Filling the holes, or NOT

Larry Behm · From: Mt Angel, Or 97362

While in Texas (live music events) I noticed that the steel and fiddle just played right along with the singer, almost all of the time.

I thought this strange because I was taught to FILL THE HOLES.

So I listened and listened. A lot of times in the songs they sang there were NO holes, except at the end of the line.

Even on an old country shuffle with lots of holes they played on.

(These were dance halls and those Texas two steppers were wearing out the hard wood.)

Darrell McCall told me it was to make the song more musical, lots going on, not just a voice and 4-5 background instruments.

They never played louder than the singer, they never played in unison or harmony with the singer, just played around the progression.

So today I might give it a shot, will see if I have a job next week. Hee Hee.
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Bill Moran · From: Virginia, USA

LOL
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Jim Cooley · From: The 'Ville, Texas, USA

Very interesting, Larry, especially from someone not from Texas. It is something I think about often. I've noticed it frequently, and have been on both sides as singer and side player. It seems that there is a fine line between enhancement and distraction. I can envision situations in which the singer and musicians perform together often and like it that way. I also admit that when done tastefully it does add a certain....musicality(?), but there's still that fine line. I'm pretty sure you were in the ballroom at the Texas Jamboree when Lloyd Green and Jaydee Maness backed Tony Booth. It really grabbed my attention when one of them said they were going to back a singer the way it is supposed to be done, "by filling the holes." The results were outstanding, at least to my ears.

BTW thanks for all your input on a certain topic.

-jim-

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

LOL Larry..I had been thinking the same thing lately watching a few live shows from Texas. When I play lines when people are singing they yell at me for stepping on the singer, evidently I need to move to Texas !
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Bobby Nelson · From: North Carolina, USA

I've bee watching a lot of Loretta Lynn clips (she always had killer steel players) and noticed the same thing there. A lot of times they play and play right with her - and it works most of the time.

Doug Jones · From: Oregon & Florida

Give a listen to any Heart of Texas recordings with Dicky Overbey on steel. It's all over the place and tasty.

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

All together now - a 1 anda 2 anda 3 anda 4

Click Here

Surprised

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

My opinion: it works if and only if

1. The material's fast and/or aggressive enough that it can tolerate some filling without getting overpowered;

2. The players are really good and it's done well without intruding on what else is going on;

3. The singer is good (and confident) enough to handle someone else there;

4. The people involved really like steel guitar and fiddle.

I think these all can be an issue, which is why "When in doubt, lay out" is certainly a reasonable, and safe, baseline. If accompaniment is not both on-pitch with the singer and out of the singer's range, it can be a real intrusion, making it hard to sing. I also can't imagine doing this on a sensitive ballad where the space around the vocal is important. Sort of like scene-stealing in acting.

Of course, every rule has exceptions.

Kevin Fix · From: Michigan, USA

I am a firm believer in filling the holes in a song when it is my turn to do fill work. Their is just a few songs we do that I will follow the singer. Mostly Loretta Lynn songs.

Bobby Boggs · From: Upstate SC.

The filling the holes only thing started sometime in the early 70's or late 60's. And that was for sessions. On live performances. Many steelers played pretty much what they wanted when it was their turn to fill. As always, there were exceptions of course. You probably won't hear it on Country - POP artist records of that era. But youtube some of your favorite hard core country tunes from the 60's and you'll see what I mean. Live performances from this era even more so.

I seem to remember Paul Franklin writing that it was Sonny Garish who changed the way fills were done on steel guitar? But that was a long time ago. So don't hold me to that.

b.

Bobby Nelson · From: North Carolina, USA

Been Listening to a NRPS live album someone posted on another thread. Buddy Cage plays all over the holes to an amazing degree and it sounds very fitting.

Bobby Boggs · From: Upstate SC.

Never heard the recording Mr. Nelson mentioned. So no opinion. But in a small band. An experienced and accomplished player can sometimes play behind the singer constantly during his or her turn to fill. And add to the all-around sound. Now, I'm not talking about someone trying to play everything they know just because they can. But someone that's playing tastefully behind the singer.

Larry Bressington · From: Nebraska

Iâ€™m a big fan of lots of space and air, I find random notes and constant fills to be a little bit over bearing and takes away the object of colour and light and shade, a common topic that seems to always come up is asking players to play less.. It becomes dis pleasing and confusion for the human ear when thereâ€™s constant filling and guys gasping for air to play something where just empty space means so much more. I like the old rule, no more than 3 notes on average for a fill between lines. Fretboard drizzle stays at home!!
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Bobby Nelson · From: North Carolina, USA

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+home+on+the+road

Here it is.

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Larry - Here is an example of Jimmy and Bobby playing while Jake is singing. Is this what you are referring to?

Click Here

Lee, from South Texas

Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

I pulled up some old Bob Wills tunes, and typically the fiddle played along with the singer - so some definite roots to this approach in Texas.

I have some Jeff Newman Woodshed tabs - and he typically starts before the singer stops, and ceases after the singer has begun again on his fills.

NRPS - I immediately thought of them also as a band where the steel plays almost non-stop. I think it is the rock background - I remember Lloyd saying that, when recording Sweetheart with the Byrds, that they wanted him to play almost continuously. To be honest, it is one of my beefs with some country-rock - too many instruments playing simultaneously, just like many rock bands, so it becomes cluttered in my opinion. The Texas style, at least, only one lead instrument is playing at a time.
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Franklin · Posted 26 Mar 2018 6:10 am

My 2 cents.....Because music changes and goes and comes in cycles, be aware of trending rules, but never follow trends...When music goes through its busier cycles I would still fill the holes and pad where others continue playing licks. I would want to be known as a tasteful player...And to singers globally filling the holes is the desired choice and in Country Music goes all the way back to Jimmie Rogers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoQiZujWKQI

Paul

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

I always thought the steel play-along on Elvis' Falling in Love was strange. Maybe it was just the one verse that did that, but odd. Somebody told me that was Freddie Tavares on that recording.

Franklin · Posted 26 Mar 2018 6:20 am

Bobby,
In the late 70's and early 80's during the Urban Cowboy period and layer cake process Sonny Garrish kept the steel alive on recordings by changing its role. He doubled the keys, guitars, etc instead of doing a lot of stand alone fills...Which gave it more of a pop texture...But, to be perfectly clear Sonny doubled fills that were placed in the holes.
PF

Dick Sexton · From: Greenville, Ohio

Listening music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klp9BqE6VDM

Dancing music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUdwQQPKW8U&feature=youtu.be

One has heavy bass, the other heavy drum... One is more about the singer, the other less about the singer.

Of course, I'm from Texas and a little biased.

Randy Beavers · From: Lebanon,TN 37090

Personally I feel it is bad taste to play over the singer. It also bothers me if Iâ€™m playing a fill and another instrument steps all over me. I once had a producer tell the guitar player and me to play all the time ignoring whose turn it was supposed to be filling. We both couldnâ€™t believe he actually said that. Is it any wonder that many tracks sound like a wall of noise behind the singer? I like to hear â€œintoâ€ the mix.

Your mileage may vary but I guess mine doesnâ€™t. Confused

Bill Terry · From: Bastrop, TX

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

I sing songs that are more about the song than they are about my voice. So for someone with an excellent voice, what I have to say may be even more so.

Mostly, I want an appropriate groove from the rhythm section. Fills from a lead instrument can add to tasteful transitioning from one part of the song to the next. Fills between vocal phrases on swing, trad country, and blues tunes are expected. I do my own fills sometimes.

I would never want anyone playing a guitar or fiddle lead continuously while I was singing, and I would not do it on steel or guitar if I was backing up someone (unless I was specifically asked, like Randy was). I also stay out of the way of background vocals, which a steel can closely emulate if they are not there.

Henry Brooks · From: Los Gatos, California, USA

First, I agree with what Paul said in his first post. Often in todays music there really aren't many holes to play fills in. I think this happens partly because one of the accents has been shifted to a upbeat, syncopated, pushed rhythm. The pickup notes for a song, verse, etc, may actually start on a upbeat. This is especially true in modern Christian music often called Praise music. Also, the chords used in these songs aren't majors, (1,3,5), but are suspended chords. The one and four chords will often be Sus 2, (1,2,5), chords and the five chord will be a Sus or Sus 4, (1,4,5). Only rarely will there be a dominate seven chord be used other than minor sevenths and you won't see any diminished chords. If we're going to play this style of music we need to understand and use the its rules of the road.
Henry

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

We hired a fiddle player once, He wouldn't ever stop. He was good, but annoying. He'd play along with mt steel . I'd play a Blues note, and he'd play a major third! You could hear the main speakers being tortured. He would just never sit back, cuz his giant ego was telling that he made the band, and that everyone was there just to see/listen to him.
He got drunk on a News Years gig and was justmawful I fired hin then and there!
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