The Steel Guitar Forum

Is a downloadable Jerry Byrd’s course is available somewhere?

youtube?

The written course is not in PDF format to my knowledge. Still sold via the Scotty's website:
http://www.scottysmusic.com/byrdbook.htm

If I recall correctly he has a rather sternly worded page at the beginning asking students not to copy and distribute the material (for obvious intellectual property reasons) which may be partly why it hasn't been digitized...

This is one of his video lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1yUe8L7mTQ

It wasn't stern - it was a straightforward request from Jerry Byrd that folks don't copy the course, as one might see from any number of authors.

From the Foreward:

"As a point of honor I must request that you do not copy or let others copy any contents of this book. It is for your personal use only. I think that you will agree that this is only fair to me and to yourself.

I offer my best wishes for your success.

Sincerely,
Jerry Byrd"

I found a clean used copy + the CDs here on the SGF a few years ago at a pretty good price.

It's going on five years since his passing, and I guess Scotty's family still does a decent business with products on the website - but they seem to have put almost zero effort into upgrading the site.

I would think if they offered a digitized version of the course for considerably less than the hard copy they would sell a lot of them. But maybe they still sell a lot of copies as is.

Or it could be that the process of digitizing the course isn't worth the time and expense and staying with the status quo makes more sense.

One thing that's a little annoying to me is that the numerals for the tablature are typed on the spaces rather than the lines. When I read tab, I look at the page as if the black lines are the strings on the guitar. It's a mental adjustment when they are in the spaces. I see this quite a bit in pedal steel tab as well, and every once in awhile for standard guitar.

I have a copy I might sell for those interested

Lets do a course here:

https://www.soundslice.com/

and then we can just give the proceeds to Scotty's? I thnk Jerry would be happy with that.

But yeah, I joined this site for the Byrd course and I did actually find one after a bit. It's worth every penny and I think it DOES need to be modernized.

Bill McCloskey wrote:I have a copy I might sell for those interested

I am!

Jeremy DeHart wrote:Lets do a course here:

https://www.soundslice.com/

and then we can just give the proceeds to Scotty's? I thnk Jerry would be happy with that.

But yeah, I joined this site for the Byrd course and I did actually find one after a bit. It's worth every penny and I think it DOES need to be modernized.

I agree

Mark Eaton wrote:It wasn't stern - it was a straightforward request from Jerry Byrd that folks don't copy the course, as one might see from any number of authors.

Yep, no criticism intended at all, totally justified...maybe I just read it in the voice I imagine from reading his book, seeing videos of him, and hearing the stories...I wouldn't want to be on his bad side!

I had a lesson with Alan Akaka going over one tab of Jerry's, and he explained the kinda unique aspects of his tablature. I should see if I still have the audio because it was quite unique, how he writes out his tabs...

i have a lot of his tab. i would welcome any help with deciphering it

I can't deal with the note in the spaces, so I transcribe it into GuitarPro which prints the notes on the lines. I've got too much to do already getting the left and right hands where they should be to do the mental transposition.

Damn you guys are wimps.

I play completely from sheet music, which means I need to learn exactly were to play things by just looking at the sheet music: AND NOT LOOKING AT THE STEEL!, because you can't read the sheet music and look at your hands at the same time. It is actually easier than it sounds but it does take a ton of practice to be able to make major shifts without looking.

I can see why Jerry Byrd and perhaps a few others wrote tab notes in between the lines. It meant one could simply use regular music manuscript paper for six string guitars. At least I think that is where it began. And we must admit there is a tidiness to it, even if it seems awkward.

Bill McCloskey wrote:Damn you guys are wimps.

I play completely from sheet music, which means I need to learn exactly were to play things by just looking at the sheet music: AND NOT LOOKING AT THE STEEL!, because you can't read the sheet music and look at your hands at the same time. It is actually easier than it sounds but it does take a ton of practice to be able to make major shifts without looking.

Dang Bill. That's amazing (at least to me). Good for you, the conventional wisdom is that you can't do that with steel.

I didn't take up steel, or any music, until I was 67 which means I don't hardly have enough memory to capture 32 bars of anything. So, I have to sneak a peek at the tab from time to time.

I didn't feel so at the time, but I'm eternally grateful that the (older than me) lady who taught me made me learn standard notation. The Oahu course we used was notation only. I like the GuitarPro format with the notation printed above the tab so its easy to see the timing and phrasing.

John, the eharp instruction material which I study gets you started on the "touch system" ie not looking at your hands, right from the beginning. Of course, it makes standardizing on a scale length important. Eharps are all 23" scale length. If you sit in the same spot relatie to the steel, really focus on one scale length, and practice, it isn't as hard as it sounds. Definitely not impossible. (of course, with eharp, I don't do any slants so that helps. Everything is straight bar.)

I hear you on reading standard notation. I find it essential. Why be limited to tab when there is a whole world of sheet music out there.

To bad Jerry isn't still around to do a Franklin style course for the lap steel.

I finally ordered the good old book and cds from Scotty!

As a kid back in the '60s taking steel guitar lessons here in California, over the years I've searched real hard in the memory banks since I no longer have any of the music sheets from the course. This is one of the positives of the internet and in particular, The Steel Guitar Forum. It helps to jog the memory from over a half century ago.

The music studio where I was taught did kind of a hybrid of the Oahu Method and Jerry Byrd instruction. There was a signed 8 x 10 glossy of Byrd on the wall in the business office at the studio. He was sort of the "patron saint" of this family run business. I don't recall them being affiliated with Oahu - I think they might have just ripped off some of the ideas. And we did the Byrd thing of going through the different tunings to see how they relate to each other.

And Bill McCloskey, you will be happy to know I wasn't a wimp the entire time. Like the latter portion of the Jerry Byrd course, after a couple years they stopped giving us tablature and handed out songs with sheet music notation. I remember that a number of us kids were burning out on Hawaiian, old Gospel, Country, and Western Swing tunes because this was around 1967 and incredible Rock music was exploding all around us. I remember asking to learn Beatles tunes and no, we didn't get "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," but my first Beatles song on steel guitar was the sheet music for "If I Fell." That one wouldn't offend the parents paying for the lessons.

I was looking at some Oahu Method tab the other day online, and it's similar to the Byrd tab. I honestly can't remember what the tab looked like that I received when I started as a 10 year old kid. I don't recall what happened to those stacks of paper - might have bitten the dust when I moved out of the house for college and my mother went on a cleaning rampage, as mothers tend to do.

As an update, I receive the book and CDs today and wow! It really worth and its a big book, Im a happy to have the physical copy.

It will take my a while to study it and it will be fun!

Michael Scott at Scottysmusic.com, still has both courses from Jerry Byrd, and I've just purchased both. "Book with audio CD's" and "video instruction course"

Are the CDs available by themselves?

I have a copy of the book, but didn't get the CDs with the purchase