The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello all!
Im 2 years into the pedal steel, i can feel the progress.
but my main issue that prevents me for being a legit "player" is the pitch problem, that just not getting better!
it happens more from fret 7-8, seems like i need a good exercise or something? maybe a good tip from you good people.
heres a fresh new example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqfbAbzPV5o

any feeback or tips that can help me?
btw it was worse, somehow i succeeded to make it less worse in some parts in pro tools.

Thank you all!

Ben: That's much better than I expected. You are mostly in tune, and it will continue to improve the longer you play. Don't be too hard on yourself. For only having played two years you are progressing at a good pace.

I noticed from your head movements that, perhaps, you are frequently looking at your right hand. If you are doing so, knock it off. There should be no reason to look at your right hand. Focus on your left hand and bar placement.

Finally, look up Paul Franklin's bar control exercise. You should be doing this everyday. Over time it really makes a difference.

Also try practicing with drone tones.

You said you corrected some things with pro tools, but I didn't notice anything really outstanding there. Basically sounds pretty good to me for 2 yrs. playing.

The fact that you can hear your pitch faults and are concerned about that indicates that your ear is getting better. I think it's just a matter of continuing your ear training from what I can hear. Just practice....time in the seat is all that I could recommend.

Hi Ben,

On the plus side, you’re getting a nice tone, and playing some intricate grips and patterns.

Good intonation is a big challenge when learning steel guitar because it’s almost all visual—there are virtually no tactile landmarks—unlike a violin for example. I agree with what has been said above, especially Paul Sutherland’s comments. You need to watch your bar placement at all times when moving to a new fret. Because of parallax, the perceived distance from the fret changes as you move up the neck.

Paul Franklin’s “The Bar Hand Exercise” is an excellent way to practice intonation. Here’s a link to the thread: https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... sc&start=0

As Paul S. says, there’s really no reason to watch your right hand. I notice you curl your little finger under your palm, as many steel guitarists do. If you’re having trouble locating the correct string to pick, you may want to consider learning to extend your little finger to lightly touch the first string to serve as an anchor-point--at least some of the time. Watch any video of Buddy Emmons or Bobby Black to see this in action. Buddy always kept his little finger touching the first string; Bobby often anchors on the first string and then switches to curling his little finger under his palm—sometimes in the same song.

Another thing you may want to pay attention to is maintaining consistent pressure on top of the bar; as you move higher up the neck towards the bridge/changer, it is easy to inadvertently apply a bit more pressure than when your left arm is extended further away from you at the lower frets.

-Dave

I noticed something about your bar movement and I used to do the same thing. When you move from fret to fret sometimes the bar may stop a little short or far from the exact position your wanting. When this happens use a little bar vibrato and the miss will be covered up and add a little dynamics to your playing. You should also do this on the last of all half and whole notes played.

Try playing blindfolded. Cheers, Johan

Bob Hoffnar has a CD to practice pitch with, here's a link:

http://www.bobhoffnar.net/intonation.html

My website is a little screwy but I do have the drone stuff available. It can really help. Get in touch if you want to go over how I deal with trying to play in tune. It is an on going issue with every pro player I know.

Try letting your phrases breath. Don't repeat any chords after you play them. You consistently take a whole note phrase and turn it into a dotted quarter note/ 8th note /half note phrase. Get rid of all those extra 8th note repeats where ever you can. Let it sustain and listen. Then adjust the bar. You are letting your hands lead instead of your ear. Try to hear what you are going to play before you play it. The main thing is to listen, relax, breath and listen more.

Overall you sound really great ! You are way more in tune then most players already.

Appriciate it a lot.
Thank you all, great great tips and feedback.

Lets go to work!

It will come with time. But you'll never nail it all the time, if you play for 75 years. Blocking will also just start to happen without concentrating on it. Just keep picking. it will come.

Great stuff ! Wish I played like that after only 2 years! I am not much of an expert but I can pass on a tip from somebody who was.. Maurice Anderson. An important tip that I got from a book by Reese Anderson was to always line up at the exact same spot in relation to your guitar EVERY time you sit down. He recommended lining the belly button up to the 15th fret;... but whatever method you choose, make it the same every time. It affects intonation a great deal on a fretless instrument to always be playing from the same arm angles, from the same fundamental body position, and to always have the same sight lines.

there is nothing wrong with your playing, it's in tune, and perfectly fine.... I've been playing for 30 years, and you are more in tune then I am... just keep on playing, and don't forget to have fun, thats what is all about....

Do you have a tuner on board?