The Steel Guitar Forum

Hey all! I have been greatly intrigued by a question that doesn't go away. First..the question. "Exactly what is it that is inspiring today's new players to want to learn to play pedal steel guitar? Let me just say, to preface the "?" that my long-term involvement in the steel guitar "industry" has given me overwhelming indications that there is much more new interest in our instrument than many would expect. I have compared notes with manufacturers and notables in the "biz" and they seem to agree. I know for a fact what it was that inspired us (now)older players to take up the cause..that has been discussed many a time on this Forum. Somehow I don't buy the notion that a newbie just heard a Buck Owens record with great steel guitar on it and then thinks "I've just gotta learn how to play one of those things!!" What are the new guys listening to that make them feel this way? Especially since the presence of steel on "commercial" country recordings today are, for the most part, anything but inspiring. I think you know what I'm asking...looking forward to an interesting and informative "thread"! Respectfully submitted, RK

Quite a few of the younger newer players I run into are guitar players that see the steel as a good instrument to double on. They can get more gigs or keep the one they have. Often they get caught up in the steel and end up focusing on it.

The motivation is practical.

I think one of the reasons is the use of the steel by such non-country acts as Dylan, Sheryl Crow, and Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders.

If you want to know who is responsible for the steel playing that guitars players need to double parts for it would be Greg Leisz. He is keeping the steel alive in several major pop genres of music almost single handedly.

In the central Texas music scene guys like Tommy Detamore and Lloyd Maines are recording tons of steel parts that end up being essential parts in contemporary Texas music.

Good topic, Rick. I think I know where you're coming from.

I surf thru a TV program like "Austin City Limits" and sometimes I'll see a younger, alt, indie band I never heard of (e.g., "Iron and Wine") and there'll be a S-10 on stage. At some point in the show, someone will drop down behind it and play some moody, atmospheric, non-country type stuff, and then on to the next song.

It's great these guys are sampling the pedal steel but it's being used as a flavoring, an exotic spice, to their music. I don't see (or hear) the commitment to really excel on the instrument, I don't hear the next Tommy White or Paul Franklin or Doug Jernigan coming up on the steel.

I'm not bummed out about it. The pedal steel will always be with us but I think there will be fewer and fewer virtuosi as the artists who entice people to really dedicate themselves to the instrument - like Buck Owens, Charley Pride, Ray Price, etc. - fade into the farther, specialized niches of (country) music.

it only takes one experience of hearing a steel guitar enhance a song emotionally. once that grabs you, you want to hear more. that's what i strive for. i can't do the hot licks thing but i like to pursue the 'emotional enhancement'.

I'm 39 and played in country bands(bass, guitar,& fiddle) about ten years. I've done some recording/arranging. I've found that there just weren't enough steel guitarist for hire. The explosion of "red dirt" music in my part of the country has many opportunities for a steel guitarist, simply because many of these type of bands play a great deal of "classic country". Some do because their idols do, some because it influenced many of us as kids. I still favor the older country radio. As do many people I've had the privilege to pick with.
I've always admired steel guitar and finally was able to stumble across one for sale that I could afford. I've been really blessed by the steelers I've met and known. There's just enough encouragement and resources here on the forum to make me want to really learn and play this instrument. Hope this opinion/experience helps to answer the original question. Thanks to all!

I think that today, as always, it's the rarity of the instrument that appeals to many. It was that way when I started playing steel half a century ago, and I think that's still valid today. After all, almost everyone plays some straight guitar, but the steel and it's unique sound just captivates certain souls. It's kinda like the glockenspiel in a marching band. It doesn't do a whole lot, but you sure recognize its unique sound whan it's played! .

Donny Hinson wrote:... It's kinda like the glockenspiel in a marching band. It doesn't do a whole lot, but you sure recognize its unique sound whan it's played! .

Most of us do okay with the ladies, even though pedal steel isn't as sexy as the glockenspiel. There's something about a man in uniform, I guess.

I heard a Buck Owens record and said, "I gotta learn how to do that!"

I sold a few guitars to some younger guys, all of them wanted an S-10 or SD-10 guitar, no interest in C6 what so ever...

Db

Younger people whose tastes in music go back to the sixties/seventies. Maybe they're listening to their parents or uncles records and reading music magazines covering both current and older music.

I play with some bands in an alt-country/ retro circuit. Most of the bands have young steel players. I find most of them are wanting the Ralph Mooney sound. We're in good shape.

Hey guys! Really great input so far. Maybe we can get a little more input...especially from the newbies themselves. The sheer sound and allure of the instrument itself is almost a "no-brainer" and probably the ultimate "hook". Thanks for the enthusiasm! Respectfully submitted, RK

There are quite a few young steel guitar players that are getting started in the country field . I'm glad to say that I had the privilege to help one of the upcoming steel guitar players/by showing him the basics of playing a steel guitar. Within six months after starting he was playing things that I couldn't even begin to play.
You may have heard of him I' think at this time he is playing with clay walker. Out of Nashville, his name is Eddie Dunlap.

It's been my experience that people remain captivated and somewhat fascinated by and certainly curious of pedal steel guitar. Most of them know what it is or have heard it before, but often in a very limited way. I actually think that interest in it goes up and down over the years, kind of like a sine wave.

There's one other oddity I've noticed, too, over the last few years. Many will probably disagree. That is, guitars, guitar players, and guitar music is EVERYWHERE. It's so prevalent that it's sometimes almost boring. Heck, everybody and their brother play guitar. It's almost like, "[Yawn] Play guitar, eh?" That's nice. Ok, so let me tell you about the reality show I saw last night."

Steel guitar isn't that way and it will never be that way. That's a good thing.

I have been playing 6 string guitar (Chet Atkins fingerstyle) for 50 years. I have wanted to play the steel for that long, but have been busy with my career and learning to fly an airplane. I listen to Buddy Charlton all the time when he was with ET and Lloyd Green. Until about two years ago I did not realize the availability of the really good tab for PSG -- Billy Cooper and Jeff Newman, for example. I figured now is the time. I must admit the PSG ride has been a humbling experience, but I am determined. Hope to meet a lot of you guys at the convention in August 14.

As a guitar player of twenty plus years(I'm 38yrs old) and a fan of older country music, I've always been intrigued by the pedal steel. But to be honest, it kind of intimidated me. In the last four years I've been playing bass in a country band and have really immersed myself in classic country. One day at a rehearsal about a year ago a buddy from California stopped by our session and sat in on a borrowed Sho-Bud. We kicked around some tunes and I just kept watching and listening to him play(he was a newbie as well). It was the first time I'd ever been able to see a PSG up close and it blew my mind. All I kept thinking was, "I want to try that" and "I think I can do that". We ended up going to the local VFW just three blocks from my house to return the Sho-Bud to a forum member named Larry Behm. We watched his band play and I heard Larry play and I was hooked. I contacted Larry about a month later and haven't looked back. He's been a great resource and has taken me and other younger players under his wing. The PSG community here in the Portland area has been very supportive. I've been playing about ten months now and every chance I get I practice. And I was able to participate in the my first PSG jam and felt really welcome by a lot of great players. My goal is to be a part of the next generation of steel players and keep this tradition alive. For me really, it's about being in love with the sound. Playing pedal steel has rekindled my love for music and guitar in general, something I think I lost somewhere along the way. And of course I also heard a Buck Owens record and said "I gotta learn how to do that".

I think Ben made an excellent point!!! Keeping the real country music alive -- today's so called country is not what I grew up and love. I love the Buck Owens and Earnest Tubb bands, Charlie Pride with Lloyd Green, etc.

I doubt there is a single "FACT" , but there may be many variables. Pop artists who all of a sudden have that kool sound, road artists who want back line players who can double or triple on Instruments etc. and of course the obvious, they simply like the music, old or new and like the Instrument. many of us got hooked on the old standards, many of the newer players get hooked on a pop song with a Steel lick, same thing, different music.

I think it's all good... The success factor for the newer or younger players would be to NOT be locked into a specific genre. Actually that goes for us older folks too...keep an open mind, play it all, we don't have to speed pick ourselves thru our senior years ! It's possible that some of us speed picked ourselves out of a job !

I also see the S10 thing being realistic, minimal interest in the lower ten. In the scheme of things that is not a bad thing.

If the ladies can't make a successful contact with the handsome big ego guy with the big hat that talks on the mic, then the other members of the band becomes an acceptable substitute. Musicians are all used to being regulated to second place status in the pecking order.

Two things got me into playing steel. First the emotional thing that Chris Ivey identifies - back around 1970 I heard Al Perkins on a Manassas album and Buddy Emmons with Judy Collins (also produced by Stephen Stills). I was studying engineering at the time and wanted to know what kind of machinery was creating such beauty. Then I saw Bobby Black with Commander Cody when they came to the UK in '74.

Then the fact that being a trombone player I loved the capability of playing chords in natural intervals. I'd played bass in various bands and hated guitars because they never sounded in tune - now I could hear something that sounded right.

I started fooling around about twenty years ago on an old D10 I found that didn't really work, but I didn't have the time I knew it needed. Now I'm retired I've fixed it up http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=255384 and started to take it seriously at the age of 62. I'm not interested in just amusing myself - I don't feel my age and I'm a quick learner. I'm an experienced musician and I fully intend to get out and play.

i started easing my way into country about three years ago, and started up a country band in town. one of the things that you have to address when playing guitar in a country band is the sound and role of the steel player. i eventually got a b-bender, and used a volume pedal lots.

one night i went to a club and heard daniel romano play, with aaron goldstein (another young guy) playing pedal steel. the sound just filled up the room. i knew i had to learn.

i'm six months in and so hooked my callouses are starting to get a bit soft for the first time in 20 years. like someone else said, it's the sound that gets me.

the classic country sound seems to be on the way back in (i think that started with the crazy heart movie). it's engaging, sincere music that features a pretty high level of craft to pull off.

Bob Hoffnar wrote:Quite a few of the younger newer players I run into are guitar players that see the steel as a good instrument to double on. They can get more gigs or keep the one they have. Often they get caught up in the steel and end up focusing on it.

The motivation is practical.

This was my reason for picking up the steel about 5 years ago, but I'm not "younger"

In my primary band I play guitar, nothing more. But the addition of the Pedal Steel, Dobro and Baritone guitar fills my calendar (as much as I want) with freelance gigs I never used to get called for. The only downside is that even the drummer feels bad for me during setup and tear down ...

I'm 22, and one album in particular that inspired me to play pedal steel is Ray LaMontagne's "God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise". Great record with great pedal steel by both Eric Heywood and Greg Leisz.

Ironically, I didn't really get into country music until after I picked up the steel guitar.