The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm finally getting to take the leap and getting to learn to play a pedal steel thanks to my favorite Uncle and im sure he will scroll past this eventually he has been on here for years He has been playing since he was younger than me and I'm 19.I just wanted to ask for any tips and tricks you guys could offer to someone getting into the pedal steel.
and for anyone wondering the steel my uncle is letting me use to learn is an 1979 Emmons PP D10 ill include a photo of it.
Thanks for any help you guys can give!!!!

Carl -

Your favorite Uncle is definitely your best resource.

Have him patiently show you a few things -

'like how to pick and block each string cleanly without even placing the bar on the steel, ......and not using any of the pedals.

I'd suggest to just take 'baby steps' to get started

Kind of like "First things first."

(Suggestion = get an audio recorder to save each lesson)


Never erase - and always treasure - those beginner lessons from your favorite Uncle.

Just breathe and focus on that left hand before you worry about what your feet and knees are doing. Play simply but with feeling.

There are no tricks, just knowing how to practice.
The Paul Franklin Method "Foundations" course has been highly recommended by many forum members.
https://www.modernmusicmasters.com/paul ... oundations
Good luck, and welcome to the club!

Start with one neck and get comfy. My first was a Sho Bud D10. Each neck has different characteristics. I tried to learn both at the same time, and it was not fun for me.

AND listen to your Uncle

I finally got to sit behind a pedal steel. i can definitely see what im in for now its gonna take some getting used too with my right hand. I have played guitar on and off since I was little but never used finger picks all that much. but I don't think it will take me to long to get my right hand where it needs to be.

my little piece of wisdom is: do it a little at a time -- it takes patience and logic that's why few people play this thing

first, forget the expression pedal and the levers, they will only frustrate you in the beginning
forget the back neck too
practice picking and blocking different strings, especially the 6 triad strings (10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3)
then use the bar and get a feel for the intonation
with the ABC pedals, play some solos you like (either from instructor, tab or video or if you are a genius, by ear)
add the E levers
add the "chromatic" strings (1 & 2)
add the other strings (9 & 7)
adjust the pedal heights as you go
add the expression pedal
adjust the guitar height as you go
add the other two levers

the exact order of this is not cast in stone, you get the idea

One of the best things as a beginner starting to learn steel is, A copy of Mel-Bays E9th steel guitar chord chart. This chart shows Major, Minor, Diminish, Augmented and 7th chords. It shows pedal and knee lever use to obtain the chords. Click on Instruction at top of the page b0b has them here in the forum store. Best 8.00 you can spend. Welcome to the Steel Guitar Forum, Good Luck and Happy Steelin.

Good advice here!

I found that practicing my triads in an open (no pedals or levers position) for a percentage of each practice session was really helpful. You can put on a cello drone and/or metronome to better your intonation and timing as well. After you get the open triads down, you can start in on the other primary pedal/lever positions and you'll start to see how it all knits together.

Diversifying a practice routine is always good, I think. Spend some time on rudiments, some time on learning songs, some free time experimenting, etc...

Learning to read tab as well as playing by ear will help you.

Go slow and strive to play everything accurately, cleanly, and in tune. Speed will develop naturally.

Sometimes if I really want to get a lick down that's bugging me, I'll sit down and play it 40 or 50 times in a row, as cleanly as possible. I usually can play it at the desired tempo after that (and I don't forget it).

I'm not saying I do all of the above all the time. I should take my own advice. But I wish I had done all of it all the time right from the beginning.

No tricks, just concerted focus on basics.

On days off, lock yourself in your music room and practice the basics for 10-12 hours - take breaks every hour or so to relieve your back and legs, stretch, keep hydrated, and so on. On work/school days, take 4-5 hour blocks and lock yourself in the room and do the same if you can. If you are off for a week, just spend the entire week doing the same. What are the basics? To me:

1. Get the guitar reasonably in tune so it sounds good to you. If chords on your open strings don't sound good, there's no way you can play in tune with the bar. Sure, start with a chromatic guitar tuner, but if chords don't sound good, consider flatting your 3rds (G#) a bit until they do. One can talk all day about tuning, but keep it simple at first and just go for "sounding good" to you. Playing steel requires developing an acute ear for "sounding good" and "in-tune".

2. Work on playing single notes, two notes, and triads on open strings 8, 6, 5, 4, 3 sounding good and in-tune, and be able to sound them so they ring out or quickly muted (blocked) either in full chords or arpeggios. Read up on blocking - if you look through the forum and find instructional books/videos, you'll see lots of info.

3. Bring the bar in, and focus on doing the stuff from #2 up the neck. Focus on making smooth moves up and down the neck and staying in-tune at all times, as well as experimenting with bar pressure and its effect on your sound. Work on playing without and with vibrato. Definitely read up on bar technique - forum, instructional videos, books, whatever.

4. Work in the A and B pedals first. Focus on cleanly using the A pedal by itself, B pedal by itself, A&B together, and then smoothly letting off and squeezing in just the A pedal, and the same for the B pedal, without moving your left foot. Listen to classic pedal steel stuff and learn how to use the pedals to get the classic sounds with the A and B pedals. Use books/videos/instruction to help this along.

5. Gradually work in the C pedal and the E=>Eb and E=>F levers. Find some forum threads and books/videos/instructon that discuss how these are used.

6. Always focus on sounding good and in-tune, with smooth transitions. I do not recommend particularly focusing on licks at first. Play along with songs and especially focus on being in-tune with the song and smoothly moving back and forth, with and without pedals, to fit in with the song.

7. When things are sounding good, gradually work in the other strings and levers. Work on playing melodies combining these other strings with your pedal and lever moves.

Generally I would not recommend fiddling too much with a volume pedal. But I think it's important to use one just to get used to it. Avoid indiscriminate pumping up and down of the volume pedal. Learn to first hold the volume steady in the middle of the range while focusing on other things - first with no levers, and then as you work the levers in. Then eventually you need to learn to use it as an expression pedal - again, take counsel from forum threads, books/videos/instruction.

I absolutely think that most people need to really get intense about this during the beginner phases to make good progress in a reasonable amount of time. Basics, basics, basics over and over again until they are second nature.