Recalling Many Facets Of Learning To Play

[Bill Hankey]

I can remember those earlier times, and how difficult learning to play steel can be. I started on a Multi-Kord, and have settled for a homemade 10 with 5 knees. It would be fun to look back on some special moments in the process of adapting to the instrument.

[Bill Hankey]

The average Joe walking or running, whichever comes first, hasn't a clue of the workings of the steel guitar. This much has been accepted as factual, and if it isn't, who would bother to explain why this much happens to be a reference point. Ah! At last! A bit of independence beyond the nodding heads of wisdom. Successful steel guitar adaptation depends heavily on finesse of the beginner. That is apparently the reason to believe, that there are more would be players, than those who actually carry out a plan of playing at a level of entertainment. Every doggish rift, turnaround, and musical phraseology is earned the hard way. With so many interests to choose from, it's easy to understand why, in my opinion, the steel guitar is a at the bottom of the ladder of cultural events. The presentation of scores of steel guitarists, who have attended the "MASSBASH" since 1981, has offered much insight on behavioral patterns of the working steel guitarist. Thousands of patrons have been entertained over the years by the players, in a warm and inviting environment. I'm confident that the shows have broadened the interest of many, to the point of taking up the study of learning to play. BTW, I have a friend, who I swear can cut "Look At Us" (vocally), almost like the original. He'll be coming to visit at 10:00 A.M., this morning. I know it will be fun to play in those flats and sharps on my steel.

[Tony Prior]

I went out and played the dang the thing on gigs before I could . Heck of a way to learn .

Learning how to play was way over rated back then

several decades later understanding the Instrument and what IT DOES and CAN do is NOT over rated. It's the key to the LOCK.

[Bill Hankey]

Tony,

Thanks Tony, it sure brings back reminders of when I took my Multi-Kord to the Home Club, in Hinsdale, Ma., back in the seventies. I was playing lead guitar with a band called "NASHVILLE ECHOES". I kept the old Fender Jaguar strapped on, for several gigs, before traveling without it.

[James Sission]

Bill, I would agree that the finesse of the beginner plays a significant role in the learning process. I would submit to you that musical knowledge makes an even more significant difference in the learning curve for someone undertaking the study of steel guitar. For instance, I understood the musical spelling, if you will, of a minor chord, major chord, dominate seventh and so on, long before considering playing the steel guitar. Having that understanding played a role in my finding the steel to be challenging but not really all that difficult to play in its most simplistic form. It may well be difficult to “master”, but in my assessment, so are most musical instruments. What I have witnesses first hand on this forum is; the people who struggle with the steel guitar most are those with limited musical knowledge at the inception of the undertaking. Six string is laid out in such a manner that one can learn a few “patterns” and play a very large amount of music with no real understanding of what they are doing. I did it for many years. In fact, I didn’t know I was playing pentatonic scales, I just knew I could play in a certain pattern and it would fit over all the chords the band was playing. I will be the first to admit that one does not NEED a significantly fluent understanding of musical theory to play; I think there are enough posts on this forum alone to suggest that knowledge of how music works makes the journey a bit easier. I would further submit that I base my opinion of musical knowledge “softening the blow” of the learning curve on the fact that; I have taken a steel lesson at one point or another from, Ricky Davis, Jody Cameron, Jody Sanders, Russ Rickmann, Herb Steiner (on the bandstand one night) and Cameron Parsons. What I found, not surprising to me at all, was that all of these monster players understand music theory and how it applies to the steel guitar. Every GOOD six string player I met here in Houston, Paul Chester, Skyles Kelly, Eve Woodard and so on, are all well educated in music theory. That was my cue to take the initiative and learn it myself. So I am of the opinion that the level of difficulty in learning is directly related to amount of preparation the student arms himself with.
That said, there was a young man from overseas that posted here a couple of times in the past, he was a friend of Ricky Davis. He was a monster telecaster player with a very good background in understanding music. I saw a video of him shortly after he took up steel guitar. He was playing with a flat pick and 2 fingers. His tone, execution and speed were awesome. I am totally convinced that his understanding of how music works and how that applied to his levers on his guitar are what provided him the ability to play so well so quickly. I understand there are people that are going to be upset over my bringing up the ever so dreaded word “theory”, but I am only conveying my experience which is limited to only 30 years of playing, the majority of which I had no real understanding of what I was doing. My last thought that is that the mental approach of the beginner also plays a role in how quickly he/she will develop. Once I decided that I had the ability to understand the steel guitar, and was no longer intimidated by it, my undertaking has actually been rather pleasant …..James

[Antolina]

Bill Great thread and well articulated. I'm getting to where I look forward to your discussions.

James I won't waste bandwith by quoting your post. I can only agree with everything you stated. I only wish I'd spent more time learning and understanding theory in my younger more absorbtive years.

Tony What can I say? You're another one who's posts I look forward to. I've leaned a lot from you but from a more practical usuable perspective than theory. That having been said, Jeff Newman was famous for pushing his students onto the bandstand as quickly as possible. His theory was there's no better place to learn. Of course, what Jeff didn't know about music wasn't worth discussing

This promises to be another of Bill's more informative and interesting threads.

rc

[Ray Montee]

I recall being bored to death with 'music lessons'.

I do remember sitting for hours, day after day, with my LEFT EAR up against my little Webcor record player's speaker. It was perched atop an olde dresser and all of my cherrished records were in the top drawer. I'd pull it out partially and rest my head and forearms on it while I acuqired my in depth musical education.

I still have all of those well-worn records. Some will actually play both sides at the same time, since I would pick up the tone arm and replay those chosen sections over and over. This is how one was able to acquire knowledge of tunings and technique.

Successful bands in this region were dominated by older, father-figures. Matched uniforms were required. Fully functioning g'tars and amps were mandatory and if you couldn't play (yet), you never got near the band stand, let alone get to play with the group.

Being an accomplished musician was "EARNED"!

[Bill Hankey]

James,

Your explicit terminology is appreciated. The steel guitar is one of the greatest pleasures in the life of a musician. How else can it be said? Who knows how dreadful a slump would become, without the powerful influence of a steel guitar, to lift the spirits to new levels of musical interest? Receptive audiences combined with learned skills, provide multiples of enjoyable experiences away from home.

[Bill Hankey]

R C Antolina,

Thanks for the civility and good neighbor words of encouragement. I'll try to be ready when the merry-go-round of memories of past events move up quickly, for short durations, to be captured for posterity. It isn't easily imagined how we store thousands of memories. Without the benefit of memory, our lives as a musician would be senseless.

[Bill Hankey]

Ray,

Thanks for checking in on this thread. I agree, it takes a bunch of leg work to get to the point of becoming a band member. The competition in the business of entertainment, has grown razor sharp on all fronts. There may be more than fun and games to the repetitive lines of the song: "Move over little dog, the big dog's movin' in." Unfortunately, the task of keeping up with the latest playing skills, may place increased demands, that require hours of practice.

[A. J. Schobert]

I remember the early times, not to long ago a gruff individual always posting thoughts an ideas. Some would think of this individual as a lunatic, a genius, or an individual mearly fighting for intelligence.

Soon his post's would be long and drawn out, one would say incommensurable, however we all squinted as he turned our light on in our darkened room.

[James Sission]

Oh yeah...And the older I got, the smarter HE got....James

[Bill Hankey]

Trying to recall the very first memory of the sound of the steel guitar isn't the easiest thing to do. Early radio stations played more of the type of country music that included the sounds of the steel riding during breaks. "The Down Homers" made the most memorable effect on country music here in The Berkshires. "Shorty Cook played straight steel with the professional group. The band played a live show from noon to 12:30 on WTIC in Hartford, Ct., and booked their band throughout The Berkshires. I spoke with "Shorty" Cook in Indiana, around the year of 2000, I can't remember the exact date. He did have a music store there at the time, and was doing fine. I'll try to contact Kenny Roberts who was once a member of the group. Kenny wrote "I never see Maggie Alone". It sold more than a million copies. It is a real treat to speak one on one, with knowledgeable country musicians.

[James Sission]

I am not totally sure, but I am reasonably sure that my first time to hear a steel player was hearing Bobby Seymour playing "Honey". I recall I was sitting on the floor in front of a combination TV console Stereo AM/FM Hi Fi with turntable. I also remember the blue and green shag carpet....James

[Antolina]

My first experience with the steel was listening to a Red Sovine recitation "song" sometime in the 50s. I have no idea who was playing the steel behind him but I vividly recall being mesmerized by that sound. It's a feeling that's never really left me.

I rememeber haunting the music stores in Buffalo NY. No one even had a clue what a steel was. However one salesman recommended I put a pencil under my six string and using a zippo cigarette for a slide. No I didn't do it

[kyle reid]

Bill. Who were some of your early influences & who did you hear live?

[James Sission]

Down Homers seem like a very talented group of mucisians....James

[Bill Hankey]

Kyle,

Russ Bennett, a class act Chet Atkins style picker introduced me to the Fender 1000 in 1969. Russ lives in Salem, Ma. I heard Doug Beaumier play at a place called the "Willows", just over the Pittsfield Ma. city line, in 1980. That made me realize that there would be a lot of trying to catch up to a much higher level of playing. Gordon Titcomb helped to influence my desire to learn more. I attended nearby steel guitar shows in neighboring states. I saw Buddy Emmons from a second row seat perform in North Providence, R.I., back in the eighties. I've been influenced by the tablature provided by the greats of steel guitar.

[Ray Montee]

Those of us whose lives seem to have passed us by.....did have some advantages, I DO BELIEVE, over you 1980 and newer wanna-be steel players.

Back in the 1940's, RADIO was the BIG DEAL... Country music was on nearly every radio station in the country. Some of our biggest legends came from those early radio shows and how wonderful they truly were.

For every vocal star, there was a prominant steel guitarist. The steel, of course, was the identity of the vocalist. The idea of 'session musicians' apparently hadn't really caught hold, as yet. Each band sounded different and was exciting to get to hear.

So many rich, creative talents were available to us and they were always FEATURED on these radio shows, as well as on records.

The very FIRST band I played with at age 14, had a live radio show, as did the second, third and fourth bands. The steel always got to play an instrumental or two.

THEN, came television. The whole personality of country music CHANGED! Nearly all country shows became talent shows and the performers were often selected by the station producer. Individual musicians began to fade into the background and now, today.........
we're playing in only a fraction of the clubs for the same old pay scales. Few country TV-shows still exist and I personally know of NO RADIO Shows.

We had it good in those olden days of C/w and/or, Hawaiian Music.

[Bill Hankey]

Ray M.,

Than I must say that there is a compulsive type of player who can't be satiated, no matter how much he/she learns at a sitting. I would dare say that prodigies learn the artistic values of steel guitar at at a much quicker and surprising rate of accomplishments. In just a few years, they accomplish as much as 25 years of struggling by their talented counterparts. The steel guitar isn't designed to capture the interest of many, who may or may not get "hooked" on the great appeal of the required motivation. I've paid my "dues" on the steel, as a matter of fact, they've been paid up for quite some time. I can honestly say, that I'm no longer a "wanna-be" player of the steel guitar. I pursued the interest before as I do today. No true devotee would dream of quitting somewhere near the midpoint of accomplishments.

[Dave Horch]

Recalling the many facets of learning to play;

Tony: "I went out and played the dang the thing on gigs before I could!"

Oh yeah, that too! Man did I ever embarrass myself, or so I thought.

I think the desire to play and the willingness to realize that it takes a lot of time to learn are key. You will get frustrated. You will think you're a dope. Then in a flash, you'll "get" something you've been working on - Shazam! New enthusiasm! One more step up the ladder... Just keep climbing, it's a long haul and there are no shortcuts.

The other thing I struggled with early was palm blocking. For months and months - far longer than I thought I should have been struggling with this. After all, I was already a great 6-string player, this steel thing shouldn't be this tough, right? Ha!

Just keep practicing with a purpose. Sometimes, just aimless noodling is useful too! The day came when I was blocking just fine without even thinking about it - and I didn't even notice until later when I stopped to think. Wow! I'm doing it!

[Les Anderson]

I went out and played the dang the thing on gigs before I could . Heck of a way to learn.

Learning how to play was way over rated back then

several decades later understanding the Instrument and what IT DOES and CAN do is NOT over rated. It's the key to the LOCK.

Tony, that's how I learned to play the steel. I was on a stage six weeks after buying my first steel. I would recommend that method to any beginner if they can find band leader who understands and will let them play at the outer edges of their comfort zone. There is, in my personal estimation, no faster way to learn.

[Bill Hankey]

David H.,

It's a bit disheartening to watch a worthwhile post stagnate and slide into oblivion. This is a great place to air out dissension or anything that categorically fits that description. What could be more intriguing than to share the experiences of preparing oneself for band readiness. That is to say, trusting in one's ability to beef up a defensive musical "counterattack", so to speak, and to get the hot lead guitars off the back, by replacing the fill with some pretty steel music. "Breaking" into the the honky-tonk scene in the process of introducing the steel as a great addition to a more receptive audience, has its rewards. Excude as beneficial, the two beers and a shot, clientele who leaves after running out of a few corny jokes. The steel is a "proud" instrument. Much too pretty to be planted in some remote corner, with dimmed lighting, and competing with a sports broadcast at full volume up at the bar. To me, that's an intrusion on normal expectations of common courtesy. Anyone brimming with energy and vitality can find the bookings. I would dare to say, just for the sake of comparison, 90 % of jobs that need "doing" are left undone.

[Bill Hankey]

James S.,

Thanks for posting the picture of the "Down Homers". It brought back a few good memories. I find your writings to be most interesting. I'll be looking forward to articles denoting a continuation of steel guitars and the players of our favorite musical instrument.

[Antolina]

It's a bit disheartening to watch a worthwhile post stagnate and slide into oblivion.

Bill,

I for one (as do others) look very much forward to your incisive discussions. A lot gets learned in the process so keep 'em coming.

rc