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Topic: Musical epiphany? |
Mike Winter
From: Portland, OR
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Posted 23 Jul 2005 11:49 am
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I remember reading an old post by b0b where he talked about watching "someone" (!) up close at an old Family Dog dance, and it was that experience that turned the lights on for him regarding the relationship between chords/melody and scales.
I'm a pedal steel newbie, and every once in a while, usually after I've spent some time with one of the locals around here, the light comes on and the instrument starts to make sense to me...for a while.
So, I'm wondering if any of you can remember a time when the lights really came on, and you had a "Wow, I'm starting to get this!" experience. This can be across the board an not limited to the PSG only. Thanks.  |
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Mark van Allen
From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2005 11:19 am
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Great question, Mike. In my case I had some rudimentary awareness of music theory and chord motion when I began playing Pedal Steel. But the instrument itself will lead you to musical insights, due to the tuning and organization. I think I'm a bit dull that way and it took me a while to start seeing the true genius behind the E9 tuning.
Overall I'd have to say my biggest "a-ha!" wasn't a moment, but rather the process of integrating the number system into my view of the Steel and music in general. Over a period of time and with a real push from Jeff Newman's Nashville School, I started to be able to integrate what I could hear in my head with where it was on the instrument. The beauty for me is the process is never-ending... I'm still making connections and finding new pathways all the time. What a great instrument!
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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
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Greg Vincent
From: Folsom, CA USA
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Posted 25 Jul 2005 7:05 am
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Thinking of music in terms of numbers rather than letters really made a big difference for me. It helped me to recognize patterns in music, where before everything was just alphabet soup. -GV |
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