The Steel Guitar Forum

It's sad to realize I don't have enough years left to do this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnKWFMXJCGw

I wish I understood music.
He uses notes that harmonize, then when he goes to the top string(s) they don't sound like they really harmonize, but seem like they should go together.
I have seen the word dissonance (thank for the spell checker) on the forum now and then. Is that what it refers to, and what combination of notes may one use to get that effect?

Well, Billy is one hell of a musician - cajun/zydeco accordeon, swing and Hawaiian baritone uke, and now steel. I've had the pleasure of playing with him.

I'm not hearing much dissonance in this; you may be hearing different chord harmonizations. Dissonance is more like a sound that clashes with the other sounds, and these guys keep it pretty smooth. The level of playing is high, but there's no showing off. This is great stuff, thanks for sharing it. As for ever being able to play like that, well, all we can do is keep at it!

I searched YouTube for "billy wilson lap steel" and came up with all sorts of great videos. Here is "Waiting For The Judge" (a 5 minute improvisation feature just Billy Wilson on lap steel):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaUHh79sfuw

Billy Wilson also plays a mean electric ukelele!

Steve Ahola

P.S. I live over the hill from Berkeley so I need to check out "Friends of the Puppy" live at the Nabolom Bakery (every Saturday at 10:00AM).

i first ran across Old Puppy playing a GREAT version of Dick McIntire's I'm Pau - i had never seen an electric uke - that was wild!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04i5VphsYSk

I emailed Billy Wilson and he is using the Billy Robinson 10 string tuning which looks really slick:
F-A-C-E-G-A-C-E-G-D (The D on top is pitched between the 4th and 3rd strings.)

The bottom 8 strings are the FACEGACE C6 tuning used by many people here and strings 1 & 3-9 are the "D on top" C6 tuning that George Piburn uses (he has several tutorial DVD's for that tuning).

But wait... there's more! The middle 8 strings have the exact same intervals as A6 but are pitched 3 frets higher. Which happen to be the same notes as the high C6 with the 5th(G) on top. The bottom 8 strings have the same intervals as Don Helms E6th tuning but are 4 frets lower. The bottom 8 strings can also give you the same intervals as the Little Roy Wiggins E13th pitched 4 frets lower if you raise the 10th string from F to G and the 9th string from A to Bb. After doing that you can then raise the 8th string from C to D to get the same intervals as the Leon McAuliffe E13th, but 4 frets lower.

Or instead of all that you could raise the 8th string from C to C# to get a variation of the Jerry Byrd C6/A7 tuning.

How can it get any better than that?

Steve Ahola

He's also using a thumb & (3) finger picks....

Kevin Mincke wrote:He's also using a thumb & (3) finger picks....

That's cheating!

Actually I guess that since he is using two extra strings it is only fair that he gets to use one extra finger...

Most or all of what he's doing on that tune is C6 tuning with a high G using standard positions playing for that tuning to get those signature sounds with a bar slant or two thrown in for good measure for some 9th chords.

Good player, very fluid and enjoyable.

What is the lap steel he is playing? Unusual to find a 10 string.

It is an Alkire Eharp Bought off the Forum. Thanks for listening