The Steel Guitar Forum

It does not seem anything like 8 years since Jerry left us, let alone 20 years since he and his playmates gave us a never to be forgotten concert, nor some 5 years before that when Kaimana Hila was released here. It could not have been better, a nice smooth flowing number with a Maori vibrato, it was on the radio, in the dance halls,3 or 4 imes a night, private functions, house parties and our Maori did not have any problem with the words. Even now,with so much of his music, I still love the old 78s. All these things are as clear as last week and I am sure they will continue so, in spite of the numbers.

Here's a few to enjoy today ...

http://www.horseshoemagnets.com/drowsyoe.wmv

http://www.horseshoemagnets.com/kilimajb.wmv

http://www.horseshoemagnets.com/waipiojb.wmv

How about one more for the road ...

http://www.horseshoemagnets.com/ebbtide.wmv

Ok ... In case you were absent on E9 day a few weeks ago ...

http://www.horseshoemagnets.com/jbfrypan1990.wmv

PS... That's Ian Ufton and George Lake backing JB at the '88 HSGA Joliet Convention ... Hiram Olsen and Kalani Fernandez at the Steel Guitar West Convention ... Videos recorded by Clay Savage

PSS ... Watch Kilima Waltz (camera pans down about 4/5 of the way through) and Ebb Tide to view JB's excellent Volume Pedal work

On behalf of all the loyal visitors to the Jerry Byrd Fan Club.......I'd like to express my most sincere appreciation to both of you fine gentlemen for having started this thread and especially to Rick for having contributed these fabulous videos of JERRY BYRD and his guitar.

Many loyal JERRY BYRD fans never had the opportunity to see Jerry perform and this is one of the rare moments when one can actually get to see, hear and appreciate more, the talents of Jerry Byrd.

These videos can provide MORE INSTRUCTIONAL benefits than many of the courses being offered on the internet and..........they're FREE, thanks to Rick.

Jerry's right hand literally floats along the full length of the neck, depending entirely on what 'sound' or 'emotion' he hopes to generate in the song he's playing. There is no grotesque placement of his fingers and no stiffness of his hand or wrist.

Much of his picking is with the thumb and middle finger unless..........he finds it more beneficial to use the index finger with the thumb. NONE of this GRIPPING we hear about. Many of his full chord rolls are done with just his thumb and most likely his index finger for the top two strings. So SMOOTH!

He extracts with precision, many, many, musical tones BETWEEN the FRETS and yet you never hear any of the commonly heard sloppy sounds of a floppy bar as the player maneuvers up/down the next.

Much of Jerry's music is played on the top FOUR strings, rather than deep down and then up to the top strings in a single chord position.

As Rick points out, Jerry's use of this foot volume control is like a surgeon's use of a scalpel. NOTE: He DOES NOT PUMP the PEDAL like many elect to do. He CAN produce 'a hollow tunnel/echo sound' when he does elect to rapidly increase and decrease his volume which he referred to as his "nervous foot" technique. He also creates a most unique sound affect when playing certain notes on the twelfth fret when he lifts his fingers behind the bar and allows the harmonics of the instrument to influence the sound. Most amazing!

By watching Jerry's facial expressions, you can easily tell he is PLAYING from his HEART; adding nice embellishments here and there with a rapid movement of his bar hand. These expressions are not of pain or discomfort.

Jerry's ease of manipulation of his bar hand is the real secret behind Jerry's fabulous playing, the sounds were JERRY BYRD music lovers cannot get out of our heads. The bar hand is the secret to Jerry's music, a fact that cannot be denied.

A fabulous set of videos! THANK YOU Rick, for sharing them here with your many SGF Friends and admirers.

For more on JERRY BYRD, you might wish to visit the Jerry Byrd Fan Club site and listen on YOU TUBE to the posts made on the jerrybyrdchannel our friend in Norway.

It's always great to watch Jerry, and his (unaccompanied) solo playing is generally my favorite as he completely fills out the songs with just his steel.
Mac, you guy's were fortunate to get Jerry and his boys all the way to NZ, and you are to be commended for capturing the moment on your own fine video.