Question about learning to play the Hawaiian Steel Guitar...

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

For some of us old-timers, we first heard someone playing the steel guitar and either we were totally infatuated by what we heard or simply turned off.

Roy Wiggins with Eddy Arnold during the late 1940'a was a great influence on my wanting to learn to play the steel guitar. I wonder how many others of you were motivated by "Little Ivan" and credit him with lighting the fire within you?

Others of you were similarly motivated by the likes of Don Helms (Hank Williams, Sr.) and countless others that were the guys were able to listen to on the numerous country DJ shows that were so popular on black and white radio.

My question I guess is: How can anyone student of steel guitar......actually set his/her compass on learning to play the instrument without having at least one idol or mentor to guide them along the path of years of music?

You Tube is like a feeding trough of musical learning opportunities.......the likes of which few of us ever experienced in our early years of learning and yet, for the uninitiated student, is it not a confusing issue to try to learn certain basics by listening to so many different players with their different styles and varying pedal hook-ups?

Wasn't the days of having a single mentor the easiest way 'to get started'????

Eddie Cunningham · From: Massachusetts, USA

In the early 40s I used to listen to David Kelii on "Hawaii Calls " and I just had to learn to play the Hawaiian guitar !! There was no Hawaiian music or bands locally and I drifted into Country and Bro. Oswalds Dobro and Lil Roy Wiggins steel sounds kept me interested , then around 1948 I heard Jerry Byrds sounds and that was "IT" !!! I also really liked Alvino Reys music but that was too deep for me !! the olde Geezer AKA Eddie "C"

Mike Neer · From: NJ

For many of the people my age, we were motivated to play by some of the Rock players, like David Lindley, who was and continues to be a strong influence, regardless of whether or not I choose to play in that style. I did spend a few years playing like that, and I discovered that the biggest tribute I could pay was to not play like him. So, I went back and started from the beginning (eg, Sol Hoopii, Dick McIntire) and worked my way forward until I ran out of players. Now I can be myself. Smile

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Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

Ray, I was first enthused by the steel guitar by listening to my parents radio during the 1940's. Everyone that I knew played either a fiddle or a guitar. The only instruction I could find was the Hawaiian music at the local music store. The upside of that was, if I made mistakes while learning, my fellow musicians who played nothing but Western-swing knew nothing about a steel guitar or Hawaiian music.

So their comments often degenerated into non-helpful remarks about a cat with it's tail caught under the rocking-chair.
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"FROM THEN TIL' NOW"

Dean Rimmer · From: texas

i grew up in so cal fri sat night we had town hall party,spade cooly,doy o dell,harry owens and the royal Hawaiians....all had steel players maybe you know some of the names i cant remember a little later i saw david lindly at the cats pajamas in arcadia with the mad mtn ramblers bluegrass he was a super 5st banjo player also...got my first steel some years later from blackie taylor a red zb but i still wish i would have started on a straight steel oh well

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