classical pedal steel

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 7 May 2010 2:06 am

Nimrod - ah, Nimrod!!!! That'd be exquisite!

Now I'm all fired up - I'm going to have a crack at 'Jerusalem' (you know: the '...England's green and pleasant land' thingie); not as ambitious as the Bach piece, but it will just be 10-string E9. Nice changes!

Now you mention it, Doug, I didn't care for your tone in that clip, but, in light of your amazing feat of execution (not to mention memory!!!), that seemed an ungracious comment to make. I'd assumed that it was due to some technical limitation imposed by the medium. I'm still in shock, though, at what you achieved.

I think it's your place in life to give me a nudge every so-often and remind me of just how much I've yet to learn; you've been doing that since I first met you in London in the '70s!

Great work!

Chris Dorch · Post by **Chris Dorch** » 7 May 2010 5:26 am

Earnest Bovine wrote:
Chris Dorch wrote:The Ave Maria is tight... that bud sounds great... I love it...
... but Ave Maria is the one I think I will replace because my friend pointed out a wrong note in the arrangement, and there are plenty of "strong but wrong" notes in the playing. Plus I think the tone is dorky.
Here is the Ave Maria arrangement. I posted it on the Forum last year.
Next to last line, last bar, first note is bogus: should be F# in the melody before the E.
The E in the inner voice 2.5 bars later is F# in the original (just like bar 5) but I changed it to E to make it more country.

Only you and those who are exceedingly gifted can tell that there is a "wrong" note in there... There are lots of things that I can play on an instrument, but none of them can compare to your worst since it would be beyond my abilities. Do as you will, my opinions are still the same.

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 7 May 2010 6:20 am

Allan Kelly · Post by **Allan Kelly** » 7 May 2010 7:10 am

make Ave Maria more country.. excellent!

Bob Taillefer · Post by **Bob Taillefer** » 7 May 2010 7:29 am

Excellent playing!

Bob

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 7 May 2010 7:42 am

Doug... I for one hope you don't take Ave Maria off! It's really touches my heart! It relaxes my mind and restores my soul. It's also a good one to demonstrate to the un-initiated folks out there who don't yet know that steel is a real instrument capable of so much more. Just chalk it up to interpretation.

Didn't guys like Glenn Gould etc. bend the rules a little bit?

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 7 May 2010 8:25 am

Roger Rettig wrote:Nimrod - ah, Nimrod!!!! That'd be exquisite!

Well, I just fooled around with Nimrod, and decided that it just won't work on the steel guitar. The range of the melody is 2 octaves, and it sounds wrong to change octaves. The inner voices that are the heart and soul of this piece have to be under the melody. And the bass has to be under that. It just doesn't sound right if I try to bring all the voices within the range of one instrument. hmmmm... maybe 2 steels ... or do it in F on a double neck steel with low notes on open string C6.

Richard Damron · Post by **Richard Damron** » 7 May 2010 8:28 am

Bravo, Bravo, damned BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!! MORE!!!!!!

John Lacey - You might investigate some transcriptions for the classic guitar. Bach's violin pieces are, at times, sparse and limiting due to the fact that the only real harmony to be had is through the use of the "double stop". Some might consider it heresy but some harmony has been added when transcribing for the classic guitar. A classic (no pun intended) example is Bach's "Chaconne" where harmony has been added to enhance the melody. Re: Mike's reference to Glenn Gould.

Doug - If I had any criticism it would only be that you write script about as messy as I do! Only the writer can decipher it! I WILL muddle through it, however.

VERY respectfully,

Richard

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 7 May 2010 9:32 am

Richard Damron wrote: Bach's violin pieces are, at times, sparse and limiting due to the fact that the only real harmony to be had is through the use of the "double stop". Some might consider it heresy but some harmony has been added when transcribing for the classic guitar. A classic (no pun intended) example is Bach's "Chaconne" where harmony has been added to enhance the melody.

Actually there is another way to play chords. Many of Bach's single note lines consist of arpeggiated chords. On guitar and steel you can let the notes ring, which you can't do on violin or cello, unless you record with too much reverb (yuck!).
All 12 suites include triple and quadruple stops, which you can't do on a modern violin. But it's easy on guitar and steel.
The BWV 1006 Prelude for violin is a single line but many guitarists add bass notes, and I don't like a lot of their bass notes. (Bach also re-wrote that same piece for lute, and Bach's added notes are much better of course.)
The D minor Chaconne BWV 1004 has lots of 3 and 4 note chords in it. Violin players should get a baroque bow so they can play chords, but they never do. But of course the chords are easy on guitar and steel, so it's not necessary to add any notes at all beyond what Bach wrote. The only exception is that the violin only goes down to G, and the piece is in D, so guitar players always tune the low string down to D and add a low D here and there.

Richard Damron · Post by **Richard Damron** » 7 May 2010 1:40 pm

I agree totally - a welcome expansion to my cursory post.

Although I love virtually all of Bach's compositions dearly, you would have to agree that an arpeggiated chord on violin or cello leaves much to be desired since it gives only a fleeting aural "hint" as to the harmony. To be able to play - and sustain - Bach's original harmonies is preferable - at least to me.

Nonevermind. I thoroughly enjoyed your playing and urge you to continue at warp speed. Who was it that said (Jim Cohen?) that steel wasn't just limited to "country" any more? Folks like yourself and Mike Perlowin are proving that notion within the classical music genre. I resoundingly applaud you.

Respectfully,

Richard

Bryan Daste · Post by **Bryan Daste** » 7 May 2010 5:26 pm

Really cool stuff.