The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi, all. I'm a life-long musician but brand new to the PSG. This is Week 2 of learning this wonderful instrument! I know lots about music, music theory, how to listen for parts and learn a song, etc. I need to learn and practice the playing techniques of pedal steel. What are some simple songs or solos that would be good to learn to develop technique? At this point I'm pretty much sticking with right hand technique and AB pedals. Bonus points will be awarded for suggestions from 90s country repertoire (I'm learning PSG to join a 90s country cover band).

For what it's worth I picked up a 1980s BMI S10 that is quite plain and I'm very proud of!

Beginners Notes in the tablature section of the forum. Over 500 tidbits.

Buck Owens "Act Naturally" is a pretty good one to play along with to get used to going to/from your basic 3-chord song changes.

Dick Sexton wrote:Beginners Notes in the tablature section of the forum. Over 500 tidbits.

Thanks for this, Dick! I'll start working through these.

The Mel Bay instruction book is ideal. It is musically incredibly basic and allows you to concentrate on the elements you mention. It also uses notation on top of the tab, which is good if you're literate.

Hi Steve. I just recently bought a BMI with S/N1221. I suspect it is from somewhere in the 80's

What is your S/n

Sam

Hi Steve at least you are in the right place , Texas . All the suggestions are good but I would suggest you should find a good teacher to get you started . You seem to have a great knowledge of music so a half dozen lessons should set you on the right path . One on ones either in person (best) or on Skype (next best) .

PM sent

One thing I've done for quite a while you might find helpful. I pull up Pandora on the PC, pick somebody like Ray Price or Johnny Bush (many others obviously) and create a 'channel'. Assuming you already have some basic knowledge of playing, i.e. grips, pedal combinations, etc. just set your guitar up and play along with whatever comes up in the stream. You'll get some 'tests' from time to time, but that's the value. Since you mentioned 90's, you might try a channel based on Alan Jackson or George Strait, or whoever the band is covering a lot.

This isn't a replacement for a lesson or two and/or some instructional material. It's especially important to form good habits for hand position, blocking, posture etc. early on. But once you get a little of that going, this is great ear-training and will get you comfortable with finding the right key and learning how to 'play with a band'.

YMMV of course, but this works great for me and I actually enjoy it.

Bonus points will be awarded for suggestions from 90s country repertoire...

Okay, I'll take any bonus I can get at my age!

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

This song, by Trace Adkins...from 1997, is one of the last, if not the last, charting country song I can think of to feature a pedal steel intro and ride. And for that, I'll always remember the name Trace Adkins. (This was also his first #1 hit.)

Maybe one of these days I'll get to meet Trace and thank him personally.

Josh Turner song, Your Man. Released in 2006 and has a nifty steel intro and turn around. It's a cool country song.

Good suggestion Donny. I played that in a cover band. It's not that tough a lick and sounds great with the resolved dissonance.

Some of my favorite fills and solos from that era. (not particularly beginer material but something to shoot for eventually)

George Straight
"Check yes or no" Buddy Emmons
"All my Exes" Paul Franklin
"I've come to expect it from You" Paul Franklin
Vince Gille
"Pocket full of Gold" Paul Franklin
"Look at Us" John Hughey
"Take Your Memory With You" John Hughey
"Honey I'll Take Texas" John Hughey
Keith Whitley
"No Stranger to the rain"
"When you say nothing at all"
"Don't close your eyes"
"It ain't Nothing"
Alan Jackson
"Don't Rock the Jukebox" Paul Franklin
Dixie Chicks
"Cowboy Take me away" Lloyd Maines

Dipping back to the 80s:
Ricky Skaggs
"Highway 40 blues" Bruce Boutin
"You've got a lover" Loyd Green

....and quite a few others that I can't think of off hand.

Steve Luthye wrote:Hi, all. I'm a life-long musician but brand new to the PSG. This is Week 2 of learning this wonderful instrument! I know lots about music, music theory, how to listen for parts and learn a song, etc. I need to learn and practice the playing techniques of pedal steel.

It might be a good idea to get the techniques down before you concentrate too much on learning songs. Picking, blocking and bar control must be mastered, and that takes focused practice on those aspects of the instrument, just like any other guitar.

You might check out Paul Franklin's course on teaching all of that, Foundations: E9 Pedal Steel Guitar Basics. You can hear and see the various techniques and mechanics needed to play in tune and how to connect the standard guitar tuning to the E9. Full details, complete syllabus and sample clips at the link above.