The Steel Guitar Forum

Mods, if this isn't the right spot please move and I'm sorry for screwing up my first post.

Hi all,

For years I've been talking about "learn to play the pedal steel" as a bucket list item. I've managed to cross a few other items off the proverbial list in the last couple years and recently started thinking that there's no time like the present to begin what I expect to be the long process of learning to play.

I've been doing my research and I'm appreciative of the enormity of the task I'm considering. I had a little bit of violin training back in elementary school but I'm otherwise a total music novice. First task seems to be learning some theory, and I'm going to be in process with that shortly. I like to think I'm at least in the ballpark from a hand/foot coordination standpoint since I race cars on the weekend, and I know my ears are substantially more attuned than they were in school.

With that background, are there any NYC folks around who might be willing to meet up for a beer and let me pick their brains a bit? I'm a bit intimidated by everything I've read and I'd really like to talk to someone in person before I pluck down money on an instrument of my own, or give up the idea as way over my head. Could I maybe even try someone's instrument locally to see if I'm totally hopeless? (is that a faux pas to ask?)

For any non-NYC folks reading, thanks for any advice as well!

-Nick

Raffael McGregor is a great non pedal player in Brooklyn. You could ask him for a lesson.

I think it’s probably a better bet to offer to pay someone for a lesson, in NYC I’d budget $50-$100. You’ll get more out of it and then can look for a pro player who ultimately will have more to show you.

There’s also a steel festival in Brooklyn in June. Unconventional steel or something like that. At jalopy I believe. Raffael runs it.

There are a number of folks that do skype lessons, right here on the forum. I'm sure some folks her might be able to recommend one or two.

It can also be well worth your while to sign up for The Paul Franklin “Foundations” course which is a series of video lessons you own and can refer to as much as you need to. There’s a wealth of information in this series that is designed for your particular situation.

I'm definitely not opposed to paying for a lesson(s) or material, just wanted to see about giving it a whirl before dropping $1k on my own instrument.

Nobody has said "you're crazy" so far so that part is encouraging. Is it kosher to just straight up PM folks cold on here?

Definitely will be stopping by the festival in June but didn't want to wait until then to start meeting folks.

In my experience you can most people to sit in a room with you for $100. Most people who play music need to make money and/or like to pass on their skills.

I just bought my first PSG but I bought a lap steel two years ago. I don’t regret that path. I know now what a pedal guitar will offer me and also I get that that the lap steel is its own cool, versatile and portable instrument.

Personally I think starting with the lap steel makes a lot of sense. But I know that’s controversial.

If you are looking for a lap steel I really recommend an 8 string melbert to start with. Amazing value and they really play well. I love mine. I had a cheap Chinese one ( a rogue) that was somewhat discouraging.

Lessons with Troy (a forum member here) and
Doug Beaumiers books have been really helpful.

http://playsteelguitar.com/

Also all of Andy Volks stuff.

And Raffael is in town.

The buy in on lap steel is much much lower.

This is cheating a bit because it has benders:
https://youtu.be/nLOOmtvC9Hc

Thus far playing the lap steel hasn’t been impossibly difficult. It’s a matter of learning one thing at a time and going slow. That said don’t fool yourself that any of this is available without practicing a ton. But that’s true of playing anything well.

Steel is weird though. It takes a while to understand what it even is, at least to me.

Nicholas, I am 3 hours northwest of NYC in Walton, NY. I am
free Mondays and Tuesdays. If you wanted to drive up, I'd set up
my E9 10 string with 3 pedals and 5 knees, talk about the guitar,
give you some study materials, discuss makes and models, and give you
an introduction to music theory. You could sit at the guitar and see what you think, try out some grips and pedal changes, etc. I'd give you
4 hours at no charge...

Good for you, Larry! I can't speak for others, but as for myself, I would also give anyone who is interested in playing an hour or two of my time, a "gratis introduction", so to speak. We could talk about music, steel guitar, or whatever, and I could give them a brief introduction to the instrument. After all, lawyers give free consultations, contractors give free estimates, and Costco gives free samples of snacks.

It's not like I'm a doctor or "professional" at anything.

Posting up to thank Larry for spending a couple hours showing me the ropes Monday. There's a lot to learn for sure but things started to make a tiny bit more sense with the instrument in front of me. Time to start shopping for my own. Thank you so much Larry!

Nicholas Babin wrote:For years I've been talking about "learn to play the pedal steel" as a bucket list item. I've managed to cross a few other items off the proverbial list in the last couple years and recently started thinking that there's no time like the present to begin what I expect to be the long process of learning to play.

I've been doing my research and I'm appreciative of the enormity of the task I'm considering. I had a little bit of violin training back in elementary school but I'm otherwise a total music novice. First task seems to be learning some theory, and I'm going to be in process with that shortly. I like to think I'm at least in the ballpark from a hand/foot coordination standpoint since I race cars on the weekend, and I know my ears are substantially more attuned than they were in school.

Just want to say that I was in your exact same shoes 7 years ago. I picked up the instrument at 27 years old as my first actual instrument. It's been an absolute blast learning to play. I've found that starting the process of learning how to play music at an older age makes it more difficult to 're-wire' your brain for it, but it also makes you so much more aware of the process of what''s going on inside you and the way it changes how you look at music. It feels very good and fulfilling.

You are most welcome, Nick. The offer goes out to anyone in my area
who wants to learn about pedal steel. Contact me for one free session to see a pedal steel up close and personal, try one out, and have a free lesson. I also do lessons at my shop for $12 per 1/2 hour.

Curt Trisko wrote:

Nicholas Babin wrote:For years I've been talking about "learn to play the pedal steel" as a bucket list item. I've managed to cross a few other items off the proverbial list in the last couple years and recently started thinking that there's no time like the present to begin what I expect to be the long process of learning to play.

I've been doing my research and I'm appreciative of the enormity of the task I'm considering. I had a little bit of violin training back in elementary school but I'm otherwise a total music novice. First task seems to be learning some theory, and I'm going to be in process with that shortly. I like to think I'm at least in the ballpark from a hand/foot coordination standpoint since I race cars on the weekend, and I know my ears are substantially more attuned than they were in school.

Just want to say that I was in your exact same shoes 7 years ago. I picked up the instrument at 27 years old as my first actual instrument. It's been an absolute blast learning to play. I've found that starting the process of learning how to play music at an older age makes it more difficult to 're-wire' your brain for it, but it also makes you so much more aware of the process of what''s going on inside you and the way it changes how you look at music. It feels very good and fulfilling.

I went to school for music about 20 years ago and got not a whole lot out of it. My head was not in the right place and I was kinda dumb back then.

I more or less restarted learning music from scratch about 5 years ago on armpit guitar. I can say that for me learning music as an adult is maybe the same or easier than learning it as a kid. It's just that kids get constant affirmation when they are learning and even if a kid plays badly, it's still cute. So the early years are still pretty fun for a kid because they are still getting praise.

It's not that cute for an old guy to be banging out a bunch of clams. So that's discouraging. But if you can keep your outlook bright and give yourself some pats on the back and encouragement, I think you can do really well. I'm sure the kids synapses are building in a way that is faster than an adults, but I think for the most part, a lot of improvement is available for an adult if they practice.

Oh yeah and it's all easier if you don't have to have a job and there's a bunch of other people your age that don't have jobs to play with. That's huge

Curt Trisko wrote:I picked up the instrument at 27 years old as my first actual instrument. ... I've found that starting the process of learning how to play music at an older age makes it more difficult to 're-wire' your brain for it,