pedal steel duet of Handel aria

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 6 Mar 2011 6:01 pm

Here's a video I did in my studio of me playing live to a backing track that Doug Livingston sent me earlier this year (we performed this at the Phoenix show in January). It's the Handel aria 'Where 'Ere You Walk', from the opera Semele.

Where 'Ere You Walk for two pedal steels

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 6 Mar 2011 7:32 pm

That's really beautiful, Dan and Doug. Thanks for posting it.

I'd like to suggest a course, consisting of the sheet music for both parts and a CD with one steel panned hard left and the other panned hard right.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 6 Mar 2011 7:45 pm

Very Nice Dan..

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 6 Mar 2011 9:08 pm

So very beautiful Dan! One of the highlights of my trip to the AZ show this year was getting to hear you and Earnest rehearse this gorgeous piece of music in the hotel room and then get to be onstage during the actual performance that night. I'm telling you, I had chicken skin both times! It was as good as it gets!!!

Marc Jenkins · Post by **Marc Jenkins** » 6 Mar 2011 9:23 pm

b0b wrote:That's really beautiful, Dan and Doug. Thanks for posting it.

I'd like to suggest a course, consisting of the sheet music for both parts and a CD with one steel panned hard left and the other panned hard right.

Ditto that!

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 7 Mar 2011 5:25 am

Thanks guys!

My part was actually pretty simple. I just played the melody 'as written' but added a 'pedal steel friendly' harmony as I deamed appropriate. The hardest thing was to tame my vibrato, which didn't seem appropriate. I need to work on my Baroque ornamentation like this guy uses: Where 'ere you walk by counter tenor. Maybe next year.

Doug told me he basically used the score on that YouTube link to play his part. I have no idea how he plays this stuff so effortlessly, he was definitely doing the heavy lifting on this piece.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 7 Mar 2011 7:58 am

Wow! That's pretty special guys. I'd love to have witnessed the live version.

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 7 Mar 2011 8:23 am

I would have posted the live video from the show, but there was an audio issue where Doug's steel isn't in the audio until about half way through.

I'm sure we will do something similar next year in Phoenix.

Bob Knetzger · Post by **Bob Knetzger** » 7 Mar 2011 8:52 am

Nice!

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 7 Mar 2011 10:49 am

I should mention that Dougs backing track was a scratch version he sent for me to practice to.

Susan Alcorn (deceased) · Post by **Susan Alcorn (deceased)** » 7 Mar 2011 11:43 am

Beautiful, Dan. Both of you.

ebb · Post by **ebb** » 7 Mar 2011 6:55 pm

outstanding. way cool

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 8 Mar 2011 12:20 pm

Dan Tyack wrote: Doug told me he basically used the score on that YouTube link to play his part. I have no idea how he plays this stuff so effortlessly

It's not as effortless as it sounds. Plenty of bug-squashing remained before the Phoenix show the next week. And yeah, like anybody would, I would've worked a little more on that rehearsal track if had had known it would end up on the YouTube, but there it is and there it will stay, warts and all with dorky tone which just makes Little Walter sound all the better by comparison.

To learn the part I downloaded a MIDI file (I think from ClassicalArchives.com), stuck it in my notation program (Encore), and from there very little editing was needed. I think I lowered it a half step (original in B flat) so I could use more open strings.

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 8 Mar 2011 4:45 pm

Doug/Dan -

I love this s**t. More, please.

L. A. Wunder · Post by **L. A. Wunder** » 11 Mar 2011 9:25 pm

What Frank said. I love classical music on the steel. I noticed that the "solo" line on the top is scored in the bass clef, which is an excellent idea for the pedal steel which has most of it's open strings below "middle C." The first "open" string in the E9 tuning that's above middle "C", is the Eb on string two. I've been working on Bach Chorale #40 from a score set in treble clef, and have to start at fret 11 to play it "as written." (it's in Eb)I hope to see more people posting Classical music clips in the future.

Dan, you're right, it IS a cheating song!

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 11 Mar 2011 10:15 pm

L. A. Wunder wrote: that the "solo" line on the top is scored in the bass clef, which is an excellent idea for the pedal steel which has most of it's open strings below "middle C."

We weren't strict about which octave to play. Dan plays the melody an octave higher than where it was written (for male voice).
In that accompaniment the bass line is where it's written, and the treble clef notes an octave lower, more or less. But when that would put another note below the bass line, I would move something around. The whole thing is transposed from B flat anyway. I think we should feel free to transpose to whatever key works best on steel guitar. Segovia did that all the time with Bach.

L. A. Wunder wrote:I've been working on Bach Chorale #40

Some of the Bach chorales might be really beautiful on steel, but very difficult. The range is too wide for most tunings, and certainly too wide for 10 string E9. So you would have to use your judgment and re-arrange it to squeeze within the range of your instrument.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 11 Mar 2011 10:37 pm

OK, I tried some chorales and I think 4 voices is just too much for one steel guitar. It is barely possible to make the notes on the #40 on my ext E9, and even then I have to use open string for one of the low Gs and can't really make the one at the end, and I have to cut off some of the sustaining notes here and there which spoils the harmony. So these need more than one steel. (Tyack had the right idea.) Also the bass lines are quite active in these chorales, and I have trouble making bass lines strong on steel anyway, so maybe the best way to do the Chorales is to use a bass player, with a steel doing the top 3 voices. Or bass and 2 steels so each voice can get more attention.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 12 Mar 2011 10:05 am

I really like the idea of classical steel guitar ensembles. If anyone in my area (Cloverdale, CA) wants to get together to play this kind of music, please contact me.

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 13 Mar 2011 12:15 am

Dan, this is beautiful!

Reminds me to the concert we gave in Brussels with Bob Hoffnar.
That was fun!

Bishop Ronnie P Hall · Post by **Bishop Ronnie P Hall** » 14 Mar 2011 5:31 pm

Beautifully executed Dan, hope to hear more.
Bishop R.P. Hall

L. A. Wunder · Post by **L. A. Wunder** » 14 Mar 2011 8:42 pm

Ernest, please let me appologize. I gave you the name of the wrong piece. The piece I'm working on is the Chorale from Bach Cantata 140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns stimme" I'm playing it from a book of sacred solos for the flute, which allows me to work with a single melody line. It's basicly the soprano part, with piano accompaniment under it, but I harmonize the line with chords in some spots. Sorry for the confusion. Can you forgive me? I tabbed-out a simple 4-part Bach chorale when I was in college, because each of the parts seemed as simple as most of the "beginner" tunes I saw in instruction books. ("Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star" is a classical piece, after all.)I hope more people will be using the steel for classical music in the future.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 16 Mar 2011 9:05 am

L. A. Wunder wrote:Chorale from Bach Cantata 140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns stimme"

That's a beautiful piece, one of Bach's greatest hits, often called "Sleepers Awake" in English. A lot of guitar players do it but, for me anyway, it's much too difficult for a steel guitar solo. You would have to keep that bass line going! And then that 2nd melody comes in, so different from the first one. This would be another good one for 2 or 3 steels, or 2 steels plus bass.

Harrie Brekelmans · Post by **Harrie Brekelmans** » 16 Mar 2011 2:13 pm

Great Dan, Thank you for posting

Daniel Morris · Post by **Daniel Morris** » 17 Mar 2011 1:40 pm

Beautiful stuff! Baroque music is just so superb!

Doug: what exactly is the "Encore" that you used?
Thanks.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 17 Mar 2011 4:34 pm

Daniel Morris wrote: Doug: what exactly is the "Encore" that you used?
Thanks.

Encore is a software program that lets you create, edit, & print musical notation. It's not considered a full-featured program like Sibelius or Finale, which are what the pros use. Bu is it easy to learn, and it does 99% of what I want so I've been using it for 15 years.

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pedal steel duet of Handel aria

pedal steel duet of Handel aria

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