Beginner Question - Learning Process/Road Map

[Eric Ibarra]

Hello All,

I am about a month into the pedal steel and I am loving every bit of it.

The question I wanted to ask is what was your process of learning this instrument, from day 1 to where you noticed you could really play? A roadmap of your learning journey.

There is so much to learn with the steel guitar, I feel like I don't know where to go next or if something should be prioritized before another thing. Ha

Thank you in advance.

Eric

[Dylan Ritter]

Hi Eric,

Whatever you find yourself spending time on, learning songs, scales, licks, etc., what I've found, and others continuously stress, is that to really get anywhere it's crucial to dedicate disciplined practice time to the basics every session, and slooowly with metronome:
- picking exercises - including blocking
- bar control/intonation - accuracy up and down the neck

discipline in those two at a minimum make everything else that you do and progress on so much better.

I'm still getting there..

Dylan

[Fred Treece]

I documented mine. If you are interested in a little self-indulgent discertainment,
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... t=learning
Bout time to work on the Year 5 entry.

I should make a big note that The Paul Franklin Method was not out yet when I started. That would probably be the way I’d go now.

[Dave Hopping]

One thing that REALLY helps is to get something like the Tascam Guitar Trainer, which can slow down and repeat passages from songs on digital media.That way you can ear out something you like note by note.


it's very much like getting free lessons from the players who live in the studio, and they're infinitely patient with you. The guys Brooks & Dunn have on their hits are particularly helpful in that regard!

[John Sims]

Dylan is on the money. Finger exercises are crucial also. Joe Wright's website has some great fingering exercises. http://www.pedalsteel.com/joe/Members/tea/teach.html

Check out Jeff Newman's courses, particularly 'Right Hand Alpha' and his 'Up from the Top' series. There are a few clips on YouTube, just search Jeff Newman.

[Jim Kennedy]

I second the "Up From The Top" Series. Start with the A&B pedals course. You will be playing harmonic scales and then apply that to some common Merle Haggard tunes in no time. Don't ignore your right hand. I did not get the Jeff Newman "Right Hand Alpha" course, but I was given a booklet by Jeff that explains his right hand technique. Once you get these basics down, adding the other knees and pedals will be much easier. And don't forget to have some fun!!

[John Sims]

Here are samples from Jeff's videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB1UIPip2iw

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

[Andrew Goulet]

Here's what helped (helps) me:

-Practice switching between your major triad grips on one fret against a drone and/or metronome (I changed my copedent a bit last year, and went back to this basic exercise until I felt confident I could switch between them without looking).

-Learn where your 1, 4, 5, 6m, and 3m chords are all over the neck. Write it down! It really helps, even if you can't use all this knowledge yet.

-Try finding simple melodies (Twinkle, Twinkle, for example), and then learn them in as many places on the neck as you can find.

[Bobby D. Jones]

If you are playing a pretty common E9th tuning.
If you play some other music instrument and know the chords needed to play a song.
Mel Bay's E9th Chord Chart is like the road map of the E 9th neck. It shows the pedals, knee levers to use and strings to pick for the chord.

b0b has Mel Bays E9th chord chart here on the SG forum. At top of page INSTRUCTION and go to E9th materials. Best $7.00 you can invest in learning steel guitar.
Knowing the chords on an instrument is the first step to success.

Good Luck in this journey and Happy Steelin.

[Bill Terry]

FWIW, if possible, I'd recommend a new player take an 'in person' lesson with a good instructor, maybe just one or two visits. I'll never forget the invaluable afternoon I spent with my pal Ricky Davis when I first moved to Austin back in the 90's. The right instructor will really get you on a good path for the basics like hand position, etc. It's the kinds of things you may not notice yourself, and it's much harder to unlearn a bad habit than establish a good one.

[John Sims]

I've never seen a Mel Bay E9 chord chart, but here is a great free one! http://www.cryinsteel.com/download.html

[Tom Spaulding]

Eric-

You might find Paul Franklin's Foundations course covers the essential material at the right pace and in the right order for you. With dedicated practice, you will have a solid base in the most important techniques that you will be drawing on forever, no matter what your skill level.

Foundations: E9 Pedal Steel Guitar Basics

Hello All,

I am about a month into the pedal steel and I am loving every bit of it.

The question I wanted to ask is what was your process of learning this instrument, from day 1 to where you noticed you could really play? A roadmap of your learning journey.

There is so much to learn with the steel guitar, I feel like I don't know where to go next or if something should be prioritized before another thing. Ha

Thank you in advance.

Eric

[Bryce Van Parys]

I'm 6 months in and I've managed to learn 45 90s era Nashville songs for a gig next month. It's been harrowing, but putting a date on the calendar was a terrific motivator! I do about 3 hours a day, starting with picking exercises that I find on the internet, or scales, ALWAYS slow with a metronome. Then I work on my transcriptions. Here's the best thing I've found: https://vidami.com/ This pedal uses a chrome ad on and will allow you to loop, and slow down in 5 different increments from 100% to 20%. A total game changer, especially on youtube videos where you can see a players' hands, and even better, their feet. Once you figure out where they're playing the lick, and can slow it down, then it's just perfect practice and repetition. Every song brings a new skill that will transfer to another. Before you know it, you're off to the gig!

Bryce

[Willie Sims]

ERIC CALL ME AT 270 442 2106 I MAY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU, DEPENDING ON HOW FAR ALONG YOU ARE.