The Steel Guitar Forum

Some more slow stuff for you seniors out there.

https://youtu.be/H8zU9Lgv1Xw

I use a walker. Light and inexpensive (at Goodwill).

Joel Meginsky, aka J Walker

John Kirby recorded a jazz version of the e minor prelude in the early 40’s, and Don Byron did a remake on his excellent album Bug Music a while back. Both are worth listening to.

I am truly sorry that you are offended by my posts. I would never say that ( f off) to anyone on this Forum.

Bill, I agree with you in principle, but I honestly haven’t heard anything from a player that is really convincing. Therefore, putting the time into this tuning is not worth it to me. I can live with the “limitations” of my tuning. I don’t want the steel to do what the Akire tuning is making...

I’m not trying to say that tunings are not important. I’m just trying to focus on the importance of the musician and the music. If you like the way someone plays, and you feel it has something to do with the tuning, and you want to sound more like them, be my guest and use that tuning! You still...

In the end, tunings are not super important. The individual creator who has a vision, will gravitate (or stumble upon) whatever means necessary to say what he/she needs to say. This is not inherent in the tuning, but in the ideas of the player/composer. Certain tunings may inspire certain melodic/ha...

Also, textbooks on Sightsinging and ear training have hundreds of melodies to sing and practice on steel. The ability to look at musical notation and hear it internally is an invaluable skill. Spending time with an chordal instrument such as piano or guitar will also be beneficial. One of the goals ...

I agree that a knowledge of scales and arpeggios is very helpful in getting around any instrument with ease. Knowing lots of tunes gives you the material to work with. Creating your own style is a matter of assimilation and risk taking. There are many players who are ok with having some “licks and...

I use a walker I got from Goodwill. It’s height adjustable
and I take the wheels off. Aluminum, folds up and is light.

Hi Doug, Nice “melodic” playing and great background track. I think you are absolutely right about working with a strong melody that was built to last. A well constructed tune is worth it’s weight in gold. You can’t copyright a chord progression or voicing. I posted a lap steel-clarinet vers...

Hi fellow ultimate tuning seekers, Every tuning, other than a fully chromatic (piano) setup, has inherit limitations. It's how the tuning is used, and in which kind of melodic and harmonic environment, and by whom, which is the key to its success. How do you explain the fact that the four string vio...

In paragraph three, I meant vertically (arpeggio based), not horizontally (linear).

Trying to adapt the work of players on other instruments to the steel is a good exercise, even if the adaptation isn't quite convincing in translation. There is a lot to be gained by copying. Here's an idea. Pick a tune you'd like to play. Listen to how other great musicians play it. Try to sing alo...

Ellington- In a Sentimental Mood.

As was mentioned, you can't copyright a chord progression, or descending bass line. Appropriation of harmonic movement is as old as the hills.

Blue Skies- Irving Berlin

I have a bunch of the PALOMA, including a double noser. I like them, but I might have to change the name of the instrument to "ceramic guitar".

Hello steel aficionados, I sent one of my representatives (friend), to check out Mr. Wallis' products at the recent convention, but he has reported that there was no booth there which was showing the Axtremity slide. So, would someone in the community who has purchased this slide with a thumb operat...

Total commitment, total sincerity. A heartfelt rendition.

Yes Scott, I hadn't thought of that when I ordered it. We'll see how it interacts with 8, 10 and 12 strings, which usually like a round nose. You have to move the bar toward you when you use the extension on the lower strings. If getting it back to the upper register is "snaggy", then we h...

Sounds useful. I'd like to hear from some steel players who have used it. What's the reach to the right and can you use it while playing chords in which you would want to alter the upper three strings?

Joel Meginsky

Hi Forumites, I lopped off the tuning button for string 5 on my homemade 10 string lap steel. It uses a Shobud 10 string headstock and the tuning gears'' screw hole faces the bridge. Anybody got an old tuning machine in their drawer? Thanks, Joel Meginsky 63 Marengo Park Springfield MA 01108

Certain tunings have been used in the past to accommodate the then current harmonic and melodic vocabularies. That doesn't necessarily mean those tunings are restrictive to those styles. You don't have to play the 6th in a C6 tuning, just as you can choose to play a 6th, or any other note, in a stra...

Chris, On your F13, is that correct that the guage of the middle f (.022) is thinner than that of the g below (.030) it, and that those two strings are out of pitch order?