The ultimate slant workout! (lesson available)

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 22 Sep 2011 8:29 pm

[Edit: I've now added the Waltz of the Roses lesson to the Steelin' From The Masters store. The lesson comes with a 14 minute video, tab/notation, backing track, Tabledit.... This is a challenging one!]

http://www.steelinfromthemasters.com/?p=550

I've been playing this beautiful waltz by Tom Brumley that he recorded with The Buckaroos, "Waltz of the Roses", for a while now, but yesterday I decided to adapt it to C6 tuning (I'd been playing it in E9). I was able to get really close to a lot of Tom's pedal moves using slants (forward and reverse galore), which seem to happen about every other note.

Anyway, this one is really tough to play and you can hear it, too, as I'm not totally comfortable with it yet. This tune really exposed another weakness of mine (something I definitely need to work on): rhythmical glissandi (I'm not sure what else to call it). Basically, plucking a few strings then sliding the notes rhythmically to other pitches, usually chromatic.

I played this on my Clinesmith which is a long scale (25") and slants can be very challenging. This was recorded into my Boss BR-8, and I added compression and reverb.

Waltz of the Roses (Clinesmith)

For the heck of it, I decided to try a version on a short-scale(22 1/2) Fender to see if it would make any difference in intonating the slants. I doesn't, in my opinion. It's all about being relaxed and focused, which I need to work on a little more.
Waltz of the Roses (Fender Custom)

Mike Ihde · Post by **Mike Ihde** » 22 Sep 2011 10:16 pm

Really well done. I can hear you struggling now and then but you got the sound of the pedal movement real close. Great job.

For the rhythmic glisses do you mean the triplet chromatic slides where you only pick once and then slide down 3 or 4 frets? Technically that would be called a combination of a gliss and a slur. The gliss being the slide and the slur meaning not to re-attack any of the notes in the gliss.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Sep 2011 3:30 am

Mike Ihde wrote: For the rhythmic glisses do you mean the triplet chromatic slides where you only pick once and then slide down 3 or 4 frets? Technically that would be called a combination of a gliss and a slur. The gliss being the slide and the slur meaning not to re-attack any of the notes in the gliss.

Yes, Mike, that is what I mean. The triplet gliss and slur. All of the notes in that triplet are slants, which adds to the difficulty. When I play it slowly I can nail it, but trying to articulate the triplets is very tough and requires a lot of muscle participation from the left arm, which is almost counterintuitive to playing in a relaxed way.

I think in a few days I'll have this one nailed, but it is deceivingly tricky. The picking alone covers various string sets in succession. I just want to get it smooth and in tune, and then I can work on making it musical. It took me about 10 takes to get this one.

Brian Hunter · Post by **Brian Hunter** » 23 Sep 2011 3:33 am

You're gonna tab this out, right?

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Sep 2011 3:36 am

Yes, I have tabbed it out and as soon as I'm confident that I can play it well enough, I'll make a lesson out of it.

Brian Hunter · Post by **Brian Hunter** » 23 Sep 2011 3:40 am

Mike Neer wrote:Yes, I have tabbed it out and as soon as I'm confident that I can play it well enough, I'll make a lesson out of it.

Good! I will buy that.

Matthew Carlin · Post by **Matthew Carlin** » 23 Sep 2011 6:00 am

Ditto on that lesson sir.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 23 Sep 2011 8:04 am

nice sound and nice playing!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Sep 2011 5:01 pm

By the way, I forgot to mention that this tune as it appears on the Buckaroos recording is in the key of B, but Tom tuned his steel down a half step and Buck tuned his guitar down as well. Really, they are playing in the key of C on their instruments. I had my steel tuned to C6, but played it in B (there are no open strings anyway) and tuned my acoustic guitar down 1/2 step to emulate the sound of the recording. Fun stuff!

Mitch Crane · Post by **Mitch Crane** » 23 Sep 2011 5:05 pm

This one sounds HARD $:\$ Great job Mike !

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 23 Sep 2011 7:25 pm

Mike Neer wrote:By the way, I forgot to mention that this tune as it appears on the Buckaroos recording is in the key of B, but Tom tuned his steel down a half step and Buck tuned his guitar down as well. Really, they are playing in the key of C on their instruments.

I can see detuning a lap steel but on a pedal steel it is a lot more complicated, having to adjust all of the various pedals and levers (very possibly having to make adjustments to the undercarriage linkages). So I think it is more likely that they slowed the tape down. There were a lot of singles back then that were "between the frets", so to speak. I think that they would speed songs up a bit to add to the excitement and slow them down to mellow them out. It was frustrating trying to play along with those records since you'd have to retune your guitar...

It is amazing how you capture the very heart of pedal steel rather than just throw out the standard pedal steel cliches.

Steve

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 23 Sep 2011 7:31 pm

They tuned the E9 pedal steel down 1/2 step because the long scale of the Fender steels caused too much string breakage (this was at the beginning of the high G#).

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 24 Sep 2011 11:59 am

For the heck of it, I decided to try a version on a short-scale (22 1/2) Fender to see if it would make any difference in intonating the slants. I doesn't, in my opinion. It's all about being relaxed and focused, which I need to work on a little more.
Waltz of the Roses (Fender Custom)

Scott Thomas · Post by **Scott Thomas** » 24 Sep 2011 1:02 pm

I think I hear improvement in the second clip, but that may have to do with performance and the fact that you are probably getting better at this piece all the time.

This should be a really good practice piece when you make it available.

Really good work again, Mike.

Mark Deffenbaugh · Post by **Mark Deffenbaugh** » 24 Sep 2011 7:31 pm

Nice work Mike. (Btw, the Fender slays the Clinesmith, no?)

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 25 Sep 2011 1:19 am

I know Tom played his 11 string Pedal ZB tuned to Eb9,& also played Anapeg, Mullen,Ricky, but I didn't know he used a Fender too !
What a collection !
Rick

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 25 Sep 2011 9:19 am

Rick, you may be right about Brumley and Fender. For some reason I was under the impression that he played one at one time.

Mark, it may have just been the way I recorded the 2 guitars, but to me the Clinesmith slays the Fender, although I do love the Fender.

Steve Green · Post by **Steve Green** » 25 Sep 2011 9:56 am

Here's Brumley on a Fender:

Click the Picture.

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 25 Sep 2011 2:56 pm

That's one sweet sounding FENDER !
you are correct MIke !
Great clip !
Rick

Mitch Druckman · Post by **Mitch Druckman** » 25 Sep 2011 6:52 pm

You really outdid yourself on this one. I especially enjoy hearing the same piece played on 2 different guitars. They both sound great.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 8 Oct 2011 6:03 pm

This is a pretty cool lesson, if I do say so myself.

http://www.steelinfromthemasters.com/?p=550

Steve Atwood · Post by **Steve Atwood** » 10 Oct 2011 12:17 pm

This was a great idea for a lesson, Mike. There are a lot of factors that go into getting 3-string slants right and this exercise makes you work on all of them. What point on the curve of the nose of the bar to contact the string with, how much downward pressure on one end of the bar relative to the other, the width of the bar relative to the string spacing, how to hold the nose of the bar in place while moving the back of the bar to the next note. The song is slow enough and has a good flow to it so it's fun to work at tying together all the grips while trying to keep track of the sound coming from each string. It's a challenge but a great learning opportunity.