things you didn't hear as you were playing. If it doesn't sound in tune, it's not. Fix It!

In my opinion, the biggest hurdle for new steel players is learning to play in tune. There is no clearer line between an amateur and a pro steel player than intonation.

Brett Day · From: Pickens, SC

When I started playin' steel twelve years ago, steel guitarist Jeff Peterson said to me, he said, "Practice hard every day". The main tip is, "Don't quit! Play the steel with feeling, play from the heart! Steel playing is wonderful, and you gotta play from the heart. Playing from the heart shows that you love playin' music-never worry about mistakes-all of us steel players make mistakes every now and then.

Brett

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Roual Ranes · From: Atlanta, Texas, USA

I sure like what Ned McIntosh said.

Daniel Policarpo · Posted 17 Aug 2012 6:44 pm

I haven't touched my telecasters but one time since I got my Stage One over a month ago. I haven't had this kind of obsession since I bought a Fender Strat from Mel Bay almost 30 years ago. I have pretty bad scarring and muscle damage on my left calf from a third degree burns,and at first it was really sore. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to figure something out. But, now I am up to two hour blocks of play time without soreness. It has been excellent therapy. My leg hasn't felt this strong since the accident and I feel it getting stronger. I don't walk like a pimp anymore! But I will someday be bending chords like one.

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

i like what Bob H wrote... Winking

Larry Bressington · From: Nebraska

Get rid of your TV.(Seriously. Most anybody that has ever done anything worth doing did while everybody else was watching tv.)

Thank you bob hoffnar, Exactly, i agree Loose it, and taking it out of your life will free up your mind to clearer thoughts !!!
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A.K.A Chappy.

Ray Anderson · From: Jenkins, Kentucky USA

It's a matter of priorities, you'll get out of it what you put into it. At least that is my outlook. Winking

Besides, if I got rid of the TV I couldn't do my video instruction. Laughing

( A little humor there, very little I'm sure.) Rolling Eyes

On the other hand, when this happens to me and it does on occasion, I play a Newman video and play along and that seems to put the spark back in my strings so to speak. Idea

Hope this helps. Just keep on Steelin'. Wink

Johan Jansen · From: Europe

if possible, record yourself every week and enjoy the progress you are making. Learn musictheory, find a teacher and try to play with others asap. Make miles on playing!

JJ

Daniel Policarpo · Posted 19 Aug 2012 5:09 am

Checking my situation for development of bad habits; how am I holding the bar, what angle is my picking hand sitting at, is my wrist/arm resting on the cabinet, are my raises and lowers in tune? Usually when I re-adjust to "the correct way", there is a marked improvement in the sonic output.

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