The Steel Guitar Forum

Terry - Reece Anderson has a short course "Secrets & Shortcuts" that somewhat addresses this. You can find it at http://www.msapedalsteels.com/reece/
Just follow the link.

Terry:

The first time I ever saw Lloyd he made more than one mistake. He made handfuls. Never heard him play where he didn't stumble (so you hear it), or play something where he'd hit something and then shake his head.
At that first Scotty's I went to, Lloyd apologized and said it was intimidating playing in front of so many steel players.

I've seen Buddy get very lost past the 12th fret and just laugh.

Whant to know about mistakes? Read what a few steelers say in "The Manual of Style."
EVERYONE makes mistakes. Just smile and move on.

By the way you said: "stage freight" and you mean, I believe "stage fright," although the concept of stage freight might have to do with the baggage every player carries!

JW

I think Ricky nailed it on the head, except the pros like him and Buddy and Lloyd have been playing long enough to work their way out of a possible bad spot. They play enough that is comes a bit easier. I know if I don't sit down to mine everyday , I tend to get rusty.

You're going to get good at what you practice, and concentration is a learned skill - so practice it. Also, things you know well at home can go haywire when you try to do them under a condition with added adrenaline, like playing in front of live audiences. You need to practice enough so that you get into a comfort zone where your steel becomes your "security blankie" to overcome the altered state induced by fear and adrenaline. Don't even ask about drugs and alcohol, I know the legends of drug-addled geniuses but my playing can go off from mere coffee. I don't think Hendrix would have done too well playing pedal steel guitar live.

quote" with encouraging comments for us struggling guys. Thanks to all"quote

I 2nd that Gary. thanks everbody.

thanks for the link Jerry.

sorry Winnie, I quituated in the 11th grade.
that's the reason I can't spell.



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84 SKH Emmons Legrand D10
session 400'rd Steelin for my Lord.

quote"I play steel and guitar in church allso and there are times when we "get in the spirit" and forget to change chords, "quote

Wait a minute gary, when you get in the spirit your supposed to be able to play with your eyes closed and never miss a lick.

Terry

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84 SKH Emmons Legrand D10
session 400'rd Steelin for my Lord.

"Those afraid to lose sight of the shore cannot discover new lands." Albert Einstein

I've got all these voices in my head!!! And they are all singing out of key and different songs at the same time!! Am I a jazz player? just kidding(about the jazz player)
I'm with Ricky D. and Jim Phelps.

I've only been playin for a short time but I learned right off if I hit a wrong note or chord a quick slide and some vibrato sometimes hides it a little...that's of course if your approachin the note or chord from below but sometimes a mistake is a mistake and you just have to practice the harder parts a little slower. I've been playin for about a month now...feel free to call on me for my expert opinion anytime...hehehe

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loveridehd@aol.com
Carter D-10/C6 & E9, Oahu Tonemaster 6 string lap/C6, and two Resonators/open G

A couple of bourbon's could help a lot..
you won't be that nervous anymore..


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Sonny Garrish once related to me some wise words he gained from one Owen Bradley:
"never try to play anything in public that you cant pull off in your music room", or something to that effect.
In the Earl Scruggs Banjo Book theres a page where Earl shows you the Cripple Creek roll. Right after that it says: "repeat X-1000",am I right,Winnie?
The psg seems to be alternately an instrument of heart and rote. I know that in my case the hardest things to execute have been the simplest,and that,as recently as yesterday But they're hopefully backed up by many, many years of practice,practice, practice.
You think that E,Jimmy,Hal,Weldon,Sonny,
Tommy,Lloyd,etc sounded as they do now when they started? well, maybe Buddy did but Id bet a Cherokee Paycheck that his teacher didnt slap the bar out of his hand because he read and played the lesson perfectly
Mistakes happen, no getting around it.
Its the gravity of the situation that determines whether you head to the bar for consolation or just blow it off and spend yer break onstage quietly refining that "mistake". Some of the best things have come from someone screwing up. Its easy to forget that this is supposed to be FUN!
If you cant have fun behind the steel guitar,somethings wrong with'ya

A wise man once told me: "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right."

It's hard to think of any situation in life in which that doesn't apply. (Well, maybe a few...)

some people call them mistakes I call them euro-dynamic jazz improvisations.
listen to ricky's suggestion...plan ahead
the best battle plan and relax!!!!!!!It's to easy to get wrapped up in what you think you're suppose to be doing and then you're hands and brain get cross wired.(brain goes one way hands go the other)


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Steelin' away in the ozarks and life,
Scott
www.scottyhenderson.com

In St.Pete Fla years ago we were doing a jam sesion at a club and in one of my rare moments it seemd i coulden't do any thing wrong.I took a ride on some fast jazz single string riff going up the neck got carried away and ran past the top of the neck and had to stop.Of course i was lost but didn't think much of it until break and every one was laughing at it and i never dreamed so many would notice my mistake.A friend told me when i ran out of neck i looked down at the steel and said.s... and i had no idea i had said that and the mikes picked it up.So don't feel bad about a simple mistake.Tracy

I appreciate all you guys.

quote"If you cant have fun behind the steel guitar,somethings wrong with'ya "quote

Oh I'm havin more fun now than in the 25 years I've been playin this thing.

Ronald, I don't drink.

"God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of
power, love and of a sound mind."
I need to tape that scripture on my steel guitar.

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84 SKH Emmons Legrand D10
session 400'rd Steelin for my Lord.

Lots of talk about practice and mind set in this thread and those will get you far but another recommendation to deal with stage freight is simply to play out more. Play in Bars where its not so quiet as in church. They rarely hear the mistakes with all the hubbub going on. (Usually in church you could hear a pin drop unless you are in Al Green's church in Memphis.) In bars you can even tell the audience "the more you drink, the better we sound"! If you don't like the idea of playing in bars, seek out some other public venue. The possibilities are endless. I'm not sure if you play in a band often, but that's sure going to help too. Join lots of bands- that really helps! I swear that 1 hour on stage can be worth 10 in the practice room.
Jon

once again the Fo' comes through !
i solved the stage freight issue
Fedex handled it
i'm always makin' mistakes, so i use them to my advantage -
Ricky D has got the right answer to this affair -
(wish i could really do it well...)
when i first listened to Brent Mason's Hot Wired, i was amazed at all the ideas he had.
thinkin' of them ahead of time all the while executin' the previous ones
Lord have Mercy ! <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 20 August 2004 at 12:59 PM.]</p></FONT>

.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 08:56 PM.]</p></FONT>

There's an old bandstand joke "When they acuse me of making a mistake, I just tell them that I've got my own style". If I really do make a mistake, I turn around and give the bass player a dirty look. Works every time.