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Topic: An old topic that to me, seems to have reasonable values.... |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 26 Apr 2015 2:13 pm |
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Once again, SGF posts have brought up the subject of
"HOW TO PLAY the steel guitar".......and also, how to tune and name the strings and how to hold the bar and wear the picks in addition to learning how to block, etc..
Shouldn't there be SOME KIND of protocol for the teaching of this wonderful instrument? So many people with varying degrees of playing knowledge or skills are attempting to teach others how to play the instrument and it sounds as tho' they're teaching has no common boundaries whatsoever.
In the teaching of various skill related endeavors, one is quick to find that nearly all of them have a common denominator. In the teaching of commercial bus and/or truck driving or the flying of light air planes.....one of the most obvious items is the PROPER naming of various items, the correct procedures for applying them and why this item is taught at that this point in the instructional course and a specific method for learning and applying them.
The above example stresses the importance of proper and correct terminologies and the correct method of utilizing this new knowledge.
It seems many of todays steel players seem content to start their learning process anywhere in the books, not necessarily from page one in chapter one.
No wonder there is so much confusion surrounding the learning/playing of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 27 Apr 2015 12:43 pm
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| ray, there seems to be a good bunch of people with a small bit of knowledge who are very excited to share this with others. this of course asks the question, 'who is a credible source of knowledge?' deciding who to listen to is the crucial point. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 27 Apr 2015 1:39 pm Re: An old topic that to me, seems to have reasonable values
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| Ray Montee wrote: |
Shouldn't there be SOME KIND of protocol for the teaching of this wonderful instrument? |
Sure.
If that isn't a rhetorical question, I'm sure your local loan officer can tell you why there is no widely accepted protocol.
Financial viability and profit motive aside, the implications of a hack at the controls of a Sho-Bud or Rickenbacher are far different from a hack at the controls of a Navion, F6F, or a Freightliner.
Probably better to compare the lack of steel guitar protocols to my idea of a protocol for repairing putty knives. Thought of it after the 14th Budweiser. Don't try to talk me out of it.
Danged capitalism and the concern for public safety. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 27 Apr 2015 4:29 pm
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I think it was Herb that said:
"In the world of the blind, a one-eyed man is king." |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 28 Apr 2015 3:37 am
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In spite of how "common" a pedal steel guitar looks, it is a highly personal instrument. Styles, copedents, actual setup of the instrument, physical capabilities of the player, so many things affect this instrument.
I tried to learn 35 years ago, but there were only two books available, one a chord book, and one that showed how to setup the guitar, and some basics on 3 pedals and 1 knee.
A couple of years ago, I decided to try again. This time I found a lot of information available. BUT, I quickly learned that I needed the basics, but my study needed to included my preferences and style.
All that said, it is a HARD instrument to learn. But my advice to the new player... KEEP TRYING! You will become well satisfied if you press on.
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Charles Curtis
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Posted 28 Apr 2015 4:29 am PSG Instructors
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| I believe that Billy Cooper, in Orange, Va is still teaching how to play the PSG. He and his wife are just wonderful. Maybe it would be helpful if more teachers were made known in different parts of the country, that are reputable. One may ask here on the Forum about one in his particular area. Just a suggestion. |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2015 7:53 am
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Ray, in preparation for setting down the correct way to play, your assignment is in 2 parts:
1. Watch a whole bunch of instruction DVDs and videos and learn the "right" and "wrong" way to do things.
2. Watch a similar number of videos of big name monster steel players at work, and make note of how many of them do something "wrong".
When you have Jeff Newman and Paul Franklin (or any other 2 names you may encounter) each saying to do the opposite from the other, how are you going to tell a newbie which of them is the one to believe? If you see Mooney doing something "wrong", do you tell the student "Don't do THAT!" If Mooney had been forced to do such and so "right", would he have been as great as he was?
I don't have any answer on how to present the student with the optimum instruction. But I believe it will be impossible to ever clearly define a set of rules which will work for everybody. |
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Stuart Legg
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Posted 28 Apr 2015 8:28 am
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It's a dog chasing it's tail.
If we all got together here and synchronized our watches we would all have the same time but not necessarily the correct time.
Of course if we all agree that our synchronized time is the correct time then it becomes the correct time.
In other words the correct technique is what ever we agree upon.
Then some one will inevitably come along and do it better and we will all resynchronize. Around and around we go again. |
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