Best way to get someone started on steel?

Jake L · From: Grapevine, Texas

I think it would be kinda interesting to hear the different perspectives from those who give steel lessons on this subject. When you sit down for the first time with a brand new player, what is your approach? What do you teach first, mechanics of the guitar, basic music theory, grips, etc.?
Jake Lowe

Gary Shepherd · From: Fox, Oklahoma, USA

It would have to depend on the individual player. Some guys already know some music and some are starting from scratch. No right answer here I'm afraid. But certainly the mechanics of the guitar would need to taught at some point.

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Gary Shepherd

Carter D-10

www.16tracks.com

Chris Allen Burke · From: Signal Hill, CA

I'll elaborate on what Gary said. I allways ask information questions of the perspective student to kinda feel out their musical background(if any),interests, styles of music they enjoy, what they might have in mind for goals and such. This way I can "customize" the lesson plan to keep their interest up as I lay the ground work for the journey. By ground work I mean, all the physical directions nessesary as well as basic music theroy. I tell all my students in the begining and the occasional reminder of the rule of "3 P's". Patience, Practice and Perseverence.
So I guess in answer to your original line of question, A little of everything to get started.
If the student has a musical foundation this seems to be helpful and the pace is sometimes faster. But not always. The mechanical aspect can be just as chalenging. I hope this has been helpful.

Keeponapicin'
Chris

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Most of my students have played guitar for some time, so I "unlock" a lot of the mystery of the E9 neck for them at the very first lesson, by directing their attention to strings 4 and 8, the two E strings, and tell them that these are just like their 1st and 6th strings on a guitar, and to pay attention to 4 & 8 as "indicator strings". Thus, just like on guitar, using an "E major chord position", you'll have F at the 1st fret, G at the 3rd fret, C at the 8th fret, etc.,etc. You can see the light bulbs in their heads go on immediately.

Then I show them that if they step on the first two pedals together, it's just like using your "A major guitar chord position", so you can go from E to A at the same fret, just like you can do on guitar. By this time, most newbies are ecstatic and want to go home and practice, and I'd better not give them any more on that lesson.

Mark Edwards · From: Weatherford,Texas, USA

I would like to approach this from the angle of the student, (myself) I remember my first lesson and was just kind of like bieng thrown in there and feeling as though I had just been thrown in the water for the first time to learn to swim. Flailing around not sure which way to go. It would have been nice to know (1) the set up of the guitar i.e. string groups what string represent what chord, what pedals and knee levers do, tuning, tirads etc. (2) elementary music theroy (3) what is tabs. and how to read them (4) timing. Alot of these things I learned as I went and felt it slowed the process down. I had to ask alot of questions from alot of different players. But feel had this all been discussed in the first few lessons it would have helped me to understand and to put playing the steel in an eaiser method of learning.

Jimmie Martin · From: Ohio, USA

jim cohen i wished you lived in orient, ohio.

Calvin Walley · From: colorado city colorado, USA

mark
i started a thread about a more structured way to approch the steel a couple of months ago and really got jumped on about it
i talk with several beginers both on the phone and with e-mail all the time and like you everyone feels like they are just kinda thrown in the water to sink or swim . there is a ton of information out there but trying to put it into the most useful order can be overwhelming
i totally agree that the way we all have to learn really slows the learning process and if it was structered better it would really help a great many. this is the single biggist reason that i think most that try to learn the steel quit
if anyone comes up with anything that helps please let me know

calvin

[This message was edited by Calvin Walley on 19 February 2006 at 06:07 PM.]

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Anyone that wants to play steel guitar must have some kind of deep rooted desire to make "purty music".......even if it has not yet been discovered. I attempt to appeal to that basic musical instinct.
I'm not teaching "how to become a mechanic" or "how to build the most complicated musical instrument in the world even though I've never had a lesson on how to play one".......
I'm not teaching "how to grip, pull or mash the strangs"........or how to compare the darn thing to a zither or whatever. I'm not going to teach them that the only tuning in the world is "E 9th" with a host of pedals to really mess up their mind.
I show them how to install the picks on their fingers. Next I show them how to HOLD the bar correctly without dropping it; being able to move the left hand around in the air or over the g'tar without dropping that slippery metal thingy.....
Then I have them try to pick some little ditty that has been lurking in the back of their mind........like Sleep Walk or "One Note Samba" or whatever. Then I show them how it "COULD" sound if properly played and challenge them to give it another try.
I attempt NOT to make the instrument any more complicated than we all know it to be.
I don't discuss the hundreds of different manufacturers, pedal layouts, total strings, "blue" thumb picks, etc.
Just the basics...It seems to work jes' fine. No discussions about enamel or black Mica; but I do atempt to get them to listen around and give me an idea of WHO it is they want most to sound like. How to tune from the TOP down with "E" being the top string and we don't discuss Tab yet.

[This message was edited by Ray Montee on 19 February 2006 at 08:16 PM.]

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I prescribe to exactly what Jim C. states. find a common thread, the Guitar , Bass or even Piano..The E strings ( 4 and 8 ) for the guitar players with the exact same fretboard locations and the C chords for the Piano players...

What I have found fascinating with a few players of previous Instruments is that they really did not have a good firm ROOT on there previous Instrument so we had to kind of go backwards a bit and recapture what they already knew.

There are many approaches which are effective, but I feel the most important for the teaching side is to really understand the level of understanding that the student has...and that determines the starting point.And NOT proceed forward until that bridge has been crossed.

One does not have to be a GREAT player to be a good teacher..A good teacher must have compassion and the ability to recognize starting at zero and the patience to do just that...even if the student states that they have been playing music for many years...

Calvin, nobody jumped on your case during your previous thread a month or two back, the thread unfortunatley started going down a bumpy road about who was providing good Instruction for beginners.

IF a new or early player, or perhaps one who is having difficulty wants to progress, they should get in there Car and drive to a location where they can get a 3 or 4 hour session with a good teacher, even if it is 500 miles away. A Tab program will NOT be the answer for a struggling student...

There are several players here who reside all over the Country..even Nashville !..imagine that...Get one on the phone, set up a session for a few hours or even a couple of days..and get'er' done...

If flying F-15's was easy, and they had a correspondance course to get certified...we would all be Jet Fighter Pilots..

God help us ....

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TPrior
TPrior Steel Guitar Homesite

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 20 February 2006 at 05:03 AM.]

John Daugherty · From: Rolla, Missouri, USA

Lie to them and tell them "IT"S EASY".

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www.home.earthlink.net/~johnd37

Pete Burak · From: Portland, OR USA

Best way to get someone started on steel?...

Take them to a Steel Guitar Convention!

Barry Blackwood · Posted 20 Feb 2006 10:34 am

Burn their fiddle .....

Richard Gonzales · From: Davidson, NC USA

I have never been a teacher although looking back when I was first learning. I would start on a 6 string lap guitar. Learn how to hold the bar, slant the bar and mute behind the bar. Put on the picks and learn how to pick the strings cleanly, with feeling. A little vibrato wouldn't hurt. My point here is in order for a beginner to keep interest they must learn how to get a nice sound even if it is only "Row row your boat" or playing scales. The better I sounded, The more motivation I had to further my knowledge of playing the steel guitar.
If I could not play cleanly, sweet with feeling, I would not have any interest learning chords their progessions and etc.
You might throw stones at me, but if a beginner can not get a nice tone after a couple of months then I would reccommend another instrument for them.

Ray Riley · From: Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Just my opinion, But I would make them listen for 4 hours to a 4 string Banjo. That would most likely do it!!!!!!!!

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Sho-Bud S-12 and a brand new N112

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I haven't taught in quite a few years, but I always preached that learning starts with listening! Until you can hear and differentiate what the steel sounds are, and how to recognize chord changes, you're just spinning your wheels.

Next comes the mechanics of playing. You have to learn the rudiments of bar control, muting, and picking to be able to make pleasing sounds.

Next comes playing some basic chords, and learning what strings to play to get simple major, minor, and seventh chords. Along with this comes teaching a basic understanding of music, and what simple I-IV-V chord progressions are, and how they're found and used.

Lastly comes the pedals, and theiir functions. This is how I taught people who had never played any instrument before, but naturally, a person with music background (especially regular guitar) can expected to skip over some of this.

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

I usually start with showing them how to tune the steel. Then I show them how the chord pattern is the same as a guitar except we are using a bar, pedals and levers instead of fingers. I have found one of the hardest things for new players to understand is why strings 1 and 2 are tuned the way they are on the E9th. I try and show them some ways they can be used and explain that some day their understanding will be opened to the tuning. To me the C6th is more complicated but it just takes time and practice and playing time to get a feel for playing the steel guitar. One thing I always tell a new player, especially if they are getting discouraged, everyone starts at the bottom and will improve.

Ronnie Green · From: Des Moines, New Mexico, USA

Tell them what Lloyd Green told me when I said to him he was my mentor, and the reason I started playing the steel. "I'm sorry".

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

For E9 I start with holding the bar and picks if they want to use picks. Then I show them the basic triad groups of strings. Then comes showing them how to practice so they can control which strings they hit.After that comes very basic 2 string harmonized scales and 3 string chords with pedals. Then we get into the music part.

Everybody is different and has different needs to get things rolling.

For guys that already know what they are doing we get into whatever seems to be blocking them up. Or I point them at a new way of doing what they already do to help open up the neck for them.

Here is one sad fact about learning the steel or any musical instrument for that matter:
If you count the number of hours you practice by the week instead of by the day you cannot expect to make much quick progress.

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Bob
upcoming gigs
My Website

Eugene Cole · From: near Washington Grove, MD, USA

I like to start out with both the student and I having paper and pencil so that while I illustrate things the student can take notes in a manner which will have meaning to the student when they look at their notes later on.

The first chord change principle I teach is going from the I-chord (one-chord) to an inverted IV-chord. What some E9 players call the A/B pedal change.

To teach this change I go through a series of steps to explain the intervals which comprise a major-chord.

I typically combine the following steps in an order which best works for the student to explain these intervals.
* Illustrate is a piano keyboard with the C, E, & G keys labeled as C, E, & G.
* State that the key of C contains no sharps or flats and that the black keys on a Piano are the sharps and flats.
* Tell them that adjacent piano keys are a “half step” apart.
* Explain the number of half steps from the root of a major chord to the chords 3rd and 5th.
- 4 half steps from the 1 to the 3
- 3 half steps from the 3 to the 5.
* mention that the “1” in a chord is often called the “root”. E.g. C, E, & G are the root, 3rd, & 5th in a C-major chord.
mention that when the lowest note in a chord is not the 1 in the chord; this is called an “inverted” chord.
- show some examples like G, C, &E are the same notes which comprise the C-major chord; just in a different sequence.

The next step I take is write out an improptu copedent. for a 4-string where the strings are labeled from low to high 1/C, 3/E, 5/G, & 1/C.
After writing out the copedent I tell them that this copedent represents a guitar which is tuned to an open C-major-chord.
I then add 2 pedal columns where one column has a “+1” next to the string labeled 3, and the other column has a “+2” next to the string labeled 5.

Referencing this copedent I explain that:
* The change on the 3 string raises the 3rd to a 4th. This change creates a sus4 chord.
* The change on the “5” string raises the 5th to a 6th. This change creates a sus6 chord.
- Mention that “sus” is an abbreviation for “suspended” which we will discuss in greater detail later.

At this point the copedent should look something like this:

	P1	P2	P3?
1/C
5/G		+2
3/E	+1
1/C

At this point I point out that when both pedals are pressed at the same time the notes are C, F, & A; and that these notes comprise an inverted F chord. And we go back and reference the piano-keyboard illustration and verify the intervals which comprise a major-chord.

At this point the students mind is usually saturated with new concepts and I will shift gears and move on to using roman numerals to indicate which note in the key is the root of a chord.
* Upper-case I, IV, and V for major chords.
* Lower-case ii, iii, and vi for minor chords.

Having covered roman numeral notation and chord structure The last thing I do in a first session is to do some hands-on-the-guitar demonstration of picking techniques.

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Regards
-- Eugene ^at FJ45.com

Click Here

Sierra U14 my copedent, 1972 MSA D10, and almost nothing in the Bank. 8^)

[This message was edited by Eugene Cole on 24 February 2006 at 02:21 AM.]

[This message was edited by Eugene Cole on 24 February 2006 at 02:34 AM.]

[This message was edited by Eugene Cole on 24 February 2006 at 02:36 AM.]

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I was thinking about the best teachers I ever went to when I was starting out.

Buddy Charleton just showed me a simple lick and had me try to play it and then try to make it sound good. Some lessons we would do nothing but play a G major triad on the 3rd fret on strings 4,5 and 6 and then push down on the A and B pedals.

In the one personal lesson I took with Joe Wright he had me very slowly slide the bar up and down one string till I relaxed. It was the major chunk of my lesson and made a massive difference in my playing.

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Bob
upcoming gigs
My Website

Calvin Walley · From: colorado city colorado, USA

Eugene ,
if i had to learn all that on my 1st lesson
i would have put my steel up for sale that same night haha

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