Learning Pedal Steel: Observations Year-by-Year

[Fred Treece]

Forgive my indulgence...
At age 60, I have just completed my first year of playing my Stage One PSG. The forum seems like as good a place as any to post a memory of it.... before I forget it all
Maybe this will be of some guidance and solace to others who are starting out, especially "later in life" beginners:

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
The first few weeks were utterly baffling.. I expected that, even after 45 years of playing and studying music on 6 string guitar. 10 strings. Weird tuning. Have to sit down to play the thing and the strings are parallel to the floor. Hardware and moving parts everywhere. PSG is a machine that has to be coerced into being a musical instrument. The principles of effective practice are the same though.

Setting up the steel for my own ergonomics was vital. I am still making changes and experimenting.

YouTube, while an excellent free resource for musical content, is not such a great tool for learning technique. I have not tried pay sites, but I am sure there are a few good ones.

The Forum is by far and away the best "home base" resource for learning this instrument, aside from a qualified teacher.

TUNING
JI? ET? Newman? Whatever works, and whatever you want to call it. There is no perfect tuning. "Cabinet Drop" is now part of my language.

TECHNIQUE
Finger picking guitar and steel are similar, but not the same. I don't believe it was particularly advantageous having years of fingerpicking experience on guitar.

There is a time and place for both pick blocking and palm blocking. One is certainly not easier or more natural than the other.

I went from a 3/4" tone bar to 7/8". I couldn't handle the big one at first.

I am learning to roll the bar with my fingers for vibrato instead of shifting my hand right to left.

Rolling my left ankle from A to B and B to C, and shifting the foot when changing from pedal combinations without engaging an unwanted knee lever...Holy crap! this is still hard. Nearly impossible at first.

CHORDS
At least one inversion of every diatonic chord in a given key can be found at the home fret of that key, as well as the home-away-from-home position with pedals A+B down. Chord scales on one fret! This was a wow moment of discovery.

4- and 5-note jazz chord voicings on E9 are possible. I have found positions and changer combinations for two M7, two m7/M6, one mM7, three m7b5, two 13th's, b9 and #9, as well as the usual diminished and augmented suspects. The positions are often not conveniently located for the next chord change.

I am finding a use for the forward slant here and there, for convenience mostly with moving a single voicing within a sliding chord change.

SCALES
The do-re-mi's are everywhere, with pedals and playing at a single fret, or without pedals and barring up and down the neck with slides on just a few strings (especially strings 10 through 5). Harmonized scales on a couple or three strings - one of the joys of playing!

Crossing over from the lower strings (10-5) to the higher strings (4-1) while playing single note runs will be giving me fits for some time to come. Coordinating RH picking and blocking with pedal changes...wow

Pentatonics can be found starting at each of the 5 degrees of the scale in any given key.. Some positions lay out more conveniently than others, with little changer activity. One in particular.

Diminished scales (whole-half) are more fun played vertically on the fretboard, while whole tone scales are easily accessible across the strings. I don't play much of either, but nice to know where they are.

PRACTICE TIME
65% of practice time is technical - scales, chord grips, RH, bar & changer technique, timing with metronome or drum machine, intonation.
25% is learning songs with metronome and backing tracks.
10% is "Noodle Time" (my favorite part)

GIGS
Getting out there and playing was the biggest goal this year. I have played a grand total of 3 gigs on steel, doubling on it with guitar. I was absolutely terrified the first gig, but glad I got it done and didn't get fired or asked to get the darn thing the hell off the stage

ALMOST FINISHED
Anyway, this is my way of giving back to the forum. If you have gotten this far, you need to get a life...no seriously, thanks for taking the time. I hope you have been amused or helped in some way.

I now have nothing but respect and admiration for people (famous and not so famous) here who have mastered this incredibly beautiful instrument and shared their knowledge with me and the rest of the world. THANK YOU!

[Mike Perlowin]

4- and 5-note jazz chord voicings on E9 are possible. I have found positions and changer combinations for two M7, two m7/M6, one mM7, three m7b5, two 13th's, b9 and #9, as well as the usual diminished and augmented suspects. The positions are often not conveniently located for the next chord change.

Yes, they are, but since these chords are extensions, built on top of triads, as a practical matter, it is often better to let the other musicians in the band play the basic triad and you play the upper extenstion.

I.E. If the chord is a C major 7, let the other musicians play the Chord, and you play an Em. This works best of you're high up on the neck.

[Edward Rhea]

Great summary, Fred!

[Glenn Demichele]

I've been playing 24 years, and could have written the exact same post.
Edit: except I noodle way more than 10%

[John McClung]

Fred, this was a great piece with insights into what it's like to be a beginning pedal steel player and all the things you're up againsts! It's so good, could I pass this on to my students to help them understand what the process is like for one person? I'll give you full credit, of course. Thanks in advance. And if I can help in any way, let me know. E9 lesson in Skype is my specialty, I've been playing 45 years, teaching for 23.

Some testimonials:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... 17#2468417
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

All best,
John McClung
Pedal Steel Lessons, Casuals, Sessions
Olympia, WA 98512
Email & PayPal fees – steelguitarlessons@earthlink.net
Easy PayPal link: paypal.me/JohnMcClung
Website – http://steelguitarlessons.com
Skype name: professortwang
Cell & text: 310-480-0717

[Fred Treece]

Mike - sage advice as always. I just like knowing where the full chord is in case I ever want to hit one of those big ringing Maurice Anderson arpeggios.

Glenn - I reverse some of that regimen on Sundays

John - you are on my list. And of course you can use any part or all of my ramblings. Everything about The Forum is completely open source; no reason for me to be any different.

[Fred Treece]

A little late on the Year Two follow-up....

Starting to be able to play the music I hear in my head is a great feeling. “Dumbing it down” to the song’s melody doesn’t seem so dumb anymore. Yes, I know this is one of Jeff Newman’s mantras. And he’s right, of course, although I still see it as a stepping stone to improvisation, because the melody notes and the intervals are all over the place.

I made a point of going out and hearing several excellent players this past year. I highly recommend that to any beginner. I also visited an old friend who was kind enough to assess my playing and give me a few pointers.

Technical stuff—-
The 7/8” bar finally feels normal. I am picking and choosing when to add vibrato, when to slide to a note vs pedal/lever, lifting the back of the bar when playing single notes, “following the strings” with the bar, as Joe Wright calls it.

Practicing volume pedal is kinda weird with cheap headphones, but I do my best. It’s a quiet household here...

Fingertip blocking and palm blocking. I practice both. Far from being an expert at either. In the middle of a song on stage with the band, I don’t think about it anymore. I just try to get the sound I want.

I have settled on Fred Kelly Delrin Slick Pick thumbpicks and Acri fingerpicks.

Feet and knees are getting more coordinated with the hands. I still have trouble going from AB to BC. I still hit the wrong string or the wrong fret or the wrong changer more than I like, but I take chances with tunes. I don’t want to be playing the same thing every time I play a song, so I am bound to hit a clam here and there.

I practice intonation with single-chord backing tracks, playing both single notes and chord inversions inside and outside the chord on the track. I use iRealPro and JammerPro for practicing songs.

That’s pretty much it. Parting thoughts time.

I am very fortunate to have time for practice. I don’t see how anyone could ever just pick up this instrument and start playing it competently. It takes serious dedication and motivation. I feel bad for people who really want to learn it but just don’t have the time.

Overall, my confidence level has gone way up. I’m sure I still register pretty high on the suck-o-meter, but even that is an improvement over Year One. Definitely not going to post anything on YouTube yet. And still negotiating with Headquarters on signing up for the Paul Franklin Method....

[Ken Boi]

Hi Fred,

I’m in your timeframe. Been at it for about 2.5 years where the past 1.5 have been the most dedicated. Probably one of the biggest frustrations is still picking the wrong strings at times (using thumb and finger picks), especially when it is the reach for the D# second string. Arrgh.

Sometimes I feel frustrated with the instrument but when I look back I then realize how much progress I have made. I can play things today that I initially had doubts about playing when first attempted. In the words of Jeff Newman from one of his teaching videos he states “Time is your friend. impatience is your enemy” when he talks of nobody becomes an expert in two-days. In two-years, you may become a killer. But just keep at it.

[Tucker Jackson]

Go Fred!

A little late on the Year Two follow-up.... I still have trouble going from AB to BC.

I think it's a little "unsmooth" for a lot of people. I get around that by looking for other options since I can often get the same result with either:
a 2-fret bar move (if on stgs 4 and 5), or
1-fret up with the F-lever (if on stgs 3 and 4, or 4 and 6).

At quick tempos, it's sometimes easier to do the bar moves rather than the BC pedals. At slow tempos, I usually opt for the tuning accuracy of using the pedals.

Here's to another year of huge strides in Year 3!

[Bobby Nelson]

HI Fred, My first 13 months were spent on a non-pedal console. I received my Pedal Steel on June 30th, so I'm around the 7 month area with it. I was glad I got the console while they were building my PS, as the right hand is my biggest challenge (I knew it was going to be from what I remember fooling with pedal steel 30 yrs ago). Changing over from non-pedal, to pedals was only a matter of learning what the pedals did (which I studied mentally before I got them), which I'm still in the process of, but that's coming along pretty well for me.

I applaud your willingness to play gigs. My first gig was about 5 months after I got my console, and boy! Did it show me exactly what I'd gotten myself into: I'd had years and years of stage experience but, other than not having stage fright, it didn't do me one lick of good haha! I was shocked that, once the band started playing, just how lost I was. This remains my chief roadblock: Crossing the line where I feel pretty confident without the music playing, only to find that it all goes out the window when the rhythm track starts, leaving me with two licks to noodle with the whole way through. I'm chalking this up to muscle memory, and having enough time to practice so as to ingrain my ideas and knowledge into me.

OH well, I'm enjoying the journey - moreso than I did when I was a kid, with having to learn Music, and the instrument - at least I have the music part out of the way. Good luck with your steeling!

[Fred Treece]

2019 was a great year for growing with the pedal steel. Unfortunately, the Americana band I have been involved with and playing steel in for the past couple years has all but broken up, which pales the frustration of little irritants like occasionally hitting the wrong string or having crappy blocking technique. I don’t even really think about those things anymore; it’s more like I catch it when it happens and just work it out on the spot.

Practice time is still regimented, but the 65% strictly on technique has been reversed with the 25% on music. Playing this thing has really turned into big fun and something I look forward to almost every day. I will on occasion just open up the Winnie Book and see if I can play something in it any better than the last time I tried. Yep, usually. I spent a lot of time last year with Joe Wright’s “My Approach” method book (Get well soon, Joe!), for right and left hand technique. But mostly, I just practice playing tunes with tracks and getting them up to speed, or improvising with a simple groove.

The BIG news. In December, a good friend of mine sold me his S12 Carter. It’s 4+5, set up as Extended E9. Sitting down to play it, I was totally lost again. But after a couple months now, those 2 strings on the bottom seem to make the world complete. With a few changes to the copedent, and a couple mechanical changes which I succeeded in doing on my own with some long distance help from the former owner (Thanks Dave!), it feels like my guitar now even though I am barely scratching the surface of the universe of music in it.

The Stage One is boxed up for now, inhabiting a place of honor in my storage closet. No way am I parting with it.

I guess that’s all for now folks. If you got this far again, thanks for indulging me. See you back here in a year.

[Andy Henriksen]

This is a great thread, Fred! You are about a year ahead of me. It's interesting and enlightening to compare the similarities and differences! Definitely fun stuff!

[Jon Voth]

Hey I enjoy reading this.

I'm similar to you-I'm 50, and been playing almost 2.5 years, and have a long amateur relationship with fingerstyle guitar. Played my first gig about 6 months in, and it was all played by rote as I didn't understand the instrument (all passages, solos were memorized). One of my pedal rods fell off during Bud's Bounce.

I'm getting there, being able to find my way to chord centers, pads, etc. Soloing is still bad unless I practice a bit (not great at improv yet). And still miss strings plenty.

If you've seen those Matrix movies where at the end Neo is able to see all that code stuff and is able to do anything; well that's what I want but not near that yet at all-to know the guitar. I'll get there someday.

Anyways keep it coming.

[Alex Kidd]

As a player of ~2 years myself at age 30 - I really enjoyed reading this and reading both common struggles and epiphanies that we all share climbing the steep learning curve. Thanks for sharing this! And definitely keep updating along the way.

[Willie Crisel]

i thought i was the only one with a suck o meter,,one day i say i'm getting pretty good,,then the next day can.t hit anything,,it's a humbling instrument,,i wonder if any normal/ non musician has any idea what it takes to be as good as the big boys,,,but for me it's fun,and it has to be,,if not i might as well go to work.

[Ian Rae]

Like Fred (and a great many apparently) I'm another 60-something who played other instruments all his life and came late to pedal steel. I'm maybe less typical in that I switched to 12 strings early on - I can't imagine being without them now.

[Landon Johnson]

This....

Fingertip blocking and palm blocking. I practice both. Far from being an expert at either. In the middle of a song on stage with the band, I don’t think about it anymore. I just try to get the sound I want.

Biggest revelation for me. I used to spend hours trying to palm block a passage that I could pick block in my sleep, 'because I am supposed to be able to palm block AND pick block'... (my own requirement supported by many on here)

Now I just don't think about it. I use my left thumb when I fail at string 6 or 7 and I have stopped the practice of pleasing some judgmental, fictional PSG deity by proving I can do what doesn't feel natural. At this point, I could not tell you how I blocked a particular phrase, nor can I sometimes identify it myself.

At first I could only palm-block staccato... now, I've started to get 'the bounce' a little, and while palm-blocking is not yet legato, it is getting there. If I think about it, I cannot do it.

[Brian Fox]

Nice post!
I am 37 and playing for 1 and 1/2 years and playing in a band as well.
I would say I am about 60% technique
30 % practicing with a band recording on my phone
20% noodling.
So much to learn!

[Fred Treece]

2020. Year 4.

I did exactly one gig, in January. And it was with a group I didn’t play steel in. So from now on there won’t be me in any groups I don’t play steel in. If there are still groups to be in at all...

The PSG learning curve continues on a somewhat flatter trajectory. Refinement of technique is a process that reveals your progress when you are put on the spot to perform. This past year, that meant jamming with backing tracks. With lots of tempo adjustment. Which is cheating, sorta.

I’m still studying and practicing with Joe Wright’s method book. Funny thing about following a method. If you actually do the drills and exercises regularly and correctly, your playing tends to improve!

My aforementioned philosophy on blocking has not changed.

I still cannot reliably execute harmonics. Maybe 60% success. It is not something I put a lot of time into. Palm only. Tried other methods; they are not going to happen.

Left hand stuff - I’ve been tilting the bar and “following” the strings for single note runs. In many cases this seems to minimize the need for blocking at all. For chords, I flatten the bar back down across the strings. So I have two distinct grips on the bar, one for each purpose. I don’t know how common this is. Don’t care. It works for me.

I practice Joe’s bar movement exercises quite often. Been trying to transfer tunes I know into the upper register. Wow - do I suck in Huey Land or what!? Bar control...

After a whole year with the Carter S12, it feels like my guitar now. I still tweak pedals and levers now and then, but who doesn’t? The Franklin pedal doesn’t get as much use as I’d like. It is pedal 4 on my setup. I think if it was in the 0 position I would use it more. Maybe that change is coming.

Overall I would say it has been a great experience playing a different guitar and a different copedent. I love having more 4-note chords in the lower register, and more single note options that land on a low register tonic. I think it is making me a better, more versatile player.

I’m in a more musical mode when I play now, instead of feeling like a “pedal steel operator”. Im going to record some stuff this year that I have been working on for a while. Mostly just to see how it turns out. I doubt if any of it will make it into the public realm, but we’ll see.

I also bought a new Ezzee Slide Bar from Basil Henriques. 7/8” x 90mm, recommended for 12 string. Fits my hand very well and sounds great. I know it was a difficult year for Mr. Henriques, and the effort he put into my order was heroic. Thanks Basil!

Well, that’s all the minutiae I have for now. If you got this far, it’s time to get back to your regularly scheduled programming. Tune in for the next update in early 2022 🤠

[Andrew Goulet]

This is such a great thread, and I really appreciate your commitment to detailing the journey. I know what you mean about the "operator" feeling. Looking forward to next year!

[Curt Trisko]

This is such a great thread, and I really appreciate your commitment to detailing the journey. I know what you mean about the "operator" feeling. Looking forward to next year!

Agreed. I also took up pedal steel in adulthood (27 years old) and as my first real instrument. The learning process has been fascinating to experience and observe. There is so much richness. It is so complicated and overwhelming at first and new doors constantly open as you digest more and more. It has matured me and made me more well-rounded.

[Tom Rhodes]

Thanks for your very insightful post on the PSG learning process that you used and apparently successful with. This is a great road map for new guys discovering this wonderful instrument. I've had my Stage One for almost a year now and every time I sit behind it I learn something new. I'll be turning 70 this year and wish I had started earlier in life. This instrument is great mental and physical therapy. It helps me stay sharp with my memory and my manual dexterity. It can be a challenge to your mental state at times, but when you solve the issue it's pretty rewarding.
Thanks again for the post. Extremely helpful!