The Steel Guitar Forum

How do you practice to improve your right hand?

Billy, I suggest videos from either Jeff Newman or Joe Wright. I have some from both and there is good stuff for which ever style you want to go with. Hope this helps.

"The Right Hand Alpha" video by Jeff Newman is a well regarded title

Billy, practicing a major scale & it's 7 degrees will do you for positioning your hand
it will help you learn pick blocking
you'll also have to learn & practice chord grips vertically & horizontally
that should also help you learn palm blocking

"Right Hand Alpha" was one of the first things I bought. I think learning the correct right hand positioning is crucial when you're first getting started. Patience is the key to palm blocking. This video helps. For pick blocking I just watched some Mickey Adams youtube video's. After you learn the basics you can create your own drills. Hope that helps.

How do you practice to improve your right hand?

PLAY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN -- with a band, by yourself, whatever works.

The more time you spend with your fingers on the strings and your ear and mind engaged, the more quickly you will progress. LISTEN. Be your own harshest critic.

Lots of folks ask what's the best way to do this or that. The answer is that there are some guidelines but, among the best players, you'll find MAJOR differences in technique -- right hand position, blocking, how the bar is held. The REAL answer is whatever works FOR YOU. Listen to yourself. Record yourself. When you practice, make what you heard that you didn't like BETTER.

It's not rocket science but it IS hard work. The tales of Buddy Emmons practicing harmonics for hours on end, etc. are legendary. And true. Cockpit time while consciously trying to sound better will help more than any course or technique lesson. Try everything -- you'll figure out why good players back the bar off strings they aren't playing and play often with the nose of the bar. It sounds better. You'll figure out that your right elbow should not take off like a chicken wing -- if it's tucked in near your ribs your picks will all of a sudden be striking the strings at a right angle.

Stuff like that . . . when you don't even have to THINK about stuff like this, you'll be THERE, dude.

I learned a lot from Mickey Adams on YouTube.
Heres a few:
Pick blocking,
a discussion on the right hand.
Exercise!
More Exercise!

Clete

I'm with Larry Bell.

Absolutely.

Get a few tips, and then go, go, go!

Practice. Practice. Practice.

You guys all know this, right?

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice. Practice. Practice.

practice really slow. sound a note, let it ring, block it. do this for all the strings, scales, getting more complicated as you get better. alternate finger(s) and thumb, same string and up and down the strings. Do it everyday even if you only have 10 minutes to spare, and dont go faster than the speed at which you are cleanly playing notes. Speed comes with time.

frustrating as he77, but repetition and time allows for speed increase and clean picking. there are no shortcuts. I liked the right hand alpha myself, but I imagine any program from the experienced teachers mentioned above will do the trick provided you stick to it and dont move ahead until you have mastered the basic, boring, and frustrating levels. It sucks but the payoff is nice.

I agree that it comes down to focused time spent at the instrument. The problem is, sometimes we don't know where to start, or how to fill that time. That's where having some sort of program is really helpful. For me, The Right Hand Alpha has been invaluable! There are so many approaches, and in my experience, skimming the surface of many different approaches doesn't leave you with much. You kinda have to dig in and explore a technique for a while before it becomes instinctual and useful. Not that I've got it all together or anything... I've got a ways to go... but this is how I've personally made the most progress.

Excellent observation, Dan...

and in there lies the Big Lebowski...

We all suffer this dumlemma.....

So much to focus on; not enough time in the hay...

Just keep with someone's ideas (instruction, whatever)
until you find yourself treading water (and you will).

Now it's time to change horses.

You can always come back. But...move on for awhile.

And never forget to just sit at the steel, by your lonesome, and just play away. Actually, try to forget stuff you've been working on, and get the thrill back. That's important. Remember, this is not supposed to be a 9-5.

Seeing something done the right way can be very helpful.Bo Borland posted a couple of Robert Randolph vids in the "Just in case you thought he can't play country style" thread.The second vid in particular shows Randolph's right hand technique,and is a lesson in itself.YMMV

I used to watch TV with a lap steel in my lap. I'd work on pick blocking exercises very slowly (slowly enough that I could do it correctly) for a couple of hours at a time. I noticed a huge improvement in my playing within a couple of weeks after I started doing that.

Just play any old pattern you can think of. The pattern doesn't really matter. It's the practice of timing the picking with the blocking that's important.

A BIG THANKS to all have posted a reply so far, your posts are truly appreciated and most helpful. I have been around the steel guitar for a few years. I never took the time or put in enough effort to become much of a player. What is lacking mostly is a good right hand which I am determined to correct. Above all though I want to avoid bad technique and bad habits which are hard to overcome. I have read all the posts over and over and I have a much better understanding of how to get it done. Thanks again