One month into my PSG...need the next step

Paul Haun · Post by **Paul Haun** » 3 Sep 2010 5:05 am

I'm one month into playing. I absolutely love this thing and can't believe it took so long for me to finally get one. Last night was the first band practice that I used the steel. General melody was very easy for me to pick up having played 6string for many years. However, a few songs of that only started to get a little boring and redundant. So, I"m hoping to jump to the next step and add a few fillers in...not looking to get to a full "lead" yet, just the next step...what instruction out there would work well? I've always heard about Newman's stuff, but there is so much to choose from not sure which one to choose....other suggestions appreciated...

thanks.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 3 Sep 2010 6:51 am

Paul,

There's a ton of riffs on my site, all with sound files and tab to tell you how to play them. Just browse around and when you find a sound you like, go to the tab and learn it! You'll find intros, outros, fills, complete songs and many uses for knee levers.

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/

For example on tab page 3:

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Tab/Tab3.html

try the "E9th Stock Ending"

Greg

Dale Hansen · Post by **Dale Hansen** » 3 Sep 2010 12:14 pm

I jumped in here by mistake,...sorry.
DH

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 3 Sep 2010 2:23 pm

I think by now an effective sedative would be in order...

Paul Haun · Post by **Paul Haun** » 5 Sep 2010 2:05 pm

Greg Cutshaw wrote:Paul,

There's a ton of riffs on my site, all with sound files and tab to tell you how to play them. Just browse around and when you find a sound you like, go to the tab and learn it! You'll find intros, outros, fills, complete songs and many uses for knee levers.

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/

For example on tab page 3:

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Tab/Tab3.html

try the "E9th Stock Ending"

Greg

Thanks Greg!!!

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 6 Sep 2010 5:08 am

If you've "played 6-string for many years" you are your own best teacher - just learn the songs that you like, play the solos that you like - but do it on your new guitar. The first three songs I learned were "Stormy Monday Blues", "Whipping Post" and "Straight, No Chaser." Man, was it hard... to even get half-assed close to anything musical! But if you start out without "the fear of playing non-steely things", you won't have to overcome it later. All those damn notes are right there in front of you....

(onna good day, they're not laughing at you)

Play the music you like to play, not the tuning or the instrument.

(thet thar's kinda Zen, hope you got some incense)

Dave Magram · Post by **Dave Magram** » 6 Sep 2010 8:48 am

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the club!

One of the most difficult aspects of playing pedal steel is being able to block previously played notes cleanly. Without good blocking techniques, the notes will run together in a dissonant mess.

Blocking is easy to explain, but difficult to execute consistently. The two most common forms of blocking are "palm-blocking" and "pick blocking". Many players use both techniques.

Take a look on YouTube for videos featuring Tom Brumley or Lloyd Green, both masters of palm-blocking, or for videos of Paul Franklin or Joe Wright, both masters of pick-blocking.

Joe Wright has excellent material on both "palm-blocking" and "pick blocking" on one DVD for about $30.

I hope this is helpful.

Dave

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 6 Sep 2010 4:34 pm

I know I'm going to get a lot of disagreement on this but I found that all those years playing lead guitar was a drawback to learning PSG except for the ear development and musical knowledge.
Number one problem is that I thought I knew everything I needed to know about PSG because I could play lead guitar.
Number two I thought I could just take it to the gig and in a few weeks I would be a Steel player.
After wasting a lot time trying to play my pedal steel like a lead guitar I had to start all over and it took me a long time to break a lot of bad habits that I had acquired trying to move my guitar stuff over to the PSG.
Take your theory and your ear over to the PSG and leave the rest behind.
However I did find that I could carry over from PSG to the lead guitar most of the things (especially the picking hand techniques) I learned.

Graeme Jaye · Post by **Graeme Jaye** » 7 Sep 2010 12:11 am

Bo Legg wrote:I know I'm going to get a lot of disagreement on this but I found that all those years playing lead guitar was a drawback to learning PSG except for the ear development and musical knowledge.......Take your theory and your ear over to the PSG and leave the rest behind.

No disagreement from me - I thought exactly the same, with pretty much the same result.

Michael J Pfeifer · Post by **Michael J Pfeifer** » 12 Sep 2010 1:18 pm

Buy the Pedal Steel Guitar book by Winnie Winston.

Herby Wallace · Post by **Herby Wallace** » 12 Sep 2010 5:16 pm

Paul,

I have been doing instruction courses since 1969 when I first did some for the Emmons Guitar Co. Since then I have done over 35 different courses, so you can check my web site for some of my more popular courses or you can call or email me for literature on my others. I actually have a sale going on right now on all my instruction material, so let me know if you are interested.

Thanks,

Herby Wallace
865/453-2973 or
email HWallac480@aol.com

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One month into my PSG...need the next step

One month into my PSG...need the next step

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