2 questions

[Pete Martin]

Hi all. Sorry for all the newbie questions. If y’all are tired of me asking so much, let me know (PM if you feel like) and ask me to stop. I don’t want to wear out my welcome, and it won’t offend me!!

Working on learning Western Swing. I am making good progress I think since starting in February. I transcribed and can play at about 50% speed Emmons’ Boot Heel Drag and Eddie Rivers Texas Playboy Rag. Still making some right hand grip errors in the last one as he has a number of wide spread voicings. I made up an arrangement (mostly 2 and 3 note voicings) of Bubbles in My Beer and can consistently play that at the tempo I would sing it, plus can improvise a few choruses (wouldn’t call it “good” improvising).

My biggest problem so far is holding the bar going from the “pointing at the note” single note playing to laying the bar flat to play multiple notes. My thumb doesn’t seem to know what to do. When you all do this, does your thumb go under the bar a bit to do the single notes and then go back to the side when playing multiple notes? If yes, is there a way you found to practice doing that?

I’m playing a 56 D8 Stringmaster. I can do this OK on the inside neck (A6), but struggle on the outside neck (Leons E13) because my wrist hits the strings on the A6 side, so I know I must be doing it wrong, probably holding my wrist too low. Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated and tried out!

2nd question: Has anyone tried any of the AI apps that strip away the other stems, just leaving the steel? I am tempted to try one since as hearing the low notes on WS recordings with bass, piano, guitar (sometimes 2) makes hearing those notes a bit challenging, especially on old recordings.

Thanks again to everyone for the help and do let me know if you want me to calm down the questions.

By the way, I have a free WS record “Hicks With Licks” (where I play electric mandolin) and a number of others recordings at my web site. Download it at the recordings link below.

Pete

[Michael Kiese]

Sup Pete,

As with everything else, it depends.

I refer to lifting the bar for single note lines as “tipping” cause you play with the tip.

I first started out with big heavy bars, now I play small Jerry Byrd sized bars.

My favorite bar is called a Chase bar, it’s tapered to a small bullet tip and wider at the other end. It makes lifting the bar and “tipping” much easier.

I find small bars much easier to play with, they are good for precise playing, and I experience far less finger fatigue than with big heavy bars. .

You can also try using a Shubb bar, they’re grooved on both sides and makes it very easy to lift as well.

Try out different types of bars and see what you like.

A lot of steel players have size bias for bars. Bigger = better tone. I don’t think so. I think it’s just what you like, and since you like it, you play better. Doug Jernigan likes big bars and has great tone and technique. Jerry Byrd used small bars and had great tone and technique.

I once saw a pedal steel player in Nashville’s printer’s alley use an aluminum cigar cylinder as a special effect bar. He did banjo style rolls, and he made his pedal steel sound like a banjo. If I remember correctly his name was Danny Dunn. It has been a very long time.

Just goes to show that it always helps to be creative and open to trying different things. So just keep trying big, small, all types of bars. Be open and just pick the tools that make it easiest for you to play.

Don’t worry about asking questions, that’s what this forum is for. Steel players are few and far between in the real world, this is one of the main places online where steel players commune. Happy to help!

[Rich Arnold]

I like to hold the bar in the most natural way I can and avoid difficulty and awkwardnesss.
Maybe laziness has something to do with that.
I make my own bars and the one I reach for most often for playing lap steel is approximately the same size as the Jerry Byrd bar but much heavier because they are sold stainless. The Dunlop bars claim to made of solid stainless but will stick to a magnet. There is such a thing as magnetic stainless but I imagine it would be cost prohibitive to order bar stock in that aloy.
Anyway, I digress...
I found that for me when awkward-ness is avoided speed is obtainable.

https://www.vimeo.com/1068608130

[Doug Taylor]

I have used Moises and Hit n Mix demo to separate the steel track with mixed results. I liked Moises better as it is simpler!

I am sure there are other apps to try as well!