Playing on top of the guitar - what is it?

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 24 Oct 2008 6:20 am

What do you guys mean when you say "Playing on top of the guitar"?

Is this like when a pedal steel guitarist (E9th tuning) presses and holds pedals 1 and 2 down and basically plays the PSG like a non-pedal in A6th?

Dom Franco · Post by **Dom Franco** » 24 Oct 2008 6:48 am

Do you mean "stepping" on top of the guitar, or "Stepping" on top of the vocal?

This means playing too loud or too busy when you should be supporting the lead instrument or singer.

Dom

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 24 Oct 2008 8:34 am

Sorry, but that isn't it. The context was different. I'll try to find a post with this term in it. I recall seeing it in discussions about tunings.

Randy Reeves · Post by **Randy Reeves** » 24 Oct 2008 9:49 am

would that be the open tuning and finger percussive playing ala Kaki King?

Theo Patterson · Post by **Theo Patterson** » 24 Oct 2008 10:46 am

Wouldnt it just be playing with guitar as the back up, secondary, or non-lead instrument.

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 26 Oct 2008 5:17 pm

Read Chris Scrugg's post in this thread:

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... 56&start=0

Tom Keller · Post by **Tom Keller** » 26 Oct 2008 8:24 pm

Chris scruggs opined,
"Even on a pedal steel, C6 is played ON TOP of the guitar, not underneath." I probably should let Chris answer this. My understanding of the above statement is that the C6th tuning is laid out in such a fashion that it doesnt need the support of pedals and if pedals are engaged they simply bolster the already very solid open tuning. YMMV, IMHO...etc. etc.

Jeremy Threlfall · Post by **Jeremy Threlfall** » 26 Oct 2008 9:24 pm

Yeah - thats how I took it

that is

C6 lap steel - played on top of the guitar - all the action is happening on top, with bar slants and open/fretted combinations and lots of hand dexterity.

E9 pedal steel - played more under the guitar - all the action is in the floor and knee pedal movements, and not so busy "up top".

or

C6 Pedal steel - which is probably (as per Chris' post) played more on the top of the guitar than underneath - not that I'd know!

Chris Scruggs · Post by **Chris Scruggs** » 26 Oct 2008 11:42 pm

That's exactly what I meant! There are exceptions, of course. For instance, Jerry Byrd did an excellent job of playing E9 "on top of the guitar". But the modern E9 style is largely based around the "play a chord and hit a pedal to change it" philosophy. Even on a pedal steel, the guys who play C6 well tend to do most of the major work with their hands, leaving their feet to add different chord voicings and (comparatively speaking) using string "gliss" (the sound of one string remaining stationary while another is clearly heard to be stretched by a pedal) far less than on E9.

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THIS! But my original post was in regards to E9 pedal players wanting to take up C6. It seems to me that a lot of E9 pedal guys are discouraged from C6 because they approach it the same way as their outside neck. If they spent a few months ignoring their C6 pedals and focusing on the core six to eight strings of the tuning, it wouldn't seem so daunting and intimidating. Then after a couple of months of C6 non pedal study they would go,"Oh, pedal five gives my a nice 4 chord three frets up from my root chord!" and,"Oh, pedal eight puts you in Byrd's C6/A7 tuning!"

Baring in mind their are always numerous exceptions to the rule (or in this case, my opinion), does this make sense to anyone else?

-C

Dom Franco · Post by **Dom Franco** » 26 Oct 2008 11:57 pm

yes...
because playing underneath my lap steel hurts my neck!

Dom

Keith Cordell · Post by **Keith Cordell** » 27 Oct 2008 9:31 am

Garland Nash used that term to me, he had a habit of using slants even when the pedal would have been easier, but when he did it the sound was very different than what you'd get with the pedals. That's why I stay "up top"; I like that sound better.

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 27 Oct 2008 7:26 pm

Makes perfect sense to me Chris. I found that playing non-pedal C6 tunings was my way into the tuning, and what I was doing on the lap translated perfectly to the back neck. Suddenly it became a lot less mysterious. For a longtime E9 player, spending some time with an 8 string lap tuned to C6th can be the key to making the transition.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 28 Oct 2008 7:02 am

Thanks to all that responded. Now it makes sense to me. I used to play PSG, but got tired of my privates getting pinched all the time. No more playing underneath the guitar for me. : )