The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello I posted a while ago about long Black Veil solo ideas and I preformed it at my recital recently and I want your opinion of how I did and what I could do to improve my playing. Disclaimer I only just really started playing about six months ago and please note this was done on my phone. We didn't get to sound check so my pedal steel ended up being too loud. Besides that please critique me.

Video link
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YgX_lV7Yl4U

Most guys won't answer a request like this, but I know you want input.. Look, you're starting out, and this pedal steel thing takes some time... You sound like a new steel player, and that fine.. Every one of us at some point was at the same level you are now. No one was born a virtuoso steel guitarist.. Give yourself some time, practice hard, real hard, and keep learning.. The audio quality on the posted example didn't do you any favors, it was a blur and I only got one side through my phones. One day in the not too distant future it will fall into place , IF you remain dedicated, put in the time, and most important, stick with it- and do NOT get discouraged,,, bob

Hi Matthew,

Very brave of you to ask for feedback, but very smart to do so at this early stage.

What you are doing well, in my opinion:
- Positioning the bar for good intonation--not easy to do when starting out.
- Playing the solo using the bass strings to play the melody--provides a nice variety to the chordal fills.
- Not overplaying. You keep the fills and solo very simple, which is always a good choice.
- Recording yourself playing live after just six months and asking SGF members for constructive feedback is very courageous. You may have "pedal steel fever" like so many SGF members.

Possible opportunities for improvement:
- It sounds like you may be blocking (muting) the notes after sounding them, but I am not sure based on this recording. Blocking well, either with palm-blocking or "pick-blocking", is extremely important to master.
- While you seem to be mostly staying out of the vocalist's way, sometimes it sounds like you are playing while he is singing, which is something to avoid.

***************************************************
Playing pedal steel with just a vocalist playing rhythm guitar isn't easy. There is no hiding behind other instruments.

Here's an example of a master pedal steel guitar player doing it "without a net":
Tennessee Waltz - Anita Camarella and Bruce Bouton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpq_unRGVI4

Overall, I think you are doing very well--after just six months on the pedal steel.

I hope you find these comments helpful.

- Dave

I started with your same concept of finding the basic use of the A/B pedal. Key of E open and 12th fret with A and B chords by using the A/B pedals. Make use of the A/B pedal, key of E at the 7th fret. I didn't notice you using the knee lever which I assume is lowering your E strings to Eb? Or maybe just the 8th string E to Eb and 2nd string D# to D? Play the E chord at the 7th fret with A/B pedals down, then slide down to the 5th fret to get an E7th chord by rocking off of the A pedal and keep the B pedal down while engaging the knee lever. Play strings 5, 6 and 8. I've always taught that home base strings are 5, 6 and 8, much like a typing keyboard has home base keys where you rest your fingers and type from there. Play from these 3 strings and you can grab your basic 3 notes of a major chord plus the use of the knee lever on the 8th string to get your 7th chord. Basics, then branch out. You're on the right track.

Your timing and intonation are good, no problems there. One thing I notice you're doing is holding the bar in one place too much (read: too long). When you're playing in a certain chord, you can move the bar up and down the neck and use the pedals/levers to get different inversions of the same chord to add some flair. And remember, you can also do quick chord changes (I-IV-V-I) while the rhythm stays in the same chord!

(Listen to Buddy's "Blue Jade" and notice how many bar moves and chord changes he's doing while the rhythm stays in one chord.)

Matthew, you're doing everything quite well for such a new player. As a longtime player and teacher, here are my thoughts and suggestions:

• When hitting chords you're going to keep at just one fret, having pedal B down and rocking onto pedal A gives your playing a lot more emotion.

• Adding a bit of bar vibrato will also add more expressiveness.

• You should soon get a volume pedal, that's the third leg of the emotion and expression triangle. And it softens attack when you hit a chord.

Looks like you're playing a Maverick. Save up for a steel with 3 pedals and 4 levers, lots more you can with a setup like that. Mullen Discovery would be an excellent next steel. Till then, make the most of what you've got, and enjoy your journey!

All best,
John McClung
Pedal Steel Lessons, Casuals, Sessions
Olympia, WA 98512
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And, as you get more comfortable with the song, you are a compliment to the melody and rhythm. Don't play so much on the melody and on the beat, but answer them. Listen as much as you can to recordings with steel. Almost like a formula, they'll play in the holes and places between the lyrics. Thank you-it sounds great.

You need to do more than what you are doing. Learn the melody. This done by learning scales, watch YouTube videos by Mickey Adams, steel picking. Plus find someone in your area to teach you. You have to work on all that. This instrument that you will never. No your instrument and your notes chords. And most important; don't ever be afraid to ask questions especially here on the Forum.
Tommy Shown

6 months , I couldn't tune up at 6 months. You also get an A for guts. Please give a progress report around 12 months maybe on this same thread. Might be interesting and an illustration of what is possible.

You're sounding great! And you've got the right idea to get on stage and play with others sooner rather than later. I learned (and still am learning) the most by performing with others. It forces you to practice hard, listen deeply, and builds your confidence. If you can maintain your self-awareness (so you are evaluating your skills honestly), confidence is your best friend. It's helped me pull out some pretty decent performances in situations where I was in over my head.

Good advice here in the thread. One that I'll emphasize is learning where you can fit in between other instruments, and overall in the context of the song. Look for those holes, and think about what could go there that would support what else is going on. This is a life-long pursuit. But once you start thinking in that way, it'll make it easier to know when you can back off and when you should really go for it. I recently recorded with a band, and on one of the songs I only played one note at the end of every 16 measures. I had tried adding all kinds of different things, but ultimately the song just needed that one note, so that's what I did. But it was one HELL of a note

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement. Now to answer some questions and comments. Some people have asked on other platforms how old I am. I am 19 years old and I have been playing regular guitar for about 5 years doesn't mean I am any good with it. But I think I am descent. My Sho~Bud Maverick 2 pedals and one knee lever. I sacrifice the c pedal to lower the E's to Eb but it helps that it didn't really have a undercarriage so I fixed that. I did manage to get a old Fender volume pedal from a friend a few weeks ago and I have been figuring that out. I chose not to have it in the performance because I was not comfortable with it yet. As for that Mullan Discovery I have looked in to that and it was to far out of my budget. But I did manage to get my hands on a 70s MSA D-12. The case is falling apart at least the foam is look at it wrong and it falls off. It's not the original case and it weights 45 pound by itself so I would like to change that out. Since the foam is going to pieces some of it has gotten stuck in the changers so I am going to take it apart and clean it. I think I am going to take the back neck off and make it a SD-12 and keep the other parts for another project I have in mind. If there are any more questions I would be happy to answer. Again I would to thank you all for your support and advise.

P.S. At the recital I had several people ask me what I was playing and how they have never seen the steel guitar before in there life. The music director wants me to play with group that she is putting for one song at the county fair coming up soon. Apparently she wants me to play the dobro part to the Petersen version of Jolene. So I don't know how that will go that's if I can learn it in time.

Link to the guitar I bought https://reverb.com/item/68890866-1970-s ... edal-steel?