The Steel Guitar Forum

Herb Steiner wrote:
But if a player wants to improve regularly and not by accidental epiphany, especially one who wants to get to the point where he's hireable and join the competitive ranks of professional musicians..., well, in that case, being concerned about how well he plays should be of primary interest.

Making mistakes need not be worried about, per se, but rather acknowledged and focused upon. This is because it's from our mistakes that we grow; we don't pay attention to our successes; rather, we learn from our mistakes and our failures.

Herb, Is exactly right. Playing Steel is fun but I am driven to be as good as I can possibly be. My goal is to be able to have my peers hear me play and say well done Bill and mean it. Know in my mind that I'm good enough to play with big boys, wheather I ever do or not. To me thats pay back for a job well done.
IMHO BD

Always learning ,or looking to learn !

I am a chronic beginner though on my good days, I can be a really good beginner. It has long been clear to me that I owe whatever longevity I have had on the bandstand and in the studio to the unusual combination of having reasonably good ears while being technically totally incapable of overplaying.

People always say I am a good picker especially on the slow ballads. I try to get as close to the recording as I can. I always thank them for their compliments and comments.But I realize there those better than me. So I would say I am a fair player that always knows there is room for improvemnt. My wife and daughter think I do a great job on "Midnight in Montgomery", by Alan Jackson. They say I put more of eerie feel into than on the recording.But I tell them they are prejudice. Because nobody can do it like Paul Franklin. Herb I tried out what you were talking about in one of the other threads about rolling the bar for better vibrato. Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciate the tip. It is an honor when a person like me can learn something from a great player like yourself.
Happy New Year
Tommy Shown

Brett Day wrote:Not sure about the rating part, but all I know is I play and love it. As steel players, we shouldn't worry about our pickin' speed or how well or not so well we play. We just need to have fun with our music, do the best we can, and not worry about our mistakes.
Brett

I will join Brett and agree 100% to your post, Brett.
The only thing I do wrong according to the Brett theory is that I worry too much about my mistakes.

Recently I have become acquainted with a nice person and an accomplished player, Jim Lindsay from Texas. He is slowly managing to talk me out of this self-defeating thing I'm in. There's some good playing in all of us according to him.
Thanks Jim.
Great thread!

On a scale of 1 to 10.

1 being, "Look what I found in the ditch on the way to the gig tonight".

10 being, "I finally got that session call that all of the first call A list steelers wanted".

I'm still trying to wrestle the thing out of the ditch and into the trunk of my VW. But I'm a proud owner...

I'm better than Pete Burak, and Ray Montee, put together.

Even on a bad day.



EJL

After 34 yrs i would give myself a maybe 3, my wife would give me a 7 (god love her) the band a posible 4, on a good night, having fun playing this thing , A 10+, and allways striving to be better.


Or i could some it all up and say i'm better than Eric on a Bad day

I have always said I am not the best by a longshot and not the worst by a longshot either. I have 30 years under my belt which helps out. As far as putting a rating on myself I just never could do that.

As a rank beginner who never played guitar before, on a scale of 1 to 10 ........ about a 1.000

Even though I've never heard Eric play, I think I could probably take him, which means I'm also better than Pete and Ray, since he says he's better than they are.

My steel playing always improves as soon as I pick up my fiddle.

Dup

Dup

EJL

Well Barry that poses a probem..

Even if you take me out, you have to wait til Pete and Ray give it their best shot. If you don't, you'll just have two more notches to cut.

If they happen to get the drop on me, maybe like Ray coming up wth a dozen more top name bands that he almost played with or Pete drilling me with a half dozen PeeWee Herman zingers.... anyhow you see what I mean..

I suppose we'll all have to show up at Reece Anderson's Tent City and we can have the Great Steel Guitar Shootout along with the Global Tonal Challenge and kill two birds with a thousand guitars....

"Well it's just a Box of Rain.

I don't know who put it there.. -JG-"



EJL

Eric West wrote:I'm better than Pete Burak, and Ray Montee, put together.

Even on a bad day.



EJL

Bless your heart.

good enough to make a couple people tear up and buy me drinks at the club, but bad enough to be the worst out of more than thirty steelers at a steel jam.

so I am doing pretty good I think.

Eric, you should learn to tune up correctly and play an Emmons push pull.

Old Felix

Oh yeah.. The "Harley Situation"...

We'll have to see how much sunlight is shining through my shadow when we meet..

I think on a good day for either of us it'd be how the wind was blowing..

Barry, either way, you're gonna have your hands full..

That's my line Pete.. Got it from Duane Marrs with my guitar..

(blows smoke from imaginary finger pistol..)

Guess I'll have to check the "About Ray" website to see how much more history he made up...

I might not even make The Bunkhouse tonight...



All in fun guys.

Especially when I rate myself a "1" to begin with.. Just for my charm with the "dancers"..



EJL

I sure hope you guys are friend's...
This is turning out to be a battle of the Steelers.

Well I was kind of getting tired of nobody stepping out with a number, so we might as well start piling up the driftwood...


Well they are/were my friends mostly...

So far..


The ones around here know I'm not all that good and probably never really was. They won't admit that they just didn't know any better for a long time...

I'm waiting for a few Top Guys to weigh in..

Reece?

Mr....



EJL

But Eric, if I take you out, aren't I automatically better than Pete and Ray, since you said you were better than them? That way it's three birds with one broken G#.

Eric, I really don't know how you can tune straight up and sound so in tune. You're just lucky to be able to play all the lastest top forty noise. You are still my favorite local player. we'll talk soon.

Harley

The rating I subject myself to goes up and down. Sometimes I get to thinking I'm better than average, then I hear somebody like Jody Cameron, Roger Edgington, or Billy Phelps. Then, its back to the bottom. It does, however, make me work harder and practice more, which is good. For many years, I had little or no exposure to any other steel players; but now, through several different media tools and groups like a steel guitar club, I get to hear players who are more advanced than I or simply play different styles. These opportunities enable me to hear more variety and technique that I can strive to learn and incorporate into my own playing.

Randy

I am a 10......On a scale of 140