The Steel Guitar Forum

Howdy Folks,

Just thought I'd drop a little note and introduce myself around, cause I might be picking your brains here shortly. I've "attempted", and I use that word very loosely, to play pedal steel for the past 5 years or so, and have not come very far in my opinion. Naturally I can find a 1, 4, 5 chord and change between them, do a couple swells with the vp and pedal into and out of them as well to get a sort of crying effect however, I'm nowhere near where I want to be.

I guess my main reason to take up PSG came from my cousin who used to play on the road for Cissy Lynn back in they mid to late 80's before he was killed in a car accident in 1989 at the age of 22. My grandma kept mentioning it and finally went to the point of buying me a Carter Starter single neck to learn on. I have had the opportunity to rub elbows with a couple fellow steelers, such as Robert Jones, who I'm sure remembers me, and Fred Masterson, who I won't say too much about cause I'm being a nice guy. And as usual, I've never failed to be floored by Paul Franklin's monster steel work, one of my heroes, along with John Hughey, Tom Brumley, and Bruce Bouton.

I plan on trying to squeeze everything that I can out of this forum to make myself a better steel player, and to do the instrument the honor it deserves. I've just recently discovered 7th chords and plan on utilizing them every chance I get. The one thing that I am striving to figure out is probably one of the most simple things in the world, but still puzzles me. During the lead in to the second verse, and also to the steel break on Alan Jackson's "Who says you can't have it all", Mr. Franklin does a very simple walk up from the 5 chord to the 1, however, every time I try something like that, it just sounds like I'm playing a scale that doesn't fit. If anyone can help me out with this slight piece of information to get me on my way, I would be forever indebted to you, and would gladly buy you a coke or whatever to show my gratitude. I've rambled enough, just be prepared for me to ask many annoying questions in the coming weeks.

Cheers,

JP

Go on the tablature section here on the forum and look for single note and harmonic scales....There are a ton of people that will flood you with tab. All you have to do after you learn all the positions is phrase them, however they sound best to you.

Hey JP where are you located in Arkansas?

Hey Joe,

I'm over in Pocahontas on the northeastern corner. Been here all my life. Nice to see another fellow arkie on here.

JP, That walk-up is very simple. Start on the 12th fret-strings 5&6, pedals (A&B) down. Slide up to the 15th while letting the pedals up, then slide up to the 17th with the pedals still up, then pedals down for the last note. You can include the 8th string if you want for a more full chord voicing. This is all in the key of D, but of course you can do it in any key you want.

You should get a copy of Buddy Emmons' "E-9th chord vocabulary". It's in the instruction section of the Forum.

Good luck with your new obsession!!

Thanks so much Ray, and it makes perfect sense. So let me see if I have this straight for a transposition, lets say key of G. Start 5th fret, string 5&6, pedals down, slide up to fret 8 pedals up, then up to fret 10 pedals up, then pedals down to resolve into the G chord? Please tell me that sounds right, I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but just wait until this afternoon after work.

A little tidbit that I found out recently as well is to my knowledge, I'm only one of two people in my town that's been brave enough to tackle one of these 10 string beasts, or beauties, depending on how you look at it. When I first started playing I thought, "This is like trying to tune and play a set of bed springs." But, thankfully my opinion has changed for the better. I'll try these suggestions out this afternoon and let you know what happens.

Cheers!

JP

You got it, J.P. Now try this--strings 3&5, 10th fret-pedals up, 10th fret-pedals down, 13th fret-pedals up, 15th fret-pedals up. It the same thing, in G, but the voicing is different because of the different string guages. Cool, huh?

A slight change on Ray's last move he posted would be to slide the bar from the 13th fret-pedals up to the 15th fret pedals up in tempo to the song to hear the half step of the 14th fret . These kind of moves are relatively simple yet if done with smoothness and good tone have sold a lot of records.

Hey Guys,

Just got a chance to try these great suggestions and licks, and they work like a charm. I'm so pleased with the result. I wish I had a whole bag full of little tricks like this that are super simple to pull off but make people turn their heads and say, "Wow, that sounds really good, how'd he do that?". I've scoured the tabs section looking at the beginners notes and have found some stuff that looks promising. The main problem I have is taking several licks and stringing them together. I'm really sticking back my cash so I can pony up the money and get Jeff's Up from the Top series, but the price is a little tough to come by right now, considering my reduced hours at work. But right now, I'm happy playing around with what little bit I know, and any other tricks that you all feel like contributing. I'm always ready to learn something new and appreciate any help that I can get.

Cheers!

J.P.