The Steel Guitar Forum

Just a thought. Two years ago, at the ISGC in St. Louis, I saw a young man playing in one of the demo rooms. He was an excellent player, save one thing. I noticed he would block the sound off after picking a string or chord, giving him a very choppy sound. Blocking sometimes can be taken to extremes. Years of practice will tell you when to block and when not to. I had that bad habit for years and It is definitely a hard one to break. It's much better to never develop the habit in the first place. Bottom line: Listen to the masters and try to match their blocking technique. LET THE THING RING ON SLOW STUFF!

Amen to Jerry Roller's comment---Big Time !!!!!

Bad habits?
Lifting the bar to block.
Shutting off the volume pedal to block.

I'd advise practig with the volume pedal under foot, but NOT plugged in. Gives you a sense on how much you use it to "save" yourself-- not a good thing.

You will get all sorts of advice about picks. Jeff Newman once said that the only good picks are heavy ones-- like Dunlop .025.
Hmm... I'd been using Dunlop .015 and love them.
When I did the Book with Crawford and crew, Terry Bethel was using a National on his index finger and a Dunlop mini .025 on his middle finger.

BIG thing about picks-- (you might think I'm joking... read on)-- the flat of the pick goes along the fles of the finger...
I gave a lesson to a guy once who called and said he just got a steel and was having all sorts of problems.
Well... problem ONE was that he was putting the legs on in the case, taking the steel out, and then lying on the floor to hook up the pedal rods..
But #2 was the biggie. We got all set up, and he looked at me and said, "You have your picks on backwards!" Gad!
He was wearing them over his nail like a claw!
Don't DO THAT!

Best!

Winnie

Well....<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ole Dantoft on 25 July 2001 at 01:53 PM.]</p></FONT>

Hello Winnie,

I'll stop blocking with my loft hand now....joe

How to avoid bad habits?

Most of us are not even aware that we are developing into a bad habit until it's too late.

I suggest strongly that you frequently tape yourself playing with and without a rythum track. You can always hear bad things coming from a recorder before you notice them by ear.

I didn't and now I tend to pump the pedal when I shouldn't (re: Gene Jones thread).

The worst habbit I see a lot:
Always thinking you need more equipment, more expensive steelguitar,the newest toys,more courseware to improve.
Crap to me!

What you need to do is practise, listening to yourself from a recording with a home-casetterecorder, practise, listening to all kinds of musical instruments, immitate them, talk to other players, and go out playing!
Every time you get the chance.

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STEELDAYS 2002 March 29 & 30
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