What Do You Think About Single String Playing?
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George Piburn
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Don Kona Woods
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Richard Brandt
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Right Note
Hey Don,Iv'e been looking for that right note for years and i still haven't found it.
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Anthony Locke
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Steinar Gregertsen
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Re: Right Note
That reminded me of a story I read about Buddy Guy. He had been 'challenged' by this young hot shot blues "shredder" at a jam, and afterwards Buddy Guy asked him: "So tell me, did you find the note you were looking for?"Richard Brandt wrote:Hey Don,Iv'e been looking for that right note for years and i still haven't found it.
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Rick Collins
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The steel guitarist here does have great single note technique and his vibrato fits well. The recording is over 3&1/2 minutes which would be great for a slow dance.
But, the accompaniment gives him great support.
Generally, single note playing does not allow for enough mood change within a tune. Bud could have used harmonics for this, on that all single note tune.
But, the accompaniment gives him great support.
Generally, single note playing does not allow for enough mood change within a tune. Bud could have used harmonics for this, on that all single note tune.
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Ron Whitfield
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There are miles of difference between single string and single note playing. Joaquin Murphy was probably the king of single note passages, but you rarely come upon anyone utilizing a single string to get their point accross, because, it's rather difficult for even seasoned players to do it effectively, and that's the bottom line in playing, making whatever you play - EFFECTIVE. There's so much that goes into great steel playing, but emotion is the primary ingrediant.
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Edward Meisse
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I'm one of those for whom single note 
is the primary mode of expression. I really love what I've been able to hear of Joaquin Murphey. I also loved Sol Ho'opi'i's recordings of Hapa Haole Hula Girl, I Like You and Ten Tiny Toes in their acoustic incarnations. And Mike Auldridge's work on 8 Sting Swing and various and sundry tunes on other CD's seems to me the high point of the modern approach to non pedal steel. And I find that single note playing really opens up the fretboard for a fuller exploitation of the possibilities.
No less an afficianado of chordal steel playing than Jerry Byrd has been quoted as having said that the steel guitar was a melody instrument and NOT a chord instrument. And Mr. Byrd could, in fact, play single notes with the best of them when the mood struck him (Black and White Rag for instance).
I think it has been the over reliance on harmonized melodies that has caused the non pedal guitar to be pigeonholed in the western and hawaiian genres. The best thing (IMO) that has come out of the search for chords on the non pedal guitar has been the pedal guitar.
Having said all that, I need to clarify a couple of points. First, even though I advocate single note playing as the primary mode of play, there is a place for double and triple stops. They need to be used judiciously to avoid those pigeon hole sounds. And of course most of the time (though not always) harmonics are single notes. Certainly there is a place for anything the guitar is capable of doing. It's a question of where to strike the balance.
is the primary mode of expression. I really love what I've been able to hear of Joaquin Murphey. I also loved Sol Ho'opi'i's recordings of Hapa Haole Hula Girl, I Like You and Ten Tiny Toes in their acoustic incarnations. And Mike Auldridge's work on 8 Sting Swing and various and sundry tunes on other CD's seems to me the high point of the modern approach to non pedal steel. And I find that single note playing really opens up the fretboard for a fuller exploitation of the possibilities. No less an afficianado of chordal steel playing than Jerry Byrd has been quoted as having said that the steel guitar was a melody instrument and NOT a chord instrument. And Mr. Byrd could, in fact, play single notes with the best of them when the mood struck him (Black and White Rag for instance).
I think it has been the over reliance on harmonized melodies that has caused the non pedal guitar to be pigeonholed in the western and hawaiian genres. The best thing (IMO) that has come out of the search for chords on the non pedal guitar has been the pedal guitar.
Having said all that, I need to clarify a couple of points. First, even though I advocate single note playing as the primary mode of play, there is a place for double and triple stops. They need to be used judiciously to avoid those pigeon hole sounds. And of course most of the time (though not always) harmonics are single notes. Certainly there is a place for anything the guitar is capable of doing. It's a question of where to strike the balance.
Amor vincit omnia
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Howard Tate
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I sometimes remind myself to play single string lines, it seems easier to play harmonies. I love the double and triple stops, but often single string sounds better. And I've always called it single string because it's playing a single string at a time. Pretty hard to play multiple notes at the same time on one string. 
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Bishop Ronnie P Hall
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What do you think about single string playing?
Try this website,
www.youtube.com/goldensacredstrings/thelapsteelstep !
You might find it interesting?
Bishop Ronnie P. Hall
www.youtube.com/goldensacredstrings/thelapsteelstep !
You might find it interesting?
Bishop Ronnie P. Hall
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Don Kona Woods
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Bishop,
I could not get into your site with your posting so I included the following for you:
Bishop Ronnie with single string, I mean single note playing
I love that Sacred Steel!!
Aloha,
Don
I could not get into your site with your posting so I included the following for you:
Bishop Ronnie with single string, I mean single note playing
I love that Sacred Steel!!
Aloha,
Don
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Steinar Gregertsen
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Re: What do you think about single string playing?
Interesting? Nah,- beautiful, I loved it! Great playing!Bishop Ronnie P Hall wrote: You might find it interesting?
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Charley Wilder
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To Bishop Hall: Wonderful playing! I loved it.
After many years of wrestling with this 800 lb bear called steel guitar, I've noticed that there's something about single string playing on steel guitar that seems to really connect with the average listener more than complex chordal playing. This is obviously a generalization, but Buddy Emmons playing Shenendoah with those gorgeous, full chord voicings and moving inner lines or Jerry Byrd's glissed runs with multiple three to six-string voicings certainly connects with musicians and sophisticated listeners but for the average person, it's the single-string playing that seems to be the emotional bridge.
You can hear the live radio audience actually gasp when Joaquin takes off on his solo on certain off-the-air recordings.
For me, single string playing on steel of a certain velocity has a price not worth the cost. For many years, I struggled to play the lines I heard in my head on the lap steel after years of mucking about on jazz guitar. Hearing Buddy play bebop or Reece play swing, I finally realized that the blocking necessary to execute these kinds of fast, chromatic lines on a steel guitar took away from the singing quality that drew me to steel in the first place. When I heard the DVD that Bobbe Seymour did with Reece a few years a go, that's when the bulb lit. Bobbe's style really used the whole instrument in an organic, musical and swinging way. Reece's fast single note style seemed to me to be chasing a train one could never catch. Even a mediocre jazz guitarist sounds better to me than the best steel player when playing fast, chromatic jazz lines - all apologies to players who are far greater than I can hope to aspire - but that's how I see it.
however ..... a steel player can play rhythmic things and harmonized lines with a freedom a guitar player can only dream about. The ability to really sing a line like a vocalist as well as all the chordal possibilities to gliss in and out of chords or in the case of a pedal steel, to have multiple moving voices, is something no other instrument can match.
After many years of wrestling with this 800 lb bear called steel guitar, I've noticed that there's something about single string playing on steel guitar that seems to really connect with the average listener more than complex chordal playing. This is obviously a generalization, but Buddy Emmons playing Shenendoah with those gorgeous, full chord voicings and moving inner lines or Jerry Byrd's glissed runs with multiple three to six-string voicings certainly connects with musicians and sophisticated listeners but for the average person, it's the single-string playing that seems to be the emotional bridge.
You can hear the live radio audience actually gasp when Joaquin takes off on his solo on certain off-the-air recordings.
For me, single string playing on steel of a certain velocity has a price not worth the cost. For many years, I struggled to play the lines I heard in my head on the lap steel after years of mucking about on jazz guitar. Hearing Buddy play bebop or Reece play swing, I finally realized that the blocking necessary to execute these kinds of fast, chromatic lines on a steel guitar took away from the singing quality that drew me to steel in the first place. When I heard the DVD that Bobbe Seymour did with Reece a few years a go, that's when the bulb lit. Bobbe's style really used the whole instrument in an organic, musical and swinging way. Reece's fast single note style seemed to me to be chasing a train one could never catch. Even a mediocre jazz guitarist sounds better to me than the best steel player when playing fast, chromatic jazz lines - all apologies to players who are far greater than I can hope to aspire - but that's how I see it.
however ..... a steel player can play rhythmic things and harmonized lines with a freedom a guitar player can only dream about. The ability to really sing a line like a vocalist as well as all the chordal possibilities to gliss in and out of chords or in the case of a pedal steel, to have multiple moving voices, is something no other instrument can match.
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Bishop Ronnie P Hall
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What do you think about single string playing?
Hi Don,
Thanks for clarifying the difference. I took it literally the question posed? Single string is basically what all of the "Sacred Steel" players use because of the environment that they were introduced into, when they began to play. And as per usual, the "improv" style, became their basic method of playing. Some became proficient, and some ??? (Big smile) But we keep trying!!! (Even when we dont use the middle finger pick!) Be Blessed guys!!!
Bishop Ron Hall
P.S. Sorry you could`nt catch the website. This was my first post, and I`m still learning "How" to post.
Never the less, I am on You Tube, with the rest of the brothers, and Thanks for your compliments.
Thanks for clarifying the difference. I took it literally the question posed? Single string is basically what all of the "Sacred Steel" players use because of the environment that they were introduced into, when they began to play. And as per usual, the "improv" style, became their basic method of playing. Some became proficient, and some ??? (Big smile) But we keep trying!!! (Even when we dont use the middle finger pick!) Be Blessed guys!!!
Bishop Ron Hall
P.S. Sorry you could`nt catch the website. This was my first post, and I`m still learning "How" to post.
Never the less, I am on You Tube, with the rest of the brothers, and Thanks for your compliments.
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Charley Wilder
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Interesting Andy! I hear it a bit different. One main problem I have with Nashville pedal steel in particular is that it is TOO chord Based. I don't hear enough slide. And non-pedal Western Swing can be that way all too often. They sound like a guitarist playing chords with a couple of tricky runs thrown in here and there. Of course I learned on a Dobro and the "slide" is what drew me to it.
I realize this is your opinion and I'm just respectfully stating mine. Neither are right or wrong.
I realize this is your opinion and I'm just respectfully stating mine. Neither are right or wrong.
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Charley Wilder
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Welcome to the Steel Guitar Forum Bishop Ronnie Hall. Maybe you have posted before, but this is my first sighting of you here.
Folks, Ron Hall is a great musician and one of the best men you will ever meet. He has a beautiful, sensitive touch on the steel. He is also a talented rhythm guitar player--they call it "lead"--but I haven't heard much of that aspect of his musicianship.
Ron was one of the handful of young men who helped shape the Detroit area "sacred steel" tradition in the 1950s and 1960s. Can you imagine Sonny Treadway, Ronnie Hall and Calvin Cooke as teenagers jamming for hours on end? Wow!
I have devoted a whole chapter to Ron and the other Detroit musicians in my Sacred Steel book, which is scheduled for publication by University of Illinois Press in 2009.
Ron, thanks for your friendship and all your support. I hope we hear and see lots more of you on this Forum.
Check out his music guys--it's great.
All the best,
Bob
Folks, Ron Hall is a great musician and one of the best men you will ever meet. He has a beautiful, sensitive touch on the steel. He is also a talented rhythm guitar player--they call it "lead"--but I haven't heard much of that aspect of his musicianship.
Ron was one of the handful of young men who helped shape the Detroit area "sacred steel" tradition in the 1950s and 1960s. Can you imagine Sonny Treadway, Ronnie Hall and Calvin Cooke as teenagers jamming for hours on end? Wow!
I have devoted a whole chapter to Ron and the other Detroit musicians in my Sacred Steel book, which is scheduled for publication by University of Illinois Press in 2009.
Ron, thanks for your friendship and all your support. I hope we hear and see lots more of you on this Forum.
Check out his music guys--it's great.
All the best,
Bob
Last edited by Bob Stone on 7 Jul 2008 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Bishop Ronnie P Hall
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What Do You Think About Single String Playing?
Hi Andy,
Again, as I have previously posted, I "Thank You" guys,(fellow steelers) for your encouragement, and many compliments, on this, and on the You Tube site.
I especially took notice of your remarks because, it seems that, that 1000 pound gorilla, that I once knew, has lost 200lbs! (LOL)
I thank you also for sharing the search for what every musician searches for; the "perfecting of his craft, or calling". It seems that only time, patience, practice, determination, love, with a generous portion of help from, as we say, "the man upstairs", do we even dare come close to our goal!
I say to all of the "steelers", play on, and may our God Bless Us All.
Stay in touch guys!
Bishop Ron Hall
Again, as I have previously posted, I "Thank You" guys,(fellow steelers) for your encouragement, and many compliments, on this, and on the You Tube site.
I especially took notice of your remarks because, it seems that, that 1000 pound gorilla, that I once knew, has lost 200lbs! (LOL)
I thank you also for sharing the search for what every musician searches for; the "perfecting of his craft, or calling". It seems that only time, patience, practice, determination, love, with a generous portion of help from, as we say, "the man upstairs", do we even dare come close to our goal!
I say to all of the "steelers", play on, and may our God Bless Us All.
Stay in touch guys!
Bishop Ron Hall
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Mark Mansueto
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James Mayer
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Bishop Ronnie P Hall
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What Do You Think About Single Playing?
Hi Charles, or Charlie?
Nawwwwww!!! How could a guy like me be offended at such a great forum, with all of this God given talent, just waiting to be presented to this musical community in which we are all a part of. No way, was any offense taken at all my brother, and a true friend. Keep up the great work! I`m just glad to be a part of it. God bless our country, and its freedom of speech! Stay in touch!
Bishop Ron Hall
PS:I occassionally used a middle finger pick, but it`s just for looks, Ha-ha, It gives me cramps!!! Love you guys!
Ron
Nawwwwww!!! How could a guy like me be offended at such a great forum, with all of this God given talent, just waiting to be presented to this musical community in which we are all a part of. No way, was any offense taken at all my brother, and a true friend. Keep up the great work! I`m just glad to be a part of it. God bless our country, and its freedom of speech! Stay in touch!
Bishop Ron Hall
PS:I occassionally used a middle finger pick, but it`s just for looks, Ha-ha, It gives me cramps!!! Love you guys!
Ron
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Bishop Ronnie P Hall
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Bob Stone!!!!!,
My brother, and beloved friend, how you doing?
I know what you`re thinking, but,I`ve only just joined up about a week or so ago, although I`ve been observing how, what, where, etc.,for some time. I did not want to walk into a "blood bath", Ha-ha just joking! You know what it is like being one of the new kids on the block! Thanks, for sort of introducing me, in your post, it saves a lot of time getting to know some of the guys. Boy, can you guys type fast! Before I can get one thought together, five of you respond. I hope I can get to respond to you individually. But if not right away, give me a little time, I will get back to you! Hey Bob, this is great!!! I know Del, Lonnie, and some of the others are here, if they are not, they should be! Where`s the book!!! Get to work,(LOL) I`m still waiting,
Love brother,
Ron
My brother, and beloved friend, how you doing?
I know what you`re thinking, but,I`ve only just joined up about a week or so ago, although I`ve been observing how, what, where, etc.,for some time. I did not want to walk into a "blood bath", Ha-ha just joking! You know what it is like being one of the new kids on the block! Thanks, for sort of introducing me, in your post, it saves a lot of time getting to know some of the guys. Boy, can you guys type fast! Before I can get one thought together, five of you respond. I hope I can get to respond to you individually. But if not right away, give me a little time, I will get back to you! Hey Bob, this is great!!! I know Del, Lonnie, and some of the others are here, if they are not, they should be! Where`s the book!!! Get to work,(LOL) I`m still waiting,
Love brother,
Ron
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Alan Brookes
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