Beginner Question
Moderator: Shoshanah Marohn
Beginner Question
Just finally jumped into the world of pedal steel with a Carter starter. Was looking to get some advice on learning E9. I have played guitar for many years but never any steel so all new to me. Any good resources or places to check out? Also any advice on a good tuner? Thanks!
- Nicholas Cox
- Posts: 292
- Joined: 30 May 2020 9:53 pm
- Location: California, USA
Peterson tuners are great for steel. I love my StroboPlusHD and also hear good things about Strobo Stomps. Strobe tuners are the most accurate and you can save presets on the Petersons. If you want something cheap I recommend something with a needle dial like the Boss TU-12.
As far as learning materials go the Hal Leonard books are affordable and a good starting place. There are more intensive courses like the Jeff Newman or the Paul Franklin but they will definitely cost you a lot more. YouTube videos are also very helpful to figure out the basics. You can also buy an E9 chord chart to start looking at where you can find all your chords.
Have fun!
As far as learning materials go the Hal Leonard books are affordable and a good starting place. There are more intensive courses like the Jeff Newman or the Paul Franklin but they will definitely cost you a lot more. YouTube videos are also very helpful to figure out the basics. You can also buy an E9 chord chart to start looking at where you can find all your chords.
Have fun!
- Johnie King
- Posts: 8538
- Joined: 7 Apr 2014 11:09 am
- Location: Tennessee, USA
These are good enough for pro ‘s $20 at the music store.
If you have a iPhone you can get a free tuning program.
If you have a iPhone you can get a free tuning program.
Last edited by Johnie King on 28 Sep 2020 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Johnie King
- Posts: 8538
- Joined: 7 Apr 2014 11:09 am
- Location: Tennessee, USA
- Fred Treece
- Posts: 3920
- Joined: 29 Dec 2015 3:15 pm
- Location: California, USA
Just about everything worth a mention can be found on The Forum’s beginner page:
https://dhdube.wixsite.com/psgbeginner
Joe Wright lessons on the Sierra website:
http://www.sierrasteels.com/lessons/lessons-index.html
Great mechanical info:
https://www.steelguitar.com/
Some good absolute beginner stuff here:
https://www.steelguitaracademy.com/
Forum member Dick Sexton can send you over 450 tabbed exercises and phrases for E9 via pm or email:
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=362040
https://dhdube.wixsite.com/psgbeginner
Joe Wright lessons on the Sierra website:
http://www.sierrasteels.com/lessons/lessons-index.html
Great mechanical info:
https://www.steelguitar.com/
Some good absolute beginner stuff here:
https://www.steelguitaracademy.com/
Forum member Dick Sexton can send you over 450 tabbed exercises and phrases for E9 via pm or email:
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=362040
Last edited by Fred Treece on 28 Sep 2020 1:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Scott Spanbauer
- Posts: 96
- Joined: 1 Feb 2018 8:24 pm
- Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
-
- Posts: 328
- Joined: 3 Apr 2020 1:05 pm
- Location: Colorado, USA
Here's a Korg Tuner w/ metronome for $23 (the black one).
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accesso ... -metronome
I started Paul Franklin's Foundations course a couple of months ago. I'm very pleased w/ the instruction I'm getting and the progress I'm making not only w/ the pedal steel but also the knowlege of music I'm learning.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accesso ... -metronome
I started Paul Franklin's Foundations course a couple of months ago. I'm very pleased w/ the instruction I'm getting and the progress I'm making not only w/ the pedal steel but also the knowlege of music I'm learning.
- Scott Spanbauer
- Posts: 96
- Joined: 1 Feb 2018 8:24 pm
- Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
I use the three dollar Cleartune app on my phone, and the Peterson plug in adapter.
If learning from books is in your makeup, the Oak Publishing book from Winnie Winston and Bill Keith is where a LOT of the second generation of players got started. It's STILL a good book.
If learning from books is in your makeup, the Oak Publishing book from Winnie Winston and Bill Keith is where a LOT of the second generation of players got started. It's STILL a good book.
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
- Dennis Montgomery
- Posts: 796
- Joined: 15 Feb 2016 9:28 pm
- Location: Western Washington
- Contact:
I also took the Foundations course and it answered many of my beginner questions and got me on my way. Haven't moved on to the full course mostly because of the cost, but the $100 for the Foundations course was money well spentScott Spanbauer wrote:I highly recommend Paul Franklin's E9th Foundations course, if you have the $100.
Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_x ... Ww493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... NrvnJObliA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_x ... Ww493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... NrvnJObliA
-
- Posts: 448
- Joined: 28 Sep 2009 2:49 pm
- Location: North Carolina, USA 28681
- Gaylen James
- Posts: 57
- Joined: 11 Jul 2017 6:56 am
- Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
- Ken Mizell
- Posts: 1160
- Joined: 13 Feb 2005 1:01 am
- Location: Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA
I have a Korg LCA-120 Flip top chromatic tuner, like this one:
It works really well, and you can program offsets into it. These may not be available anymore.
The Korg tuner pictured earlier in this thread is just fine, and is about $120 less than the expensive Peterson tuners.
I also use, and actually prefer, my old Korg WT-12 Chromatic Tuner. It's analog, and uses an old analog VU meter instead of the LCD type meters. Easy to use, and very accurate. Not programmable. These were a hot item for PSG in the 80's. You can find them on eBay from time to time, which is where I found mine.[/img]
It works really well, and you can program offsets into it. These may not be available anymore.
The Korg tuner pictured earlier in this thread is just fine, and is about $120 less than the expensive Peterson tuners.
I also use, and actually prefer, my old Korg WT-12 Chromatic Tuner. It's analog, and uses an old analog VU meter instead of the LCD type meters. Easy to use, and very accurate. Not programmable. These were a hot item for PSG in the 80's. You can find them on eBay from time to time, which is where I found mine.[/img]
Steeless.
- Kenneth Mennen
- Posts: 32
- Joined: 19 Feb 2018 11:22 am
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
Jeff Newman's Right Hand Alpha is by far my top advice. Two and a half years into playing I hit a wall, where I decided to give it a try - best decision I could have made, although it's taken me 6 months to unlearn some bad habits...
Williams SD10, Milkman Half and Half, Peavey NV112, Divided by 13 CJ11, Fender Pro Reverb, Strymon Iridium, Sarno Black Box, Goodrich Volume Pedal, Umpteen Guitars and Effects, Eastman Mandolin
- John Spaulding
- Posts: 330
- Joined: 27 Sep 2017 3:53 pm
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
Paul Franklin Courses from Modern Music Masters 2020
The Paul Franklin Method is the definitive Modern pedal steel guitar instructional course from Pedal Steel Guitar and Musician's Hall of Famer Paul Franklin. A comprehensive study of E9 and C6 tunings with Paul's 50 years of detailed insights and helpful tips to make you the most complete and original player you can be. From simple back-up to advanced improvisation to practical theory, Paul uses all musical approaches to teach you what you need to know. Instead of just copying licks, Paul analyzes them and breaks them down into easy-to-understand concepts to show you how to compose your own licks... and play with your own voice.
Paul was directly mentored by the great pedal steel masters of the '60's and '70's and is now sharing what they taught him... and adding all of the knowledge he has learned from a lifetime of playing the pedal steel guitar for a living on stages and in studios all over the world. New Lessons are added to the Method regularly, and direct access to Paul via the invite-only Facebook Group gets you as close to private lessons as possible.
OTHER COURSES
Foundations: E9 Pedal Steel Basics is a great place to begin whether you're just getting started and need to know what your options are as you learn the fundamentals of the guitar, or need to correct some old "bad habits". Taken from selected lessons in The Paul Franklin Method, the Foundations course explores all of the essential techniques and concepts to go from bedroom to bandstand.
Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox is the perfect follow up to anyone who has completed the Foundations course, and like Foundations, you can apply the enrollment fee towards the complete Method at any time. All lessons are taken from the Method. If you are looking for an injection of cool E9 pedal steel ideas to put into your trick bag, the Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox is for you.
NOTE: If you have already completed Foundations, enrolling in Applications gets you an additional year of access to the Foundations lessons.
C6 Essentials is for those who've been neglecting "the back neck" or need a fresh take on how to approach it. Paul breaks down the C6 tuning and how to look at it from an E9 player's perspective. Learn to play the C6 tuning by understanding how it was derived, why it is such a logical extension of music theory concepts and see why so many great players call it their favorite tuning. You'll go from memorizing the tuning to improvising over an original Jazz Blues tune. All C6 Essentials lessons are taken from the complete Method.
E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary From Paul: For many years I have received requests from players to do a "Licks" course, where I demonstrate some of the classic sounds that have made the pedal steel guitar so beloved to us and to the public. I have hesitated to do so because I believe that just learning a bunch of licks is not a great way to learn how to play our instrument. There needed to be more to it than just a series of unconnected licks with no guidance on how to use them.
I wanted to find an approach that shows the vocabulary, but also teaches a bit of pedal steel history as to where these licks came from, shows you how to adapt and change any lick to fit other styles, and how I use this process to generate endless licks. To reach that goal, I recorded 50 lessons where I break the licks down into small components and make them easy to combine and alter. I cover some of the trademark sounds of the early greats and many of my own licks taken from my 50 years of live and studio playing.
These are the "pedal steel cliches" that artists and producers will often reference when you get a gig with a band or on a recording session. The marketing copy says "50 Licks", but there are many more than that as I dive deep into modifying them. As you work through the course, you can hear how I have absorbed the key playing styles of the early greats and added - or subtracted - to their ideas to create more. The ability to create an original part based on a style or genre is not magical...it comes from being familiar with this vocabulary and studying and analyzing it...learning how and why it works. Once you have done that, you now know how to generate your own new licks at will. Best for players who already possess the skills needed to complete Foundations and Applications.
NOTE: Paul Franklin Method students get free access to the Vocabulary lessons while enrolled in the Method.
Contemporary Pedal Steel Guitar Vol. 1 For more advanced players, Paul teamed up with steel legend Tommy White to create the definitive study of Paul's "Fingertip Blocking" and Tommy's "Palm Blocking". They analyze and teach their individual techniques and those of players like Lloyd Green, Curly Chalker, and Weldon Myrick. They discuss their mutual influence Buddy Emmons, who came up with the "3-Element Blocking" concept. Tons of tabbed licks and great conversation between these two titans.
FREE COURSES
Paul has two free courses, as well. Backing A Singer: Shenandoah is a complete breakdown of an Americana overdub session, and Together Again breaks down his solo from the Vince Gill & Paul Franklin album "Bakersfield".
TUNINGS AND COPEDENTS
Paul uses the standard "Buddy Emmons" pedal setups on both necks. For all of you Universal tuning players, the key material is taught as concepts, so you can easily apply them to any tuning.
You can learn more about all of Paul's courses here: Paul Franklin Courses.
Be sure to visit and bookmark Paul's blog for lots of tips and insights:Paul's Place
Paul was directly mentored by the great pedal steel masters of the '60's and '70's and is now sharing what they taught him... and adding all of the knowledge he has learned from a lifetime of playing the pedal steel guitar for a living on stages and in studios all over the world. New Lessons are added to the Method regularly, and direct access to Paul via the invite-only Facebook Group gets you as close to private lessons as possible.
OTHER COURSES
Foundations: E9 Pedal Steel Basics is a great place to begin whether you're just getting started and need to know what your options are as you learn the fundamentals of the guitar, or need to correct some old "bad habits". Taken from selected lessons in The Paul Franklin Method, the Foundations course explores all of the essential techniques and concepts to go from bedroom to bandstand.
Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox is the perfect follow up to anyone who has completed the Foundations course, and like Foundations, you can apply the enrollment fee towards the complete Method at any time. All lessons are taken from the Method. If you are looking for an injection of cool E9 pedal steel ideas to put into your trick bag, the Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox is for you.
NOTE: If you have already completed Foundations, enrolling in Applications gets you an additional year of access to the Foundations lessons.
C6 Essentials is for those who've been neglecting "the back neck" or need a fresh take on how to approach it. Paul breaks down the C6 tuning and how to look at it from an E9 player's perspective. Learn to play the C6 tuning by understanding how it was derived, why it is such a logical extension of music theory concepts and see why so many great players call it their favorite tuning. You'll go from memorizing the tuning to improvising over an original Jazz Blues tune. All C6 Essentials lessons are taken from the complete Method.
E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary From Paul: For many years I have received requests from players to do a "Licks" course, where I demonstrate some of the classic sounds that have made the pedal steel guitar so beloved to us and to the public. I have hesitated to do so because I believe that just learning a bunch of licks is not a great way to learn how to play our instrument. There needed to be more to it than just a series of unconnected licks with no guidance on how to use them.
I wanted to find an approach that shows the vocabulary, but also teaches a bit of pedal steel history as to where these licks came from, shows you how to adapt and change any lick to fit other styles, and how I use this process to generate endless licks. To reach that goal, I recorded 50 lessons where I break the licks down into small components and make them easy to combine and alter. I cover some of the trademark sounds of the early greats and many of my own licks taken from my 50 years of live and studio playing.
These are the "pedal steel cliches" that artists and producers will often reference when you get a gig with a band or on a recording session. The marketing copy says "50 Licks", but there are many more than that as I dive deep into modifying them. As you work through the course, you can hear how I have absorbed the key playing styles of the early greats and added - or subtracted - to their ideas to create more. The ability to create an original part based on a style or genre is not magical...it comes from being familiar with this vocabulary and studying and analyzing it...learning how and why it works. Once you have done that, you now know how to generate your own new licks at will. Best for players who already possess the skills needed to complete Foundations and Applications.
NOTE: Paul Franklin Method students get free access to the Vocabulary lessons while enrolled in the Method.
Contemporary Pedal Steel Guitar Vol. 1 For more advanced players, Paul teamed up with steel legend Tommy White to create the definitive study of Paul's "Fingertip Blocking" and Tommy's "Palm Blocking". They analyze and teach their individual techniques and those of players like Lloyd Green, Curly Chalker, and Weldon Myrick. They discuss their mutual influence Buddy Emmons, who came up with the "3-Element Blocking" concept. Tons of tabbed licks and great conversation between these two titans.
FREE COURSES
Paul has two free courses, as well. Backing A Singer: Shenandoah is a complete breakdown of an Americana overdub session, and Together Again breaks down his solo from the Vince Gill & Paul Franklin album "Bakersfield".
TUNINGS AND COPEDENTS
Paul uses the standard "Buddy Emmons" pedal setups on both necks. For all of you Universal tuning players, the key material is taught as concepts, so you can easily apply them to any tuning.
You can learn more about all of Paul's courses here: Paul Franklin Courses.
Be sure to visit and bookmark Paul's blog for lots of tips and insights:Paul's Place
Last edited by John Spaulding on 28 Sep 2020 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- John Spaulding
- Posts: 330
- Joined: 27 Sep 2017 3:53 pm
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox is the perfect follow up to anyone who has completed the Foundations course, and like Foundations, you can apply the enrollment fee towards the complete Method at any time. All lessons are taken from the Method. If you are looking for an injection of cool E9 pedal steel ideas to put into your trick bag, the Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox is for you.Dennis Montgomery wrote:I also took the Foundations course and it answered many of my beginner questions and got me on my way. Haven't moved on to the full course mostly because of the cost, but the $100 for the Foundations course was money well spentScott Spanbauer wrote:I highly recommend Paul Franklin's E9th Foundations course, if you have the $100.
NOTE: If you have already completed Foundations, enrolling in Applications gets you an additional year of access to the Foundations lessons.