Open letter to all; newbies

Wayne Quinn · Post by **Wayne Quinn** » 6 Feb 2015 8:00 am

Good advice from RC, Michael. you want to get started of right. bad habits are very hard to get away from. sos best to go the right way first. spend 1 year doing it right rather than 2 years doing it wrong. enjoy your learning experience. pedal steel is like no other.

Dan Dunne · Post by **Dan Dunne** » 6 Feb 2015 9:58 am

Just gave a call to order "Techniques" and "Right Hand Alpha!" Hopefully those will get me off to a good start. Did I pick the right ones? Of course I'd like to have them all but WOW that would be expensive...not that they're not worth it, I'm sure they are. It would be cool if they would consider some type of "bundle" deal for people like me who want them all, haha!

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 6 Feb 2015 10:07 am

Don't worry about getting them all yet. The ones you have now will keep you busy enough for some time to come.

Dan Dunne · Post by **Dan Dunne** » 6 Feb 2015 10:11 am

Good news, thanks for the confirmation. I'm sure they will. I haven't had the steel all that long but I haven't even had time to tune it yet $:\$

Hoping to pick up the pace in the near future and see if this steel business is for me. I've always loved the sound and always wanted a PSG!

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 6 Feb 2015 10:39 am

A quick note. Take you time and get it right. As Jeff used to say, "there's no race to see if you get it by in the morning".

Get yourself a decent tuner and find the time. Also find a place to practice without a TV or other
distractions..... and close the door!

Dan Dunne · Post by **Dan Dunne** » 6 Feb 2015 11:09 am

Thanks for the advice! I do have a dedicated music room, so I'm lucky there. I just need to MAKE the time, because the time's not finding me, that's for sure. The only realistic time for me is between around 8-10 PM or in the early AM (not realistic for me) so maybe I'll make that my steel time. Can't wait to dive into Jeff's training materials...I really have no idea what I'm doing right now!

John Owen · Post by **John Owen** » 6 Feb 2015 12:13 pm

I just ordered Techniques and Right Hand Alpha direct from Fran a couple of minutes ago. She's a sweetheart.

I can't wait to start wading through the courses.

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 6 Feb 2015 1:33 pm

Well that makes three of you including Virginia. Be sure to keep in touch with the forum and let us know how you're doing and if you have problems.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 7 Feb 2015 8:43 am

I really like the lesson where Jeff plays the steel using a small firearm....

Mentions someting about not copying his material...

Virginia Jordan · Post by **Virginia Jordan** » 9 Feb 2015 5:54 am

I ordered Techniques and Right Hand. Fran is a delight to talk to. I can't wait to get my DVDs. Starting out the right way.

Dan Dunne · Post by **Dan Dunne** » 16 Feb 2015 11:28 am

Received Right Hand Alpha and Techniques, last week. After only about 30 minutes of watching/playing, I can already tell these are going to be immensely helpful to a new player. My right hand angle was all wrong...I wasn't even wearing the picks correctly! My vibrato technique was all wrong too...having a hard time getting a feel for that one, letting the rear of the bar "flop around." I didn't even turn the amp on, but I'll have to do that next time. The biggest challenge is trying to keep my 2 year old daughter off my lap when I'm trying to play! I keep trying to get her to play the keyboard next to the pedal steel but she's much more attracted to the pedal steel...maybe I'll have to start her playing pretty soon, haha!

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 16 Feb 2015 11:37 am

Yeah that's a bugger. I hear that unlearning bad habits is worse than basic correct learning. Good luck!

rc

Josh Welch · Post by **Josh Welch** » 16 Feb 2015 12:04 pm

I asked Jeff one time what courses he recommended for a person who was new to pedal steel. Jeff said start with pedal steel techniques and right hand alpha, then get the up from the top series course.

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 16 Feb 2015 12:18 pm

I personnaly feel that the first two are a definete and choose your choice(s) after that but what do I know

I guess it depends on how far along you are.

I chose the Bandstand Backup 1 & 2.

Don R Brown · Post by **Don R Brown** » 16 Feb 2015 2:22 pm

Dan Dunne wrote:My vibrato technique was all wrong too.......having a hard time getting a feel for that one, letting the rear of the bar "flop around."

Dan, you have hit on one of those areas where it depends on who you listen to. I have that course by Jeff and know exactly what you are talking about. However, in this YouTube video instruction on vibrato, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMG7Yiu_qro, at the 4:25 mark Paul Sutherland says, and names Paul Franklin as his source, that the bar should not fishtail but should stay perpendicular to the strings (he actually says "perpendicular to the fret" but it's obvious he just misspoke.)

Now I would not presume to disagree with any of these gentlemen. I'm just pointing out that techniques vary, and it's amazing how many time you can find a fantastic player doing something that someone else considers "wrong". If the vibrato change is too difficult for you, perhaps concentrate on other aspects of your learning, and come back in a few weeks or months and try both ways again to see if one or the other works better at that point.

JMHO, worth $0.02 and nothing more.

Michael Hummel · Post by **Michael Hummel** » 16 Feb 2015 5:59 pm

Don, I couldn't agree more. I can't do Jeff's "fishtail" vibrato to save my life. I'm a relatively new pedal steel player, but I've been imitating Joe Walsh on 6-string slide for 30-some years. You have to find a technique that works for you. Sometimes I listen to a playback of myself and feel seasick -- sometimes I think it's cool. There's always something to make a little bit better.

It always reminds me of owning dogs, having children, and maybe even being married -- some days you say, "Why did I do this again?" and some days you grin when the good stuff happens.

Mike