The Steel Guitar Forum

I know it sounds very amateurish, but does anyone else out there use color strings to keep on track? I've been using a bright orange G# (6th) string for the past year and its made finding my place much easier.

yep, I colour my 8th string on my 12 string Williams with a blue or a black sharpie

I do this because I switch between my 10, 12 and 10U guitars, and it helps remind me where I am. If I play Williams for two or three consecutive gigs, then I usually don't need to do that

It would be groovy if someone started making coloured strings

I don't think theres anything wrong with it - Harp players use coloured strings as a matter of course

Tom Knowles wrote:I know it sounds very amateurish, but does anyone else out there use color strings to keep on track? I've been using a bright orange G# (6th) string for the past year and its made finding my place much easier.

Bad idea. If you use a "crutch", it just prolongs the proper learning process. I tell newbie players the same thing when it comes to putting bits of tape on the fretboard to denote the key or chord. As long as you can "cheat", you'll never memorize anything, and your muscles won't, either. Sure it's hard, sometimes, but that doesn't mean you can't eventually do it. If you don't burn it into your brain, you'll never be a good player, and RIGHT NOW is the best time to start!

Do you think piano players are cheating with their black keys? Whatever gets your brain and your body working together the quickest is good.

Asa Brosius wrote:Do you think piano players are cheating with their black keys?

No. But then again, they're already black, aren't they?

Donny Hinson wrote:

Tom Knowles wrote:I know it sounds very amateurish, but does anyone else out there use color strings to keep on track? I've been using a bright orange G# (6th) string for the past year and its made finding my place much easier.

Bad idea. If you use a "crutch", it just prolongs the proper learning process. I tell newbie players the same thing when it comes to putting bits of tape on the fretboard to denote the key or chord. As long as you can "cheat", you'll never memorize anything, and your muscles won't, either. Sure it's hard, sometimes, but that doesn't mean you can't eventually do it. If you don't burn it into your brain, you'll never be a good player, and RIGHT NOW is the best time to start!

100% right on.

Asa Brosius wrote:Do you think piano players are cheating with their black keys? Whatever gets your brain and your body working together the quickest is good.

Precisely...and also why it’s not cheating to have fret markers.

Your sixth string is either your first wound or last plain string so not sure I see a need to color it.

Donny Hinson wrote:

Asa Brosius wrote:Do you think piano players are cheating with their black keys?

No. But then again, they're already black, aren't they?

And, different lengths than the white keys. Really easy to tell the difference. A better analogy would have been if someone took a sharpie and colored the middle C, or all the C keys, or took that sharpie and marked the note name on each key.

At first it might be a good idea, for a short time until your hand gets it's position committed to muscle memory. Eventually that will happen, and you won't even need to (and shouldn't) look at your right hand.

I started playing 10 string pedals steels in 1971 or 72. When I sit at my guitar, my thumb automatically zeros in on string 8 (3rd string from bottom). That's my home base. In 2017, I bought an SD12. For a while, it was a little rough as my thumb was used to the 3rd string from bottom being "home", I found my hand in the wrong position using the low B string as home, as it is now the 3rd string from the bottom. That made for some real interesting (that should read: awful) playing. Took some serious work to get my hand to hit the low E (now the 5th string from the bottom). I don't know if marking the 8th (low E) would have sped up that transition.

Brian Hollands wrote:Your sixth string is either your first wound or last plain string so not sure I see a need to color it.

👍

If it works, it works. It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks, just do what works for you. Everybody is different.

Jerry is 100% right!!

If you have to use a couple colored strings: https://www.guitarcenter.com/DR-Strings ... Strings.gc

Violin teachers have the same arguments w/colored tape on the fretboard, but they always remove the tape as soon as the student shows some ability to play in tune.

However, I'm gonna say that in general if you can't accurately play chord runs or single note runs, you need to dial down the metronome

I appreciate all your responses. Thanks!!

Yes maybe because of bad eyes it works for me mainly in going through the book with tabs and music - I've even lined up the 6th string line in the tabs with my orange G# guitar string making things easier for me.

I think all (most?) string instrument teachers tell students not to look at the picking/bowing hand. Here's a good article about developing a feel in your picking hand for location. (I have a little different take on it, that's using the non picking fingers and heel of hand to feel where the thumb and middle fingers are.)

http://playpedalsteel.com/right-hand-te ... an-anchor/

(referenced in https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=323447

I get that, and if I played my 12 stringer at every single gig, then i'd develop a feel in my picking hand for location. Fact is, if I play the 12er for two or three consecutive gigs, then marking the 8th becomes less of a crutch for me