The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi everyone. I have been playing my steel for a month now and I've got a question: How do I really know that my picks are formed corectly on my fingers? I'm still having problems with missing intended strings, strings getting caught in my fingernail, and my thumbpick getting caught in the string! I'm an experianced musician so I realize that playing well, developing technique, takes time and practise; but I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. Any comments?
Thankyou in advance, Jim

Jim: Making solid contact with the strings comes easier with the proper positioning of the right hand. When I was starting to learn, one of the best pieces of advice I got was to begin by placing my hand in a "karate chop" across the strings, then curving the picking fingers into position. It's an awkward posture at first, but quickly starts to feel more natural. Many people also find it helpful to curl the little finger around the first string.

As for shaping the picks, finding the proper shape - and for that matter, the best picks -
takes some experimentation. Some people prefer the pick faces to be almost straight, while others prefer them bent nearly flush with the curve of the fingers. You'll discover quickly enough what's best for you as you develop your blocking technique. As a general piece of advice, make sure the picks are pulled well down onto the fingers and are as snug as you can make them.

As you play, check the pick face to see where most of the wear is occuring. Ideally, you should be striking the strings with the flat of the pick face; if most of the wear is appearing on the edge, it will seriously affect your sound and you'll have to alter your technique. Try Propik resophonic picks, if you can find them in your area. The pick face is slightly curved and tilted in one direction, which you may find gives you better string contact and less muscle fatigue. They made an enormous difference for me, and I wish I'd had them when I was first learning.

Also, Jeff Newman has a video on right hand technique that I found to be very helpful. He talks about shaping picks, blocking and all sorts of good stuff. I think it would be useful for players at all levels.

Jim,

I have seen just about every conceivable way there is to hold picks and position the hands. There does NOT seem to be a "best" way. Look at JayDee Mainess and then look at Buddy Emmons. Very different picking styles, yet BOTH are fantastic players.

Missing strings is a very common occurence when learning to play the steel. That is why I never learned. I still miss them all the time

With much practice, as you play and your ears become more cultured to what to listen for, a lot of the anamolies you are experiencing will just go away. They really will. It tends to be self correcting (for all but me) over time.

God bless you with your endeavors,

carl

Hi Jim,

Mike Idhe has a video for sale of Hawaiian players at their best.
You can see the correct hand positions very clearly.
Because your post is in the NON pedal section , I presume that's what you play, and as such I would recomend studying a non pedal players technique.(The Vibrato and picking angle are both quite different to what's commonly used by Pedal steelies)

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Basil Henriques
Emmons D-10
and
Emmons D-10
1949 "Leilani"
RICKENBACKER "Olde Uglie" Twin 8

<SMALL>Steel players do it without fretting</SMALL>

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~basilh/

http://www.stax-a-trax.com/