The Steel Guitar Forum

I only speak for myself here and maybe just a handful of others, but if you're going to become "Noteworthy", so to speak, you might consider selling the farm. It worked for me. The only backlash to that approach has been what is called "Country Music" today.i.e CMA. You use to be able to make a living at it. I did for 20 years; 6-7 nights a week along with all the crap that went with it. Of course, now-a-days, it would be wise to stay persistant and try to find someone who is interested in playing the kind of music that the steel guitar is noted for. Keep your day job! The forum here didn't exist years ago. If you wanted any chance at all of learning to play steel, you had to find a "Live Country Band" who had a steel player for getting any insight. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Thank God for the technology of the Steel Guitar Forum for having such a host of players. There is you some insight; not to mention avoiding all the crap of the former years. This is definately a healthy place to be. Good luck to all the players here on the forum. My hat is truly off to all the pros who frequent this site as well. My utmost respect and thankfulness for all your help and dedication in making us steel players better musicians.

I should add one last note here. "Selling the Farm", so to speak, never did make me a "Noteworthy" musician. It did however, allow me to play with some real pros that otherwise I would have never met. It was a real "Hands-On" learning experience that later would develope my own style I guess.

It never does end...not with Steel Guitar or any other instrument for that matter.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Greely Baggett on 24 November 2006 at 12:18 AM.]</p></FONT>

Perhaps a beginning would be the commitment to make each "note" "worthy". Express what is in the deepest part of you and share it with your listeners. I think that would open things up quite a bit. There is so much that can be said inside a single note. Concentrate, and make that one your best. Listen. And slowly train your fingers to follow your ear. Then go from there.

Best of luck,
Susan

Susan A.,

Thanks for sharing some thoughts here on the forum. I hope that you will be in good spirits, on matters relating to individual betterment, for the multitudes of players. With the realization that talent is one of the most variable of variables, comes the dawning of
limited abilities. Physiological differences, including freedom from joint afflictions, renders suppleness as an important attribute in playing uptempo music. Still, the talent issue is by far the leading cause of success or failure. <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 19 November 2006 at 01:41 PM.]</p></FONT>

Players that aspire to be "noteworthy" should spend all their time studying and practicing to achieve that goal. I practice enough to be good but I'll probably never be more than mediocre, however that dosen't diminish the pleasure I get from playing. Castigation seems judgemental. Do we all have to be GOO stars to belong to the club? I for one am too old to be more than a casual player anyway.

Don B.,

It's nice to read your statement that cites the judgmental* similarities in castigation of the casual player of the steel guitar. It may come to pass that there is more than what meets the eye, when
a deliberate resolution is made to effectively make determinations, to
confront the practice issue. I declare that one hour spent practicing by B.E. or L.G. will undoubtedly yield far more fruition than the casual player. Apparently, their abilities to absorb germane musical data, far exceeds that of the struggling casual player. A delusion of attempting to overtake a cheetah in a footrace, is a great analogy of aspiring to such greatness on the steel guitar.

Bill, once again you offer up an adjective that is impossible to define.

Casualty or "Casualness" is like "Quality". Something that must be defined by the meaning implied in the question or no answer can really be given. If a definition of "Quality" was put in the correct form of defining "Qualification", there would be a lot less confusion at the onset.

I have sat across from Bud Charleton for a couple year weekly lesson and found him the least "Casual" player imagineable. His definition, demeanor, notes, technique were FAR from being presented in a "casual" manner. It was as if his very life depended on each and every note, phrase, and nuance. I found his lack of casualty and spirit of determination with the glee of perfection when attained even with NO audience was what pervaded me to my core and helped me to go on and play steadily, for a living for a near decade, and steadily combined with gainful employment until the last three years where the gigs are not available for more than weekends and occaisonal thursdays besides 40-60 hours a week working the largest of construction projects.

Contrast that with the Casualty I experienced when spending time with Lloyd Green a couple years ago when in Nashville to pick up my Marrs. Watching and listening to him play my as yet un setup guitar was like looking at and being with a guy without a care in the world, except he loved trying new things on a new guitar. Also his taking me out to his newer plain jane chevy, and playing some GREAT CDs he'd done with a 'garage studio'. It seemed the height of "being casual", besides the attendant cordiality.

I found that same casualness with all the players I met there, including John Hughey, playing with the Time Jumpers at the Station Inn. Just like he was taking a stroll through his favorite wooded glen. No "quarts of adrenaline". No "Diamond Sharp" slicked up productions. Heck, the lead singer and "front guy" was sitting in an old sofa-chair strumming his guitar while Dawn and the other female singer performed the best old songs I'd heard in a while.

I think all degrees of "casualty" or casualness are only valid in relation to the end product or large picture.

I can remember countless nights going out and seeing and hearing Don West, one of my mentors, playing is heart out, drinking perhaps a bit more than the GOO staff would allow, playing "solos from mars" that would stay in my head for thirty years, and provide the "edge" I needed mentally to get through those nights when it's "time to DO something".

I think what you might mean is when some players think for some reason that they can look down their noses at people that are playing different gigs.

As I've said, whether they played back sideman up for the BIGGEST ACT on the charts, or just did a music room demo that they'll probably never think to get a copy of for fitty bucks and a hamburger and an afternoon away from their domestic situation;

Obscurity, in it's purest and surest form awaits both ends with damn few exceptions.

Sleepwalk being the prime example, if Santo and Johnnie NEVER TOUCHED ANOTHER INSTRUMENT, they would garner more NOTE with their bare, simply produced 45 and make "Note" far after a hundred guys with websites, discographies, tour dates, and CDs of their playing that they or their agents hawk at tip jar venues are LONG ago forgotten.

It's all got to be YOU PERSONALLY, and if anything the people around you that witness your musical "Casualty".

Until you finally become one.

Just a thought or two.



EJL


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Eric West on 19 November 2006 at 07:17 PM.]</p></FONT>

A lot (if not everything) has to do with one's audience. I've had people tell me I'm good after hearing me hack away desparately on my PSG on stage in an improvised band. I am not good. That's reality. And I don't have the time to get there, even if I had the talent. (That doesn't mean I can't or won't improve.) But the listener heard what they liked. They were happy. To me, that is a major goal accomplished. I do my music to uplift....others, and also myself. (That's why I have gotten such a kick out of hosting the San Jose jams....I can be a disasterous musician on the PSG {and I'm close to that} but people have gone away uplifed by the overall event. That is a Good Thing.)

Most people don't have the time or inclination to castigate. Thank God for that! It's (almost) all in the eye (or ear) of the beholder.

The overworked thesaurus has obviously not worked here.

Herb Steiner, Don Walters and David Donald have it right.

Before enlightenment ;:
Chop wood, carry water.

After enlightenment :
Chop wood, carry water.

It's nice to be right occasionally,
but that doesn't mean you should just
stop there. <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 20 November 2006 at 05:33 AM.]</p></FONT>

Eric W.,

Nothing on earth exceeds the preponderance of negative attestation; particularly when controversial issues swing sharply to the left of accepted beliefs. I choose to maintain a methodical contrariness that focuses on the realities of how and when the esteemed steel guitarists made their way to excellence. The evidence is becoming more explicable as our own practice sessions reveal that there is no quick route to achievement on the steel guitar. I've discovered that a change in methodology will at times produce immediate advancements on the steel guitar. With that in mind, it may be fair to assume that there is a connection between discovery and a persistent determination to succeed.
The castigation terminology is a rather insignificant distraction to the predetermined musician, whose tenacity expels the gropings of critics.

Im a casual player, not at all noteworhty,in fact even notes hide from me but already I notice a side benefit in the company I keep! All I have to do is threaten to play and they just rememeber they gotta pick up the kids......

I find Susan's take the most valuable to me on the way to being 'note' 'worthy' in my own mind. A way to start out, and a way to continue.

First off, I think it is very important to ask the great players the amount of time they devote to daily practice. I remember reading about a student of J.B. who said that he didn't have the time to devote to practice and Jerry replied: "You have the time but you choose to do other things with your time". Many people do not realize the amount of time and effort the great Steel Players have given to achieve their success. Most people do not have the amount of time, because of other factors in their lives, to ever become Great but they still can become decent players and treat it as a great hobby.

I won't work with musicians who have a day job." He later went on tour in Europe with a Nashville recording star. He played so well, that I was forced to consider his statement, even though it seemed harsh and unrelenting at the time<<

Bill, That musician was telling you the truth. "Art" demands perfection. "Art" does not care if you have a balanced family life or if it leaves you in ruin..Art just cares for truth and perfection...it's a very tough master and leaves many wrecks on the highway.

<SMALL>That musician was telling you the truth. "Art" demands perfection. "Art" does not care if you have a balanced family life or if it leaves you in ruin..Art just cares for truth and perfection...it's a very tough master and leaves many wrecks on the highway.</SMALL>

I'll have to agree with Keith Richards then- "Art is just short for Arthur"!

I'd rather enjoy music with a balanced life than sacrifice for something that so few people are going to "get". Different strokes! One man's art is another man's "get me outta here!"

You all have way too much spare time on your hands.

Bill Frisell said an evening on stage is worth a month in the practice room.

Despite the fact that I always play for myself, not the audience, the pressure of performing in front of an audience does increase my concentration.

<SMALL>"Art" demands perfection.</SMALL>

I'm sorry, but that's romantic nonsense.