a bit of a loner

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

someone at work said to me that he thought I seemed like a bit of a loner, someone who does my own thing, He was totally right, I am most definitely a loner, but it got me wonderingâ€¦ Learning to play pedal steel is a massive time consumer, time spent alone in my studio picking away. I think all artist/musicians tend to be more introverted than the average population, but I'm wondering if the pedal steel guitar attracts more extreme loners because of the time it requires to be proficient at playing it, and the total consumption of attention that it seems to take. I am definitely a loner, even more so than I was before I started playing pedal steel. I have always followed my own path and had eclectic interests (when I was a kid i used to ride around the neighborhood juggling tennis balls on a unicycle). Food for thought. How about you all ?
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Ken Campbell · From: Ferndale, Montana

Well it sure describes me. I've always done my own thing, beat my own drum so to speak. And I agree that the focus required to play this splendid instrument will certainly keep you indoors and head down....

Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

Chris Templeton · From: The Green Mountain State

Yes, there is the loner aspect of learning the pedal steel, but I'm pretty sure that nowadays, the student of the pedal steel also has to ward off the urge to be alone in front of a computer screen.
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Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

Some days there is no better friend than that pedal steel sitting in your studio, and if you are making progress it's totally OK, all that socializing is highly over-rated and you are instead accomplishing something with your time that will last far longer than most "friends" ever do no matter how much time you spend with them.

Do your work now and you can have a lot more fun when you play later, just sayin'...

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

No less a luminary than our recently passed Paco De Lucia made the point that guitarists in general were pretty much wierdos who liked to stay inside by themselves, chasing sort-of imaginary "feelings" up and down the neck - unlike, say, a bassoon player, who, unless Pro Tools and the internet really have made big changes, kind of needs an orchestra to get serious about makin' whoopie. A number of other innovators have made similar points. Whether you like his music or not, Eddie Van Halen really DID spend his "normal adolescent" years locked in the basement by himself or with his brother on drums, you just can't do what he did without some hardcore practice time. Although, he's been known to use that as the reason he started acting like a 13-year-old, from the age of 19, till he was 35 or so... Laughing

Danny Gatton claimed to have missed the entire "British Invasion" because he was locked in his basement, learning how to play jazz guitar... I have my own horrible, disliked (by ME) theories about the mental state of musicians & additive behavior - i.e., playing music & drugs are cross-addictive. Zak! Ooof! No-oo!; OK, you explain why doctors and scientists have a pretty solid consensus that addiction afflicts between 8% to 11% of American adult males. Which is like, so exactly mirrored in number among jazz, rock, country, blues, R&B & pop musicians? Uh-oh.... They really, really do mean 8% to 11%! Umm, even just think of your friends - the live ones.... Shocked

Were Joaquin Murphy, Curley Chalker & Julian Tharpe among the top five jazz steelers of all time? Naw, that'd be 60%. Lets say among the top ten... that's only 30%. Whew.

Rick Barnhart · From: Arizona, USA

Karen, that someone at work may well have been right in his observation, but the whole thing strikes me as a rather rude thing to say. You are who you are, you enjoy what you do...he's caused you to question that, how dare he (?) I say !!! ðŸ˜¡
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Ken Campbell · From: Ferndale, Montana

Drew Howard · From: 48854

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Yes, a lot of pedal steelers are loners. You don't take up an instrument that's played by, perhaps, one person in one hundred thousand to be popular, do you? Laughing

Ray Gehringer · From: New York, USA

Let's face it, it takes A LOT of dedication and practice to be proficient at a musical instrument and practicing requires alone time. Wether you are a pro or a serious hobbyist, proficiency comes through serious practice.

I think about music non stop... at work, at home, and most anywhere else... I do however make it my business to be social, cordial, and a good employee/co-worker. Being a bit of a loner myself this sometimes requires a bit of effort on my part. I make the effort and THEN if someone has something to say... then it aint my problem.

I agree with those who said it was rude for someone to make the comment that you are a loner. The question is not wether or not you are a loner... the question is are you generally happy. I don't mean are you WOOPEE happy all the time but are you happy enough? That's what matters.

Practice your Steel and if YOU feel that you really need to make a little bit more effort socially then do so but that decision needs to come from within. It's all about balance.

Curt Trisko · From: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

I don't see the issue with someone calling you loner. We're all grown ups here and it's not inherently insulting. If you think it's an aggressive comment, you can always tell him to 'F' off.

I find time for steel because I don't have a tv. But I'll admit that there's been times where I'm at a gathering with friends and I wish I was at home by myself in front of my steel.

Brett Day · From: Pickens, SC

I've gotta say I'm now at fourteen years behind the pedal steel, and it's changed my life musically, because as a kid, I was telling myself, "I can't play certain instruments because of cerebral palsy. It was the pedal steel that made me say, "You know what? I can play and sing. I play differently than a lot of players, but I'm happy with it. I started playing during my junior or senior year in high school, and all I wanted to do was to play steel guitar. I turn the TV off and play steel with songs on my computer, and sometimes, I'll get a message on my phone while playin', and I come back after I finish playing and I tell them, I've been playing the steel guitar. Sometimes, I think my steel waits for me to play it. I've made lots of wonderful friends because of this amazing instrument called the steel guitar

Curt Trisko · From: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

I doubt the person was trying to be rude, more likely they were trying to flirt with you and didn't know where to begin Wink

Karen Sarkisian · From: Boston, MA, USA

haha no i don't think he was being rude and I didn't take it that way. he was being observant. I have never hidden the fact that I follow my own path, and I very much enjoy spending time alone doing my own thing. But I do think that if I was more of a social being I probably wouldn't have much time for steel guitar. In fact when he said "you seem to be a bit of a loner" my response was "of course I'm a loner, I play the Pedal Steel Guitar ! " Mr. Green

all that being said, the steel guitar has changed my life in so many positive ways, and I have made plenty of new friends because of it.
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Emmons, Franklin, Mullen

Barry Blackwood · Posted 15 Mar 2014 12:08 pm

Loner - I admit it..

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

There's an awful lot of circularity at work here too. I mean, to a large extent you become what you do. Hopefully learning music can be a process in which you start to identify your own methods of learning, which then creeps into the way you do other things. Just being able to identify your own signs of mental fatigue is surprisingly rare among people who don't have a "memory-forming" hobby. It doesn't necessarily go to the willful extreme of using a composition as the basis for a "memory palace"; but haven't you noticed that older, life-long musicians have a prodigious memory for all sorts of other things too? Speaking and writing too - the ability to draw together seemingly disparate ideas and thoughts into a cohesive and directional narrative - wow, man, like, a whole lot of people really don't have any ide... uh. Hmm. Yeah... what was the question again?

I first started noticing some parallels in organization when I was working in kitchens during the day and playing bass at nights - 50-60 hours a week in kitchens, 35-45 hours in bands... do not try this after the age of 30! Laughing

And whether you're aware of it or not, you are also totally involved in listening to, playing, creating and sourcing the soundtrack of your own life. I cannot hear Led Zeppelin I & II without have Sunday brunch at the Avenue flashbacks...

And just to polish my own apple a bit, I have had guitar students who, at the age of 14, could go all Doctor Philly on themselves and identify their own personality as being "not really memorization-based." GodDAM television... I told them to shut up and start practicing and start listening - REALLY listening, not 15 second snippets comparing who's "got" what on the playlist - GodDAM iPods... the two who didn't skunk away muttering & fomenting graduated high school with honors, and offers of full scholarships! Not in music though, alas... but this one kid's gonna be president, I swear. Whatever strain or breed of "no-tax" numbnuts decided it would be a good idea to kill music in the schools... they'll have only themselves to blame when they find out Junior doesn't want to work three minimum-wage jobs so Gramps can play golf all day. But I digress...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

Butch Mullen · From: North Carolina, USA 28681

Where is Bill H.?

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

Never thought much about it really.. however I suppose it applies to some extent in some cases.. I am glad the steel guitar is why i am alone.. I thought it was because I was a lunatic.. or smelled like cheese... or somethin'... bob
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Peter Huggins · From: Van Nuys, California, USA

If you can figure out how to play steel and juggle at the same time, you'll REALLY have something. Very Happy

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John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Yes, I totally affirm the loner motif. I've always been that way through most of my life. But, I've found that, most people in cottage hobbies or secluded organizations are like that. Even though you're with a group you're one with yourself and seem to like it that way. And the other funny thing is that, we, as steel players choose to be so called loners, but, we get up in front of pure strangers and perform on an instrument nobody understands. I find it fascinating some times. I've always been an introvert. It's in my nature. I like being the backup musician. I never wanted to front a band, that's not me. But, I love being on stage and playing for people. There's a thrill that I get from it. A strange phenomenon I must admit.
I have a few other hobbies that, I get involved with. Hunting, shooting, model trains and my Corvette are a lot of fun. Each can involve others, but it's best when I'm basically alone with them or with someone else who has my deep interest.
BTW- I don't think your co worker was hitting on you, I get the impression that he is a little
curious and possibly, maybe jealous of your life's approach and how you adapt.
He may have made the loner statement to get a rise out of you and an insight to
your lifestyle and how you deal with things. No harm, no foul.

Mike Kowalik · From: San Antonio,Texas

Keep doing what you're doing.....playing the steel takes a lot of dedication and determination....you play now and with continuing on your present path you will become more proficient.

As the saying goes....." Be yourself...everyone else is taken".....
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Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

There's a paradox here. The steel is a band instrument. A complete loner would play an instrument like the piano or chapman stick where they can perform as a soloist.

Some of us may not be as social as others, but we have all put ourselves in a position where we are dependent on other people to make music.
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Mitch Ellis · From: Collins, Mississippi USA

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