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Topic: let em ring??? |
Jimmie Martin
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 29 Oct 2004 1:01 pm |
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| now i'm confused i have been trying to block strings and so on but i got a bobbe seymour video on secrets and he said let em ring. whats right? |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 29 Oct 2004 1:21 pm
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Both. There are times when you want the strings to ring and times when you want them blocked. Not blocking will make some of the things you play sound like a cat fight. I don't know the video, but I would think that Bobbe was only speaking of what was happening at that moment in the song. Bobbe is a master blocker and would never tell someone not to block.
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Carter D10 9p/10k, NV400
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Rick Garrett
From:
Tyler, Texas
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 2:18 am
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For me, it depends on what I want to hear or don't want to hear in any given song that Im struggling to play.
Rick |
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Carlos Polidura
From:
Puerto Rico
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 4:05 am
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richard... YOU ARE CORRECT.
carlos |
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Billy Joe Bailey
From:
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 7:08 am
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I'ts kinda like rightly dividing the word,
you block alittle, then you let it ring
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 9:00 am
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If you have to think about how to block, you haven't really figured it out yet. If it's not second nature you need to work on it until it is. Many steel players don't even realize they do it -- it's just part of the technique that must be mastered to sound good.
As others mentioned, some phrases sound fine with no blocking. Others sound better with the occasional note blocked. A few (chicken picking is an example) require most every note to be blocked.
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 10:21 am
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| The "not blocking behind the bar" stuff is minimal, but still effective when used properly. Many times, chimes sound richer when done this way, but you can only do this technique when the bar is stationary. Letting what I call the "back strings" ring sounds terrible when the bar is moving. Still, I guess there's some young people who would consider the "spaced out" weird dissonant sounds very cool. Like many techniques, it's all in knowing when to do it, and when not to do it. A little distortion might sound good on "Oh, Lonesome Me", or even a slow song like "Georgia", but it's clearly out of place on "Walking The Floor Over You", or "Cold, Cold Heart". You have to enhance the song. That's what's most important - that's why we're there in the band. |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 12:38 pm
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| Quote: |
| I guess there's some young people who would consider the "spaced out" weird dissonant sounds very cool. |
Some of us old folks get off on 'em too, Danny. 
Back to the topic... I think that the real issue is having control of the strings in your hands. Whether you're letting strings ring or cutting them short, you have to be able to do what the song requires.
I also think that Bobbe's point is that a lot of people block when they don't need to. If you're picking the same string group, often you don't need to block at all.
There are a variety of techniques in both hands to stop a note. One of them is to simply pick another note on the same string. |
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Fred Shannon
From:
Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas, R.I.P.
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 1:11 pm
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I think Larry Bell has really hit the nail on the head. I am never cognizant of blocking. I'm certain that it is by now a reflex action after some 50 or more years of playing. I probably couldnt tell you how I do it unless I was sitting behind the guitar and playing naturally.
fred
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The spirit be with you!
If it aint got a steel, it aint real
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 30 Oct 2004 3:19 pm
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My previous comments were related to left-hand blocking (behind the bar). It now appears that you guys weren't talking about that at all, but rather about blocking techniques on the right side of the bar. I left those comments there for anyone who might be interested.
Standard blocking techniques have already been discussed here pretty thoroughly. |
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