The Steel Guitar Forum

Here's a good one i stumbled onto last sunday: Knowing our church worship team was playing 'Amazing Grace' before hand, i thought I'd be clever and educate everyone on the real glories of steel guitar by working out an interesting and fancy intro. Would've worked fine and lovely too, if the steel kicked it off ALONE, and the song played in the traditional meter(3/4). But things changed and the rythm section led in first. A vague notion of better judgement to scrap it flitted through my mind, but nooooo... i was stuborn and darn it..i worked hard on this thing. Somehow I'll make it adapt . Well...several notes into the intro, the lead female singer(who was sitting right in front of me and doesnt particulary like instruments associated with Country music) began making twitchy, aggitated gestures. From then on i had a confidence breakdown and mental blackout. I dont want to describe or recall what i played. Church was packed too! How bout you??? Im sure there must be others out there who can offer helpful "how to" tips and hints to flatten the face.

One characteristic of people who succeed at anything is an INATE stubborness. A lack of willingness to concede or give up. It would be nice if we could identify the fine line when we should just forget about it, versus to keep on trying. VERY, VERY few people have the ability to modulate their personalities so precisely. So, I guess what I'm saying is, if you have to err, error on the side of stubborness. You may make a couple of goofs, but in the end, you'll be the better for it.

I worked some with the late Jackie Phelps and he said"Play The Melody" and Keep it Simple Stupid". He said- Play for the audience. Ed Naylor Steel Guitar Works

The biggest mistake a musician can make is not listening to what the band or ensemble is playing. Things OFTEN take a course that was not really planned. Sometimes this becomes a vehicle for serendipity, but more often it can be a recipe for disaster. An individual musician preparing / composing the intro and learning it is just the first step to pulling it off with an ensemble. If you don't have an opportunity to rehearse with the entire ensemble, it is critical that details like time signature, key, feel, etc. be communicated to the band leader or, in your case, music minister.

"Unseasoned" musicians fall apart at the first sign of uncertainty. We've ALL done it. Those with more experience realize that losing concentration and becoming distracted interrupts your listen/feel/play feedback loop which keeps each instrument in sync with the ensemble. In an emergency, "seasoned" musicians will immediately play something as simple as possible -- like the root tone of the chord. Sometimes that doesn't even work -- like when the whole band is lost and what the current chord is becomes unclear.

I often think "what would Buddy do?" Of the scores (if not hundreds) of times I've heard the Big E, I've only heard him fail to recover from a MAJOR CLAM once -- at Scotty's Convention in the late 70s. Adding insult to injury, it was on a beautiful slow song (title of which escapes me). At the end of the phrase following the mistake, he shrugged his shoulders, flashed that patented Emmons smile, and proceeded to blow us all away. That is the giant economy size of COOL!

So, my advice in times of chaos would be
* never quit listening
* be prepared to play your part, but don't insist on playing something that goes against the grain -- the grain can CHANGE
* play simple -- as a rule, the more people in the ensemble, the simpler you should play
* if you're really lost -- DON'T PLAY ANYTHING
* if you're listening carefully and can't think of anything to play that will complement the ensemble -- DON'T PLAY ANYTHING
* SMILE A LOT.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 18 September 2001 at 11:19 AM.]</p></FONT>

Exodus

yup!

On one occasion when BE was doing a performance with a backup band who had the charts in advance, but had no time for rehearsal. They started a song in 4/4 by mistake but Buddy held up his hand to stop, turned around and said "it's a waltz", then started over without any sign of embarrassment and performed it flawlessly.

I have to say that Ed and Larry’s words are very wise! Yes, we HAVE all been there and hopefully that is how we learned. You should always play to the audience and the easiest way to do that is “listen” and play with the other musicians.

I have been in situations where all the other guys in a band were simply playing something “wrong”. Those are tough, but if you go against the grain you will learn the hard way. Lesson #1…maybe the other players simply don’t know the tune, and on a bandstand in the middle of a song, is not the place to try and teach it to them. Lesson #2…we don’t always have the advantage of playing with really top-notch guys. Sometimes they are simply are not competent enough to make quick changes when you give them a hand signal or holler out a correct chord. If you try and force the issue, YOU are the one that is going to stand out like a sore thumb, and that will usually get you fired, or never called again. Stupid? Yes, but that is the way life goes.

Years ago I played a job with some kids that were about 4 gigs out of the “garage”. Nice bunch of people, but they really didn’t know much. The front man called “Funny How Time Slips Away”. When they got into the song I realized they were doing it as a 3-chord song! They never put the 2-chord change in there. Needless to say, I put it in there the first time around…but the bass player didn’t, and somehow the singer didn’t even go to it, but the drummer had a nice feel for what they were doing. I just shrugged my shoulders and played it the way they did. It was not right, but somehow when we all got together it actually came off not too badly.

As a side note I will tell you that the father of the lead singer called me several days later and wanted me to play with them on a regular basis because I had “made them sound so good”. He was a pretty good sales guy, but I had some other things going on so I politely turned them down. I can also tell you that 25 years after the fact, those guys (Not the original bunch as a whole, but with some changes here and there) are one of the best bands in the San Antonio area. They work all the time, get good money…and probably could nail “Funny How Time Slips Away” if they needed to! We all learn

B. Bailey Brown

Several months ago, the band I had played with for 2 years disbanded. When I recently joined another band, Hank's song, Cold, Cold Heart was common between bands but the OLD band went to the bridge after the guitar break and the NEW band wanted to return to the verse after the break. Well, I tried to take the new band to the bridge after the break. Damn, I got a dirty look but the singer never said a word about it.

Get to know your new band!!!

Jeff Newman calls it "gettin your gun jammed" and as long as you learn from the mistake and nobody had a tape machine running at the time, you're on your way to
"not" getting you gun jammed.
As others have already said, listen, listen, listen and then play the least amount of notes you can. The Root & 5th are good places to try, stay away from 3rd's unless your pretty sure of the chord.
And don't make a face if you hit a clam!
JE:-)>

At the '98 convention Buddy was playing on C6 when his bar flopped out of his hand and onto the floor. He kept playing while reaching down to retrieve it, smiling all the while. Gregg Galbraith, who was playing guitar to Buddy's right, but was looking the other way, said he wouldn't have even known it happened, but some people in the crowd started in and he looked around. That is concentration.

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My best,
Ernie

The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com

I disagree with just about all this advice. He SAID he tried to ADAPT, but it didn't work. Which means he was listening to the band and I'm sure he was trying to keep it simple. So everyone tells him to play simpler, not play at all, listen to the band, listen to Buddy Emmons, etc. None of this gets to the root of the issue. Steven, you can make your own judgement call on how you would adress this but, IMO, the main problem you had was that you weren't prepared for what happened, and you decided to try to make your arrangement fit, and it didn't work out. If you had a little more skill at improvising, you might have been able to pull to off. Try practicing improvising in different keys to different meters and musical styles. That's the best way to prepare yourself for it the next time. And the LAST thing I would tell you to do is not play, or play real simple. Learn to think fast on your feet and then you'll be able to play something interesting on the spur of the moment. And obviously, if you have no idea how the song goes, the style, or the chords in it, or whatever, you shouldn't play, but I can't believe that you wouldn't know that already, and anyway, that wasn't the issue of the topic. It's better to goof and become better than never to have tried at all. Best to you.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jeff Lampert on 18 September 2001 at 02:53 PM.]</p></FONT>

Jeff,
I feel that we have given practical advice, whether you agree or not. Basically, what you propose is that an admittedly "unseasoned" player somehow become "seasoned". EASIER SAID THAN DONE. I believe that Steve was looking for ways to have made it less painful for him and less noticeable for the audience. I believe that those who play for others owe the audience the courtesy of as polished a performance as possible. Knowledgeable players, like yourself, are skilled at playing their way out of a jam but that skill is usually long in coming. Naturally, Steve should aspire to become such an accomplished improviser that any wrong note can resolve into a right one in an interesting manner. Easier said than done. I would still contend that little is gained by insisting on continuing to fall down the crapper hoping that somehow I'll pull myself back out.

Just my opinion.

Seasoned or not, there are more ways than I can count for everyone to fall on their faces. Every player I've ever worked with has done it and, without mentioning names, that includes some of the most well-known players on the planet. From my own experience, "thinking" about something too much will sometimes lead to disaster. Then you have to deal with picking yourself up and moving on...a very hard thing to do.

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate your perception (and listening skills). Tell you the truth, I'm not much prepared for anything at 7am. I can handle bass and guitar in my sleep, but steel...im the first to admit im short on experience and can be knocked off my game given various circumstances. Best to all.

Larry,
I know it's probably more practical to not play, play simpler, etc. etc.. It just sounds too much like throwing in the towel. I mean, I botched a lot of stuff in the early years (and sometimes now as well, but back to my point!!), but I feel that by forcing myself through, probably at the expense of some of the tunes my bands would play, I got better. The old "sink or swim" type of thinking. Without trying to overload Steven too much, I just think he has to use his judgement. If it's a special gig, maybe you exercise discretion over what you put out there, and lay back if you're not sure that you can get through it. If it's an empty bar at 2:00 in the morning, then you throw it all out there and see what sticks. Anyway, something like that. Take care.

Something else i think is being missed or i didnt get across well. I let fear and inconfidence get the better of me. Hence the mental gun jam. Thats probably more dissasterous for the steel than any other instrument. But this comes down to exprience as well.

B Cole, I'm sometimes clumsy with words and often give the wrong impression. forgive me. I'm really not out of my league or "caliber" with this band. The fact is, the other players feel the reverse is the case. Im not trying to toot my own horn, but i felt kicked into a little self defence here. These guys(and gals) are not bad players either. I try not too draw to many conclusions by a guys words durring a self deprecating mode. God Bless.

on 2nd thought B, your'e right on the money. I happen to own a few pets, namely a couple beagles, an old cat and a sick bird. When I practice they tend to wanna join in for some song and merriment. I think we got alot in common and im gonna hang with this gang for while and see where it goes.

After reading the original post a few times it sounds like the only missing ingredient is/was a band rehearsal prior to the performance.
Steve?

!!!BINGO!!!That + another cup of coffee and an hour of sleep.

I usually fall on my face after too many brewskies Sorry.. Just wanted to lighten things up a bit.