The Steel Guitar Forum

Good afternoon all:
If I could, I'd like to have some comments, suggestions etc. on grabbing the 10th and 6th strings. I'm guessing the proper way is to utilize the thumb and 3rd finger. Maybe I have the affliction of short fingers but this is a pretty good stretch for me. I've heard it should be the thumb and third depending on where you're going next. I'm also thinking that it is one of those grabs that has to be practiced over and over again until it sounds clear. I don't mind putting in the practice time along with the other repetitive drills and such to get it right. Anyone have any ideas on what works best for this?

Thanks for reviewing this post!

Tom Rhodes
Jackson, Mo.

Hi, Tom. I use thumb and middle finger.

A 10-8-6 grip is one of the 4 common grips to get an E major chord at the nut, so it's a good one to practice even though you probably won't use it as much as the other 3 common grips.

Thumb and middle - I don’t use ring finger to play steel. That 10-8-6 grip is important to master ( as are grips using string 9 on the bottom ) so you will need to put in the time to get comfortable with it. It can be a bit awkward as there are unique blocking challenges with the way the hand is placed relative to the neck. Keep at it until becomes natural

It shouldn’t be a stretch at all. My guess is that your hand is in an awkward position. Find a player or teacher to have a look. Or do an online live session with someone. I’ll do a quick FaceTime if you want. Again, a grip between those strings is not a stretch for anybody if your hand is positioned right.

Bob Hoffnar wrote:It shouldn’t be a stretch at all. My guess is that your hand is in an awkward position. Find a player or teacher to have a look. Or do an online live session with someone. I’ll do a quick FaceTime if you want. Again, a grip between those strings is not a stretch for anybody if your hand is positioned right.

What Bob Hoffnar said. Also, the most important finger to get in position is the middle finger on string 6. The 10th string just swipe at since it's the lowest string on the neck and hard to miss that way. After mastering that, work on automatically getting index finger into string 8, that takes training similar to the 6th string.

You can do it, Tom!