The Steel Guitar Forum

I just discovered this on the Sierra site:

http://www.sierrasteels.com/lessons/e9th-lessons-2.html

Joe's always been my favorite instructor because he stresses technique rather than learning songs from tab. The multiple views in the videos really help, too.

I subscribed Joe's "Analog Years" and i can warmly recommend it! It's a well of truly detailed information. Joe is master in breaking down all this complex actions to simple isolated exercises, covering all the physical aspects, which are involved in playing. I go through his basic movements, covered in his Wright-Hand Video and the Technical Bundle as well. Things get better!

b0b wrote: ...Joe's always been my favorite instructor because he stresses technique rather than learning songs from tab. The multiple views in the videos really help, too.

I've always said that using tab is like the old "paint-by-numbers" kits that were all the rage back in the '50s and '60s. It's really a bad and counterproductive tool to use because it let's you create a crude finished product without learning anything.

Online courses and videos are great, but they should never be your only learning tool. You also need to get out and see other players and get some one-on-one lessons from a few of them. Talk to them, play their guitar, let them play your guitar. It's only with personal feedback, both positive and negative, that we can really become well-rounded players. Smartphones and computers let you sit at home and communicate with anyone in the world. But never forget that it isn't a substitute for in-person involvement with other people. (We won't be wearing masks and "distancing" forever.)

great stuff! thanks!

“This thing is just a big pile of coordination “
Great reference thanks for link

Great link, Bob! I think you just gave me my winter storm activity.

I also like that he focuses on the details of technique. For me, that's the stuff that's going to help everything I do. A rising tide lifts all boats and all that.

I do have a general question for the populace, though. When he demonstrates the forward roll, he uses three adjacent strings rather than triad grips. He also recommends practicing triad grips, but I was struck by the forward roll positioning. I would be worried my right hand might get confused if I begin to practice rolls without regard for chord structure. In other words, I've spent a lot of time training myself to find the triads without much thought or effort, and if left to my own devices would practice rolls in these grips; is the forward roll on three adjacent strings more musically or mechanically/technically useful?

I guess I got lucky. That site was the absolute very first one that I found when I started. Two years later I still haven't absorbed it all, of course. I just figured you all knew about it...lol!

bOb: YES on the camera angles! I can't believe some of the more modern courses don't utilize this. To be able to replay any part of the lesson and be able to focus on any hand or foot/knee is incredibly helpful.

Andrew: Yes, developing good technique allows you to play whatever songs/parts/fills you are trying to learn.

Markus: Yes, he is a Master!

RE:Tab...I see it's usefulness, but in general, a form of writing music that doesn't incorporate 'time' is awfully incomplete, imo.

I spent months withJoes right hand videos. Still go over them regularly,they helped me so much!

Speaking of which.has anyone heard from Joe? Is he okay, anyone know

Joe Wright's write hand could be left.

Bill

Thanks for the heads up b0b. I really prefer Joe's technique-based teaching to lick-based learning.
I am a 6 string guitar teacher and my big challenge is finding the balance between teaching students songs they want to play and fundamentals I know they are going to need.

Joe is going straight to the fundamentals here and it's gold.

Actually for real right hand instruction from Joe it is better to go to "lap steel lessons" firstly. They lie just below the E9 lessons on the menu. It takes a raw beginner and shows how the right hand should be held, strings addressed and picked. There are a multitude of lessons each building upon the previous as he takes one through the different stages of becoming a pick blocker. It will take months to absorb and should not be rushed.

How I wish these were about in 1979.

I always liked what Joe said about the forum that he didn't know he was doing everything wrong until he started reading the forum.

A genius musician.

I found these pretty early on, but I think I wasn't quite ready for them at the time. This was a good reminder to focus in on keeping that right hand as ergonomic as possible. Also giving me a push to work on palm blocking so it's natural for moves that don't work so well with just pick blocking. Coming to this as a fingerstyle guitar player pick blocking was pretty fast to become second nature.

Anyone know if there is a lesson where Joe covers harmonics? I'd love to see his take on them.

Joe's a steel guitar treasure. I hung with him a bit at the Connecticut Steel guitar convention for a bit. What a talent and funny!

Luckily I stumbled across this jewel soon after I began to seriously apply myself to PSG. Watching 2.5 hours of Joe throwing out that wisdom was worth every second and really opened my eyes to what this crazy instrument could do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5c30VeceU

Thanks for sharing that treasure trove of Joe Wright videos! The timing is perfect as I have the next week off to dig in.

Does anyone have a source of the scale charts that he uses in the lessons? They would be fairly easy to make, but it would be even easier to just click and print, if they are readily available. Thanks and happy holidays!

I don’t think Joe’s scale charts are available for free online. I have his “My Approach To Pedal Steel Guitar” ebook ($32.50), and they’re all in there in a pretty exhaustive music theory section. I use it almost every day, though not so much for those charts.
https://www.pedalsteel.com/ashop/index.php?product=38

As always, I should have gone to google before asking, but if anyone else is interested, I found this which has major scale and pentatonic scales in basically the same format - in fact there's a 'note name' version and a 'scale degree' version for each key, so that's handy.

https://playpedalsteel.com/tabs-charts- ... l-steel-2/

I watched some Joe Wright stuff when I was starting out - time to revisit, I think!

Dean Gray is dead right about the balance between what they want to play and what they need to know. Sadly, what inspires them is not always very taxing - true of any instrument

Andy Henriksen wrote:As always, I should have gone to google before asking, but if anyone else is interested, I found this which has major scale and pentatonic scales in basically the same format - in fact there's a 'note name' version and a 'scale degree' version for each key, so that's handy.

https://playpedalsteel.com/tabs-charts- ... l-steel-2/

Don’t forget John Sohn’s Steel Sidekick app, which provides all that and much more in an interactive format. Pretty dang easy to use, too.
https://steelsidekick.com/

I like what b0b is getting at with his post, though. Joe Wright gets VERY deep into fundamentals.

Andrew Goulet wrote:I do have a general question for the populace, though. When he demonstrates the forward roll, he uses three adjacent strings rather than triad grips. He also recommends practicing triad grips, but I was struck by the forward roll positioning. I would be worried my right hand might get confused if I begin to practice rolls without regard for chord structure. In other words, I've spent a lot of time training myself to find the triads without much thought or effort, and if left to my own devices would practice rolls in these grips; is the forward roll on three adjacent strings more musically or mechanically/technically useful?

The short answer to your question is yes. There are plenty of useful musical ideas (sometimes involving the notes between the chord tones)in the forward and backward rolls on adjacent strings, and starting the rolls with different fingers.

The long answer is in a series of Joe’s ebooks which he has now made available for free. https://www.pedalsteel.com/prt/members/index.shtml