The Steel Guitar Forum

With 2011 only a little over 3 hours away I'm sitting here contemplating my musical goals for the next year, including:

* Cut down on the overdrive
* Study "my" E13 tuning inside out and learn more about harmonized lines and funny chords
* Get an 8-string for the E13 tuning
* Start working on a new album, temporarily titled "That was now, this is then", where I'll go way back in time for inspiration

So how about you, any special goals or projects for 2011?

Happy New Year to all of you!

Steinar

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My own resolution--and it's not a hard one to keep--is to play lap steel every day of the year and to keep learning new songs so my playing continues to improve. Also resolved already this year--after paying way to much attention to guitar sales (my own and others)--that I will continue to play every instrument I own at least once a week, if only for a few minutes. No musical instrument deserves to just sit there gathering dust.

Happy New Year to all from British Columbia.

8 Strings
More C6 knowledge / practice
Slants, slants, slants (intonation-wise)
More expressive playing (no techinque thinking while playing !)

To compose more of my own stuff, the first one up for January 2011 is already recorded and will be heard soon.

James.

2011 will finally be the year I record an all-jazz CD.

Play "Twelfth St. Rag".

I've got Mike Neer's lesson and figure it will take me at least a year before I can do it any justice.



PS to Steinar - don't give up on the overdrive, your sound is to die for!

To become VERY conversant with the Leavitt tuning.
I know those chords are in there someplace

Steinar... please don't abandon "dirt" altogether !! You do it SO VERY, VERY WELL!

Bill and Mitch,- I wrote "cut down on", not give it up!

Still got two of them on my pedalboard (which also has to cover my guitar duties, I might add...) -



- it's just that I want to 'move on' and explore other stuff as well, ever tried to play fat chords and harmonized lines with full overdrive?
But no, 40 years of daily overdrive use doesn't go away just like that.... Cheers!

ALL OF THE ABOVE - Love the "play all instruments I own at least once per week" Well may-be not the Cello and Violin (cant play) that sits there but gee they are gorgous to look at .

Jim - I have all your stuff (accept your talent ) so put me down for this one!!

Steinar - can't wait! ( I must try to nutt out that Beach Boys number )

Play play play

Happy new year to all
Jeff

If I'm playing a new years gig bringing in 2012 ,I will be happy as THOMAS KATT with a clean litter box.YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Steinar,

Happy New Year To You!! Thanks for starting this thread!

Mostly for 2011 I want to carve out more time to spend with the steel guitar community online (including more time on this forum Nice!!!!! (And I'm definitely joining GeorgeB's NonPedal Shingdig!)

But also, much of this involves devoting the time necessary to take lap steel guitar lessons to a new level online, starting with the resurrection of my emailed newsletter STEEL MOJO NEWS

The first issue just went out late yesterday, below is a link. This first lesson involves the chords to what I call Song of Islands.

http://www.steel-guitar-mojo.com/songofislands.html

Hopefully there's enough there to sink your teeth into.

Best New Years Wishes To All,

Josh

Collect less, play more, give the Leavitt tuning a try, and build a theremin. Happy New Year!

My goal is to get off my butt and put my own quartet together and start gigging.

To just find the time, no, make the time and get on with it. Learn - practise - revise - progress. Repeat.

Hey Steinar, I just got one of those little Tri Reverb units myself... NICE little box eh ? I'm lovin' mine.. sounds great and fits nicely on the board...

OK...sorry for the distraction... carry on.

My goals for this year are to complete the shackdusters project, produce some instructional material, stop flirting with tunings and settle with c sharp minor for a year, oh and lose some weight !

More melodies in my solos. No guessing.

Play/think more like a steel player - less like a guitar player. Or more like a horn player for that matter.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

2 new albums. One with the duo, one with the trio.

Try and pick up the soul and feel of The Black Ace and Oscar "Buddy "Woods and learn some licks and note approach from my fave Sax man "Sonny Rollins" that may sound odd but Sax being a monophonic instrument offers some nice "otta the box licks" easily adapted to Lap Steel,and learn Zappas "Peaches en Regalia" and " 20 Small Cigars" Weird stuff huh but I do live Down Under

Happy New Year to all

Great thread, Steinar!

Here are mine:

1. Focus on only two tunings: standard dobro tuning and 8-string C6. Okay, I may keep an 8-string in E13.

2. Write more tunes/songs. I find writing forces me to learn new licks because I hear them in my head and then have to master them on the instrument.

3. Following on from 2: record more of others' and my own tunes. Recording presents the challenge of playing to a high standard.

4. Keep my lap steel out of its case so that it doesn't get nudged out by my dobro, which is always within reach.

Chris

My goal for 2011 is to learn to play the lap steel guitar, that little known but most beautiful and expressive of all instruments..

Kay (from Italy)

My MAIN intent is to continue teaching for as long as I can..

I am honoured that a few players who have purchased Fender 1000 Pedal Steel Guitars have decided to take lessons from me and adopt my unique tunings and style. The perpetuation and continuation of the Hawaiian aspect of the pedal steel guitar is my aim.

I have room for just one more on-line student via Skype.
A call to basil-henriques on Skype will get you the slot.

1. Learn E13th better
2. learn to play more like Tom Morrell
3. learn better where those "funny chords" go in a tune.

I've been playing my G6 7-string for about 6 years now, and I'm starting to feel like a steel player! My goals for this year are to 1.resist the urge to learn a second tuning until I really know what I'm doing in the G6. 2. More slants! 3. More melody. 4.More in tune behind the bar pulls.
Tom, if I can play just one note like Tom Morrell this year, I will be a very happy man!