A Newbie on the block

Ray Shurance · Post by **Ray Shurance** » 10 Aug 2005 6:42 am

So please tell me what I should do to get the proper lessons, C.D.'s, videos, books to do some learning. Although my instrument 'feels' good in my lap, when I touch it...well, I think that sound is a complaint. Who can suggest the best way to soothe its soul. Thanks, guys and gals. ray

Joy Wofford · Post by **Joy Wofford** » 10 Aug 2005 8:32 am

Welcome to the forum Ray! I'm a newbie also, so I can't offer you any words of wisdom other than to say that in about two minutes you're going to have more suggestions than you can shake a stick at, and then the fun begins. Several folks with a vast amount of knowlege will set you on the right track, I'm sure. I hope you enjoy this forum as much as I do. Best of luck in this new endevor!

Joy

Lucky for me that bad spelling is NOT one of the criteria for acceptance here!
ie: "endeAvor", lol[This message was edited by Joy Wofford on 10 August 2005 at 10:06 AM.]

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 10 Aug 2005 9:02 am

Welcome! What kind(s) of music do you want to play, Ray? What tuning(s) do you want to use? There's a ton (metric) of instructional material out there, so more information can help us narrow down our recommendations.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

Mike Ruffin · Post by **Mike Ruffin** » 10 Aug 2005 9:17 am

Welcome, Ray

You can't go wrong with Cindy Cashdollar's lessons in C6. Roy Thompson also has some great lessons available.

Good Luck!
Mike

Terry Farmer · Post by **Terry Farmer** » 10 Aug 2005 10:18 am

Welcome aboard, Ray. You have found the right spot!

Ray Shurance · Post by **Ray Shurance** » 10 Aug 2005 10:29 am

Brad: Slow Hawaiian music is my joy. Love it and the sound of this instrument. Thanks ray

Larry W. Jones · Post by **Larry W. Jones** » 11 Aug 2005 1:31 am

Aloha Ray and welcome. I have this tape but not the book (gotta get it). The book and tape is always available on eBay. Lots of slow and fast Hawaiian.

LAP STEEL GUITAR Art of Hawaiian Steel Guitar Book + CD $23.99

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<center>It ain't got that FEELIN' if it ain't got that STEELIN'</center>

George Manno · Post by **George Manno** » 11 Aug 2005 3:28 am

Welcome
Pace yourself, but learn everything you can as fast as you can.

George

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 11 Aug 2005 8:30 am

Hey Guys,

How would .... Rhythm In Your Riffs - Strums, Patterns, and Grooves for Acoustic Guitar - which is taught by Bob Brozman on a
70-minute DVD or VHS, which includes tab,...be as a teaching guide for Ray since he likes Hawaiian stuff.

It is for acoustic but it would seem applicable for lap steel as well, correct?

Aloha,
Don

[This message was edited by Don Kona Woods on 11 August 2005 at 09:31 AM.]

Travis Bernhardt · Post by **Travis Bernhardt** » 11 Aug 2005 5:24 pm

Good video, but not recommended for learning slow Hawaiian tunes, and not terribly applicable to steel guitar (applicable, but not easily).

Brozman's video on Hawaiian Guitar playing is very good, though, and although it's geared more towards the up-tempo Sol Ho'opi'i style of playing (which I personally prefer) it gives an excellent grounding in technique. Studying that video is an excellent place to start for any aspiring Hawaiian Guitar player, if you ask me.

-Travis

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 11 Aug 2005 8:07 pm

Welcome Ray from Alabama.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 11 Aug 2005 8:58 pm

PRACTICE; PRACTICE; PRACTICE; PRACTICE!!!

There is no quick and sure method; however, a million hours of practicing the scales and every chord you can get out of the thing will sure hurry things up.

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 11 Aug 2005 11:57 pm

Ray, if you're serious about it, get the Jerry Byrd Instruction Course for Steel Guitar.
Available from Scotty's Music . .

RA</>

Joseph Rush Wills · Post by **Joseph Rush Wills** » 12 Aug 2005 12:35 pm

<<Although my instrument 'feels' good in my lap, when I touch it...well, I think that sound is a complaint.>>

Don't worry; that's par for the course! As you play and learn tone improves! If you doubt that listen to good steel/Dobro players. After a while you'll be able to tell by the sound who it is. That's due to the 'touch' of a musician.
And, incidentally, you should be listening to a lot of steel/Dobro music so you'll know what you want to learn and have goals to work toward.
Good luck!

Ray Shurance · Post by **Ray Shurance** » 12 Aug 2005 8:12 pm

THANK YOU...THANK YOU..TO ALL YOU GUYS AN GALS THAT HAVE WRITEN TO ENCOURAGE ME. What a great bunch of people on this Forum. I'm glad my dear friend from 'way back in my Hawaii days, Don Kona Woods recommended this forum to me. Yep, he and I go way back to Kailua days in the early 70's. I am grateful to him and to you all. Super. I really like your enthusiasm to help the l'il new guys along. I promise to be as good to others as you all have been to me

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 20 Aug 2005 9:29 pm

Hello Ray. All the guys and gals above gave great advice,but one of the most important bits of advice was from Les Anderson,PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE!!!!!Sometimes when you are working on something a little differcult,don't give up.Even if you have to try it a hundred times or more.suddenly you have it before you realize it. Once you learn enough to just barely halfway know what your doing ,find some friends to jam with,you will learn ten times faster doing this,than sitting in your living room by yourself. I've been playing for a few years and love to practice ,look forward to it every day.most of the time I'll learn something new and it will almost make me excited as a teenager in love. Beg,borrow,or STEEL from the great people on this forum,and you will be rewarded for it.Don't forget my friend,PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE,and you WILL be a picker!

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 22 Aug 2005 11:46 am

Charles makes an interesting statement:

find some friends to jam with,you will learn ten times faster doing this,than sitting in your living room by yourself.

How true if you can find them.

I tried to do this years ago without any success. They either did not have the interest in Hawaiian music or there was a problem of time.

I would even go to music stores to post notices for persons interested in getting together. Where are they may I ask?

Fortunate for me that several years ago I heard about Band-in-a-Box. Now I always have a real live backup band. They always show up on time, never call in sick, never go on vacations, or complain about anything. They are the nicest guys. I wish that I had discovered these guys years ago.

Aloha,
Don

P.S. Ray and I go back to the late 1960's and early 1970's. A lot of great experiences we shared. We had been out of contact with each other for some time. I found out that he had developed this interest in steel guitar. What more could I do, but turn him on to the Steel Guitar Forum.[This message was edited by Don Kona Woods on 22 August 2005 at 12:48 PM.]

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 22 Aug 2005 5:39 pm

Ray as MR Woods mentioned ,if you can't find someone to jam with. Check out the venders on this forum.They all have lots of rhythm tracks,and tab for all styles.

Kris Oka · Post by **Kris Oka** » 22 Aug 2005 7:03 pm

Welcome to the SGF forum. The members are the greatest and always willing to help and share information. Like Joy Wofford said, you'll get more suggestions than you can shake a stick at. Joy must have gotten a 100 on her first day. Like myself, it is hard to sort thru everything and you will spend more time reading than actually playing. The truth is IMHO there are no short cuts. For me I am going to have to go one on one with an experienced player and ask him to show me. I am a fastlearner if you show me but I can't learn by myself. And don't go over to the Denny Turner's thread on Recap: C6 tuning or you'll probably never get started. At least not yet.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 22 Aug 2005 9:14 pm

Can't find anyone to jam with????? I'll give you twenty to one odds that there are a hundred acoustic guitarists who would love to sit and pick with you. If you are wanting to learn chords or licks and riffs don’t hem yourself in with one particular genre of music.

I don’t care much for Blue Grass and in particular playing behind a banjo; however, that was my first string of jams after buying my steel. In fact I jammed with them for better than three months before I eventually got together with a country band. Though I love island music, I was more concerned about bar slants, chords and timing for the first six months.

Believe it or not, I now play with a wind band (three saxes and at times a clarinet and of course a bass. This was not the type of music I had intended to end up playing; however, I am having a great time with it and I am getting paid to do it.

Have an open mind while you climb that ladder.

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

[This message was edited by Les Anderson on 22 August 2005 at 10:17 PM.]

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 22 Aug 2005 11:00 pm

Les ,I to have never had a problem finding someone to jam with.Just a call or two and 6 or 8 will be biteing at the bit to get to get together and pick. Most of them are front porch pickers,that just love to play,and have a good time with their friends.{some of them are very good],but do it for fun. A good rhythm guitar player is all you need to practice with.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 23 Aug 2005 6:56 am

Amen Charles. Pickers seem to have an addiction once smitten.

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 23 Aug 2005 8:13 pm

HEY GUYS, I NEED TO FIGURE OUT A PROBLEM.

Charles says,

I too have never had a problem finding someone to jam with. Just a call or two and 6 or 8 will be biteing at the bit to get to get together and pick.

Les says,

Can't find anyone to jam with????? I'll give you twenty to one odds that there are a hundred acoustic guitarists who would love to sit and pick with you.

CHARLES & LES, HOW DO YOU FIND THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE? HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO FIND THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED?

Help me to understand why I can't find them?

Is it my personality?

Is it body odor?

Is it that I have an inability to elicit guitar players interest?

Is it that I am just one unlucky person?

What is the answer?

I beg of you tell me.

Aloha,

Don[This message was edited by Don Kona Woods on 23 August 2005 at 09:15 PM.]

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 23 Aug 2005 9:02 pm

Don, I would suggest that you simply ask a few people if they know anyone who plays a guitar. I knew of a half dozen personally before I bought my steel.

(1) I got hooked up with a few blue grass groupies through one of my guitar playing friends. We jammed for quite a spell.

(2) Call someone who gives guitar lessons, those people can give you dozens of names.

The avenues are endless for guitar players. The toughest part is finding someone else who plays a steel guitar.

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 24 Aug 2005 8:42 pm

A good place to find picking friends is your local music store,if there is one near you.Most of them have a bulletin board for musicians to post a message.