The Steel Guitar Forum

Alvino Rey in all his glory playing a twin-neck Gibson. You don't often see clips of Alvino, and when you do he just plays a few bars of some sweet stuff, but this clearly shows he was able to generate some fireworks. It's almost a textbook lesson on steel techniques. Wow! What a player!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r2XHMbtdXEw


(He's sitting up so high, at first i thought he was standing.)

Wah wah wah wah wah

Alvino was great but what really impressed me were the King Sisters and the way they phrased their vocals - very horn like. That's something that's missing in today's music.

Gerald Ross wrote:Wah wah wah wah wah

Alvino was great but what really impressed me were the King Sisters and the way they phrased their vocals - very horn like. That's something that's missing in today's music.

precisely what i am working on with my group. that delicious Boswell sound!

Very cool!

Great close harmony singing too!

Thanks for posting!

Fred

Makes a strong argument for low-wattage tube amps, too. LOVE that growl!!

I think he's faking it.

Seriously, that was a real treat to watch. I see where Speedy West got some of his ideas!

Gerald Ross wrote:Alvino was great but what really impressed me were the King Sisters and the way they phrased their vocals - very horn like. That's something that's missing in today's music.

I've been thinking about these vocal harmonies today. It is soooo cool what they do on the "St. Louis woman..." minor bit! And those close harmonies sliding together is something that I'd really like to try out on the lap steel. I think there is a lot to learn from this. Any suggestion for a (6-string) tuning?

And even better - anyone who can explain a bit of theory of this style of 1930s-40s close harmonies?

I googled Alvino Rey (pardon my ignorance - I'm 32 and have played lap steel for barely 2 years) and on Wikipedia I found some info. Some "facts" there were dubious (joining a band on electric guitar in 1927 and playing pedal steel 1935-38) but interesting all the same. There was mention of his orchestra being prevented from recording due to a Musician's Union ban. What was all that about?! I would love to hear more recordings with these King Sisters and Alvino Rey!

Cheers,

Fred

Another thing - is it just me, or is there a slight resemblance between Alvino Rey (appearance and movements) and Jaqcues Tati's Monsiuer Hulot charachter?

There was a studio musicians strike back in the late forties, I think. I believe it was when the union was just forming. My mother had some recordings made by Frank Sinatra at the time with only a vocal quartet for backing.
I studied theory in High SChool and College. This is really no place to be trying to discuss vocal arrangements. It would take up huge amounts of space. If there is a college with a music department near you, find out what books they use for their theory classes and buy them. You need to begin, I think, by learning to write contrapuntal harmonies in classical style. Then onto more advanced stuff. The importance of learning the contrapuntal stuff is to get the fundamentals (such as no paralell 5ths). Using added note and extended chords is not a big jump from there.
If you want to go farther still, I have a book for guitarists that you may know of. It's called, "Creative Chord Substitution," By Ed Arkin. It's for guitarists. But once you know the fundamentals of voice movement, you can apply any theoretical principals to it.

All I have to say is look up everything you can find about the Boswell sisters if you want to know about old time jazz harmonies.

All others are imitations and adaptations of the sound they originated. Even Manhattan Transfer has its' roots in the Boswell sound.

I hope you'all will be able to forgive this olde man but, I've watched this video a dozen or more times and I STILL CANNOT SEE where Alvino operated the electrical "cut-off switch" that Speedy was alleged to be using with his fabulous bar slam-instrumentals.
These were close-up videos and both hands were clearly in evidence. Hummmmmmmm....I wonder if he used a knee lever or button for that "cut-off switch"?

Oh, a second thought........... I'd swear you could observe Alvino violently twisting the TONE CONTROL KNOB to make it 'talk'. I saw no evidence whatsoever of a "DOO-WAH PEDAL". Can one of you kind folks point out to me where my I eyes have failed me?

By the way.........did Alvino have the index finger on his left hand extending thro' some kind of RING on the 'bar'? I don't think GORILLA Goo....was yet invented for steel players, or was it?

I learn each day from the Forum and am anxiously awaiting for this latest revelation.

Hey C.C.Johnson and some of you other olde timers, DID YOU SEE IT?

That style of vocal harmony is loosely based on saxophone section writing. If there are four voices, you usually don't double any notes, even an octave apart. Therefore, you use added 6ths and 9ths, etc. in four-part chords. The apex of this style was a group called the Hi-Lo's who many think were the greatest and most advanced vocal group in that style. If the group had 5 singers (such as the Modernaires) then the melody was usually doubled an octave below the soprano.

Gerald Ross wrote:Alvino was great but what really impressed me were the King Sisters…

That's interesting Gerald. It's all in what you're used to, I guess. I've sang in some vocal groups and written vocal arrangements. To me, that stuff seems much simpler than playing the steel like that, but then i'm not much of a steel player. Alvino is impressive to me because of the accuracy of his intonation and the confidence and musicality with which he plays this song. As someone said, it looks like Mr. Rey was doing a lot of the Speedy West tricks before Speedy.

Actually, section writing is the same no matter what the instrument. Voice, strings, woodwind or a combination of the above. It did start out as vocal arrangements actually before the renaissance. Since then, as always happens, various types of section writing have fed off of each other's advances. I confess ignorance of what the latest developments are and/or from whence they may have come.

Thanks Dan. That was great!

Russ

Dan, I enjoyed that-- good find. Even before the "swells", he's playing a lot with his left hand alone. That steel must have been cranked....

Steve

Off topic but; Russ are those some Nudie suits in your closet?!

Ray Montee wrote:I hope you'all will be able to forgive this olde man but, I've watched this video a dozen or more times and I STILL CANNOT SEE where Alvino operated the electrical "cut-off switch" that Speedy was alleged to be using with his fabulous bar slam-instrumentals.
These were close-up videos and both hands were clearly in evidence. Hummmmmmmm....I wonder if he used a knee lever or button for that "cut-off switch"?

Oh, a second thought........... I'd swear you could observe Alvino violently twisting the TONE CONTROL KNOB to make it 'talk'. I saw no evidence whatsoever of a "DOO-WAH PEDAL". Can one of you kind folks point out to me where my I eyes have failed me?

By the way.........did Alvino have the index finger on his left hand extending thro' some kind of RING on the 'bar'? I don't think GORILLA Goo....was yet invented for steel players, or was it?

I learn each day from the Forum and am anxiously awaiting for this latest revelation.

Hey C.C.Johnson and some of you other olde timers, DID YOU SEE IT?

Ray....

this was a fantastic example of fantastic left hand blocking, It obviously requires a rigorous control of the bar in all the lifts. It's obvious the volume was cranked way up, yet all the sound was very smooth.

I would agree that all the wah wah stuff was done solely with the tone control, no wah wah pedal or switch. (BTW, a lot of the old players are very good at this---- a real master of it is Kayton Roberts)

This was a real gem of steel playing. I, too really like the great vocal harmony, but I would prefer seeing that discussion reserved for anothr thread, this was all about GREAT steel playing!!!!!!!!