The Steel Guitar Forum

After playing for 2 years, I still have trouble hitting the fret on the nose when I move the bar down, say from the 12th to the 7th fret. The problem is that my left hand hides the frets. Is there a technique players use to see the fret and hit it accurately? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

With the bar at the 12th fret, you should be able to mentally "freeze" a picture of where the 7th fret is and move right to it (close enough to be in decent tune). Another problem might be if you've got your first finger in front of the bar. (But I'd have to see a shot of your left hand position to be sure.) Your first finger should be on top of the bar, so you can see the end of the bar (and the fret beneath it) out past your thumb. Make sure you're holding the bar parallel to the frets, and the hand can move anywhere. These things will all help, but continued practice is what really makes these moves easier and more accurate.

You can not see exactly where to put the bar down. By checking the location of your hand and thumb to other frets on the guitar will get you close, Then let your ears tell you exactly where the bar should be for the notes.

Like driving a vehicle, You are used to. You can not see the tires themselves, But by viewing other parts of the car you know where the tires are, For missing pot holes or other hazards on the road.

Good Luck in a solution to this problem and Happy Steelin.

IF YOU CAN SEE A SMALL OPEN SPACE BETWEEN THE BAR AND THE FRET ,YOU WILL BE ON THE FRET.TRY IT AND SEE IF I AM RIGHT.

Bobby's tyre analogy is spot on. Know your vehicle!

It's a question of confidence. When descending, I know one thing - if I hesitate, I'll be sharp!

Also, if you do land a shade flat and pull up, that's kind of in the idiom of the instrument. If you land sharp there's no escape.

Practicing without looking at your hands at all helps.
Might be frustrating at first, but....
Put a simple song on, or a drone pitch, pick a couple positions to go between and try to do it without looking at your hands. Your ear/hand co-ordination kicks in eventually.
This is like the 'weighted bat' phenomenon. When you finally look at your hands, you will have that much more connection to what's actually happening.
You could even start doing this on one string, moving through various positions and intervals. Take your time, use your ears.

Check your ergonomics. Are you fishtailing the bar ? Is your left hand relaxed and are you holding your breath ? Try the Franklin bar movement exercise for 20 minutes a day very slowly. Maybe along with a drone note. If you don't land perfectly where and when you intend then you are playing a non musical mistake. Playing a perfect whole step gliss is essential and really pretty difficult. I had a rude awakening when I first started recording. I had all this stuff I thought I could do but it took 10 minutes to do a simple whole step down gliss overdub. The key is in your ears and then your hands. You are doing good though. It usually takes 3 years of serious practice before steel players even notice they are stinking up the place !