The Steel Guitar Forum

Thanks Jim

Tom: Excuse me but I don't think anyone answered your question about covering only the strings you are playing. My answer is: Anytime you slide the bar on the strings, noise will come from all the strings that are covered with the bar. Ergo, by not sliding on strings you are not playing, you are helping to minimize the extraneous noise. Does this help?

Jim Bob -- yes that helps. Thanks for the add'l info. Believe it or not, I had not even thought about the issue of sliding the bar up and down the neck and how that would play into the whole issue, but of course it makes a lot of sense now. I definitely have a lot of things to remember to do when practicing Thanks again.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tom Olson on 04 March 2003 at 10:02 PM.]</p></FONT>

Tom,
Another piece of that puzzle is RH/LH Tracking. The left hand can become accustomed to sensing which string or combination your right has played and 'homing' the bar to the highest played string. I consider this all part of blocking, which is part of the bigger picture of technique. An important conclusion from all of this is that the player must consciously practice in a way that makes all these 'good habits' second nature. If you gotta think about blocking and technique, there's not much room for creativity.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro

Chandler, good luck. You've got a lot of great tips here already. Here are a couple more. I know some (standard) guitar players that have been playing 20 years, but they DON'T have 20 years of experience. They have just ONE YEAR of experience they've repeated over and over for 20 years. Without discipline anyone will fall into that rut. PRACTICE every day. Don't just noodle around and only do what is easy or you're already comfortable with. PRACTICE. Get a SYSTEMATIC approach and USE it. Work on scales and techniques every day. Learn and play different chords (major, minor, altered) in the cycle of fourths.

Even when you're AWAY from the guitar you can practice. Get a piece of paper or use your computer to create a sheet with your guitar fretboard and tuning on it. When you're on your coffee break or waiting in the doctor's office, grab that paper and use it. What note is each string? Use it like a flash card. Say to yourself "string seven" then say the tone for that string. Do that for all strings. Now say "E" and say what strings have that note. Once you learn that, pick any note in the scale, for example "A". Now ask yourself where is the note "A" on each string. Now learn the note "E" for each string. Then the note "C" and so on. Pick a string and a fret at random. What note is there? Learn four notes and the rest are just a fret away, higher or lower.

Now take pedal one. What strings does it alter and how? Pedal two. The same. Every lever. The same. You can learn all this even when you're away from the guitar. This will help you make the most of your practice time.

Now take some blank sheet music or make some on the computer. Keep a few sheets with you in the car, your briefcase or wallet for when you are away from the guitar. Keep some by your bed. Do this exercise every day or at night time until it is like breathing. Write the notes for a "C" major triad (chord). Bottom to top C E G. Now write the notes with the third (E) on the bottom. Bottom to top E G C. Now write the notes with the fifth (G) on the bottom. Bottom to top G C E. Work around the cycle of fourths. F chord next. Same way. F A C bottom to top. Then third on bottom. Fifth on bottom.

Do this all the way around the cycle, all keys. Now minor triads. One, flat three, five. One on bottom, then flat three on bottom. Next with five on bottom. Do this for the cycle, all keys. Then diminished chords. Then augmented chords.

When you learn this go back to your steel and when you're away from home, go to your fretboard diagram. Find a C major chord everywhere you can. E minor. Etc. Don't forget to play some songs and have some fun with free play along with records or whatever you have. Make the most of your practice time and it will pay off.

Good luck. Mike

<SMALL>Has anybody else used the "Technique Bundle"?</SMALL>

I work through a couple of chapters of the Technique Bundle before any major gig or session. It sharpens my hands and reflexes. The exercises sound really awful, but they work!

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax