Why the Name "Steel " Guitar

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 29 Jan 2003 8:24 am

I've played one a long time but I don't feel like I know enough of it's history . Could someone who knows, tell us when and why the name "Steel" was ever added to the word guitar ? My only assumption is that playing it requires a steel bar . Just my guess !

I was asked that question today about why the name "Steel" was added to Guitar and was a little ashamed I did not know the real history of why . Could someone enlighten me ?

Thanks

John

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 29 Jan 2003 8:39 am

you guessed right

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 29 Jan 2003 9:15 am

I keep telling everybody we need to change the name to TIFKATPSG (The Instrument Formerly Known As The Pedal Steel Guitar) but nobody believes me.

Dave Birkett · Post by **Dave Birkett** » 29 Jan 2003 9:27 am

Has this ever been documented?

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 29 Jan 2003 10:10 am

Mike, that simply is not pronouncable, except for the first part (TIFKA?)

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 29 Jan 2003 10:36 am

The proper name is a "Hawaiian Steel Guitar".
It originated in Hawaii and it is played with a "steel".
Uff-Da!

Rick Collins · Post by **Rick Collins** » 29 Jan 2003 10:46 am

Actually I think "steel" guitar is colloquial for Hawaiian steel guitar. When you slide the bar on the strings, instinctively you want to play an Hawaiian song.

It's just like roulette in Vegas;___when you walk away and count your money, you immediately want to play Russian roulette.

Rick

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 29 Jan 2003 10:47 am

I understand that the true original name was "Slack Key Guitar." Have I been mislead?

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 29 Jan 2003 11:25 am

Roy,
Slack key is a separate but parallel Hawaiian tradition.

This link has some great information offered up by one of the Beamer brothers who have carried on this tradition to this day. It is a 'fingers only' tradition, not including a slide or steel bar.

Briefly

Hawaiian slack key guitar (ki ho'alu) is truly one of the great acoustic guitar traditions in the world. Ki ho'alu, which literally means "loosen the key," is the Hawaiian language name for the solo fingerpicked style unique to Hawai'i. In this tradition, the strings (or "keys") are "slacked" to produce many different tunings, which usually contain a major chord, or a chord with a major 7th note, or sometimes one with a 6th note in it. Each tuning produces a lingering sound behind the melody and has a characteristic resonance and fingering.

I have always admired and enjoyed the playing of slack key. Another with a similar approach, but in another ocean, was Joseph Spence from Jamaica. He would often tune the E down as low as C. BIG, FULL, melodious sound.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 29 January 2003 at 11:27 AM.]

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 29 Jan 2003 12:10 pm

I am not sure of the history of the name "Steel Guitar". So I will restrict this to strictly my opinion. This based on my own personal experiences since 1945.

I never heard the word steel guitar til much later after I started learning the "Hawaiian Guitar". In my early career, it was strictly referred to as "Hawaiian guitar". EVEN though I played VERY little Hawaiian type songs.

The first time I ever felt bad about playing it was when I joined a small band in high school and the band leader said, "we are NOT going to have any stinkin hy-wayarn music in this band. So either forget it when playing, or pack it up!"

What he didn't know was, I only knew 2 Hawaiian songs at the time, and I hadn't even thought about playing them. So me and him got along fine; until one day he said,

"you are not a musician. And you never will be. So don't bother to come back". Time has proven the validity of that young @#$%^%$#&!

The next time I ran into this animosity was wnen I met some of the musicians like Little Roy Wiggens and Jerry Byrd. And I was told fast, "this is a steel guitar". By the way it was not JB or LRW that told me that, but their heads DID nod affirmatively (I think

).

The term "steel" as used next to our chosen instrument; I believe with ALL my heart and soul, was for the exact same reason the term "country" was substituted for the word "hillbilly" when it comes to a type of music.

I believe with every fiber of my being that I was not the ONLY one being humiliated and criticized for what I played; and the type of music I liked to play.

If you have not been there, you will never know how cruel a fellowman can be. I will leave you with this. I suffer from 3 basic ailments:

1. I play a "hywaryan git' tar"

2. I love "hillbilly" music.

And finaly,

3. I was born in the "south".

May God bless us too,

carl

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 29 Jan 2003 12:52 pm

Overheard a fellow say as he left the club I was playing at the time don't like no dxxxx cowboy music,did'nt bother me that much,cause he already paid the cover .....

BF

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Bill Ford

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 29 Jan 2003 1:37 pm

Carl ,

That is a very good response as are the others.
I agree with you 100% . We must be a lot alike except you have beat me starting to play the instrument by about 5 years so I appreciate your post .

Thanks to all who responded . Now I can at least act like I know a little something about it's history if I ever get the same question again . All the responses are very interesting and informative --thanks
John

Jackie Anderson · Post by **Jackie Anderson** » 29 Jan 2003 4:47 pm

Gee, Carl, for some of us, when it comes to (hillbilly) musical credentials, ailment no. 3 is having been born in the "north."

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 29 Jan 2003 4:53 pm

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 31 Jan 2003 10:16 pm

the band leader said,... "you are not a musician. And you never will be.

I was told the same thing by a college music teacher. According to her, the Beatles weren't real musicians either.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 31 Jan 2003 10:22 pm

(Tifkatpsg) simply is not pronouncable, except for the first part

I thought about getting rid of the vowels, but calling it a "Tfktpsg" seems a bit too weird.

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 1 Feb 2003 5:37 am

Larry:

Thanks for the information. Interesting. Good explination.

Roy

Larry Moore · Post by **Larry Moore** » 1 Feb 2003 8:01 am

Carl,
I am not sure what the correct name is either, but I play both kinds of music on mine............Country & Western
Larry

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 1 Feb 2003 8:26 am

Some of you being rather long in the tooth like myself maybe remember the "Hillbilly and Cowboy Hit Parade" magazine. I've got a whole stack of them. I think they cost 35 cents and came out a few times a year. They had all the latest "hillbilly and cowboy" songs in them. I mean words & music, the whole shebang! Also articles on the hot artists at the time. I wouldn't take $10 dollars apiece for those magazines now and some of them are pretty much wore out.
Erv

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 1 Feb 2003 8:59 am

The steel guitar is called the steel guitar because of the steel bar. It is not part of the guitar. The steel guitar was used in Hawaiian music and then country music. Brett Day, Emmons S-10, Morrell lap steel

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 1 Feb 2003 3:11 pm

Carl, you are right again. I started playing in 1936 and it WAS called the "Hawaiian Guitar". I also started guitar at the time and IT WAS called the "Spanish Guitar". Believe it or not! This was almost when Electrics got started. Charley Christian was one of the early pioneers of Jazz using the Electric Guitar(that's what they called it then) with Benny Goodman. I had a lot of work playing Hawaiian,Pop,and Jazz., so I didn't get into the "hillbilly" field.
When I got my D8 non pedal, we called it " Console Guitar" and when I got my first pedal job, it was called "Gibson Electra-Harp and advertised as such wherever I played.
I never called it a Steel Guitar. That came much later with Country muisc, I believe......al [This message was edited by Al Marcus on 01 February 2003 at 03:14 PM.]

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 1 Feb 2003 6:57 pm

I have an old book (1919) titled

"The Peterson Method of Playing Guitar with Steel in the Hawaiian Manner"

I think that about says it....

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 3 Feb 2003 3:00 pm

That might be a clue, Dave. Now, from what I have read, the Hawaiian's originally played the guitar with a piece of bone, or wood (ebony?) when the technique originated, sometime in the early-to-mid 19th century. It was probably the Americans who popularized using a bar of steel instead bone or wood, to get more volume and sustain. However, since all this took place over 100 years ago, it might be difficult to find any substantiation for this theory. The instrument supposedly came into this country about 1900, and Frank Ferrara is credited for this, by some. To my knowledge, Hawaiian music recordings before that time (if indeed there ever were any), have never surfaced. (The first phonograph was made by Edison in late 1877, but didn't go into large-scale production until about 10 years after that.)

Who actually originated the use of the steel bar (for which the steel-guitar was named) is probably anybody's guess.

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 3 Feb 2003 11:53 pm

Well, I must either be the smartest or the oldest one here! I tend to go with the latter adj. However, here is the answer to your original quiery! The term "steel guitar" refers (originally) to the fact that it uses steel strings. This term is also used for a spanish/flat-top/lead guitar, as oppossed to a gut-string guitar! Actually, the Hawaian/Steel guitar began with an object more like a comb or glass bottle neck. It was so long ago that I really can't remember exactly what I used, for sure! "John" http://community.webtv.net/KeoniNui/BigJohnBechtels

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 4 Feb 2003 10:10 am

I was just considering the purchase from eBay of one of those fancy and expensive NEW
Brightly colored, vintage, Bakelite, laptop, pedal steel "SLIDE" thingies..........

What I then call MY guitar?

I'm too old for this!