Pedal Steel Music

Hi guys and gals,

After seeing many posts on the forum from people that have ONLY been playing for less than a quarter of a century, it is obvious that there’s a big misunderstanding between the timber of your guitar and the ability to get the timber out of the guitar which we will refer to as execution. Execution being the act of creating the note. A note can be created by picking the string anywhere between the bar and the bridge, but the closer to the center of the string, the sweeter the sound. Remember, a piano hammer hits the string at the same place every time and a four year old child can get the same note out of the piano that the world’s finest pianist can. A piano is technically a type of machine. With instruments like steel guitars and violins, you actually have a hold of the note and the way you execute or create the note on the string determines the quality of the note. A four year old child cannot execute a note on a steel guitar or violin and have it sound like a grand master could. Steel guitar and violins are not machines but are a true extension of the human soul.

Do not confuse execution and the tone of the steel guitar as being the same thing. However, we do know that Buddy Emmons is a great technician and has the ability to sound good on anything he plays, but don’t make the mistake of thinking he’s going to sound as good on a mediocre guitar as he’s going to sound on a great guitar.

Many people make the mistake of thinking all the tone is in the player’s hands. This is an incorrect assumption, but as I said in the first paragraph, the player’s hands, by executing the note correctly, can bring out the finest qualities that the instrument has to offer.

What’s important to get good tone? The finest sounding instrument that you can obtain and then learning how to get the tone out of the instrument.

I have heard some players that can play extremely well, extremely fast, but can’t seem to get good tone out of anything … and then I have seen some players that really don’t play very much musically but get incredible tone.

One way to get better tone and execution is to pay careful attention to my Video Tab series which is driven by your questions and requests. Volume 3 and Volume 4 are both ready to ship and you can order them from my secret members page http://www.steelguitar.net/sale.html or you can click on the following links to go straight to the shopping cart.

Many of you have emailed me that the links don’t work so let me explain that these links only work if your internet browser security settings allow it and these settings are on your computer, not mine. If your settings don’t work, then type this in your address bar … http://www.steelguitar.net/sale.html … and it will take you to a hidden page on the website which I set up just for this purpose. You’ll be able to order at the discounted price of $29.99 because you’re a member of my mailing list. If you order from the website, the regular price is $39.99 so be sure to order from the hidden sale page which is for mailing list members only.

Your buddy,

Bobbe

P.S. The address for the Steel Guitar Showcase July 27th:
Eagles Lodge 1906
306 W. Van Buren Street
Columbia City, Indiana   46725

Hi guys and gals,

I will be filming Video Tab Volumes 3 and 4 this weekend. Volume 3 will concentrate on Intros and Volume 4 will concentrate on Fills.

I’m selling the Video Tab series at $39.99 each on my website but I’m selling them to my mailing list members at $29.99 each so watch the next newsletter for the link. I don’t want to take orders too far in advance of the videos being ready to ship but now that I’ve invested in duplicating equipment, I can create them as needed. This is much better than the situation before when I had to order several thousand dollars worth of product and hope that I’d get enough orders to cover my costs and not so many that I’d run out of product.

This weeks tip is in response to an email I got from my buddy Stu Peters up on Ontario, Canada. First of all, here’s what Stu wrote me …

“Say I really enjoy reading your tips on Steel Guitar, great material. Up here in Ontario in my area there isn’t many places left to play anymore. The clubs are watched by police so it has scared a lot of patrons off from attending and also musicians as well so people that have the room have created what you call small Jamborees where they have open stage … you’ve heard of that I am sure, now, to play much now it is either go and play for nothing to keep in practice or just sit home and let dust settle in. A lot of people write their own material so you are kind of lost backing them up … what would be a good approach to working with these type of song writers in order to not feel your lost all the time? You probably never hear the song again.  Have you ever had the feeling that if they are not very good that they drag you right down to their level of playing??? How do you recover in order to make the best of the situations???? Is the answer to stay away or keep steelin?????

Thanks for all the wonderful tips ….I wished you were closer to my area, I would sure enjoy going out to see you play …..Stu Peters …..Ontario Canada”

Thanks for the email Stu. Now here’s the way I feel about it …

Definitely keep steelin’. The new singers and writers that are writing their own material that you will only play one time … you don’t really need to worry about it that much because you’re only playing it one time, however, it is the responsibility of the singer to furnish a chord chart written out in numbers or letters in the correct key to all musicians that will be backing them up. Again, it is their responsibility if they expect quality backup to do one of three things …

… letter charts

… number charts

… or rehearsal (preferably paid rehearsal)

It is very inconsiderate for a singer or songwriter to just assume the band can get by just following them.

When it comes to working with musicians that are nowhere as good as you are … and we all know we have been in these situations … NO, you cannot play anywhere near your peak abilities when working with a band where at every chord change, every member goes to a different chord and everybody is playing a totally different volume than what they should be, or everyone is preoccupied trying to impress their family members or picking up one of the waitresses working in the club etc. Is this situation uncommon? No. It seems like most players and bands are more interested in the perks of the job than they are in doing a good job. The best you’re going to be able to play is when the band itself is doing a great job … when everybody is trying to play as a team and not a bunch of individuals on the stage. It’s hard to play any better than the musicians around you. It may even be said that a band is no stronger than it’s weakest member.

Sometimes when I get into these situations … as we all do … I do what I’ve seen Buddy Emmons do … don’t fight it. Don’t play twice as loud trying to guide everybody through … it doesn’t work. I’ve seen Buddy just take a deep breath, lean back on his pack-a-seat, fold his arms, look at the rest of the band and just smile. There’s no way you can teach them on the bandstand. With the band going in different directions all around you, when you do play, just concentrate real hard, don’t follow anybody, but do play the song correctly the way you would if the band were perfect.

Your buddy,

Bobbe

P.S. For anybody within driving distance, I’ll be performing at the Eagles Lodge in Columbia, IN. on July 27^th at 2:00 P.M. and you can email me for directions. Tickets are $7. at the door.

Hi guys and gals,

I’d like to thank everyone for the tremendous response that I’ve received the world over concerning my last tips newsletter on how to work with a band. Actually, much of this tip was learned by me in the studio as a producer trying to create perfect records, rather than as a steel guitarist trying to produce perfect steel guitar licks. Looking at the big picture and how everything works as a unit is much more important than how one person sounds in the band as an individual. Again, thank you for all of the response that I’ve received on that newsletter.

There are several different directions a steel player can go in his learning to attain his final goal as a player. Most players are at the stage of not knowing what direction they’re going to go yet. Do you realize that there are many steel guitarists in studios making incredible money that would be totally lost on the stage in St Louis at the International Steel Guitar Show? There are many great players that will knock you out on that stage Labor Day weekend, that would do very poorly in the studio under the pressures created therein.

During my heyday in the recording studios of Nashville, I started playing the steel guitar shows around the U.S. and found that I was very inadequate at playing live where I was the star. As a road musician, I did fine. After 3 or 4 years in the studio, I did fine but when I was on the hotseat at the big steel shows, this was the most nerve-wracking situation I had ever gotten in to. The moral of this post is going to be … focus on the kind of player you want to be. Learning to be a great studio musician is a total different art in itself, as is learning to be a great show, hotdog, show-off musician.

The things I will be sharing with you in my videos will be primarily focused on teaching you the skills you’ll need to know to make money with your steel guitar in a band situation. This band experience and playing well as a band member will the foundation you will need to be a hotdog, show-off in the future or an incredible studio musician. Very few people are really both … like Buddy Emmons and nobody else I can think of. For instance, Curly Chalker was the most gargantuous demonstration steel guitarist I’ve ever known, however, his Nashville recording career never blossomed, even though all the producers knew of him and would go to the clubs where he worked just to watch him play. These same producers would go back and book Pete Drake on the session for the next day and as we all know, Pete Drake even had trouble playing the melody. However, Pete had the uncanny ability to make a song sound, act and feel the way the producer and writer wanted it to be. It may be said that Pete Drake gave the song a chance to breathe and a song gave Curly Chalker a chance to breathe. To sit down and listen to a steel guitarist, Chalker was always at the top of everybody’s list. Pete Drake was at the top of every producer’s list.

Again, the moral of this tip … pick a direction to go with your playing. Aim at it and prepare yourself to hit the mark. That’s what I and my videos are here for … to help you to learn what you need to learn to help you accomplish what you want to do.

Your buddy,

Bobbe

P.S. Email me back and tell me what kind of steel guitarist you wish to be … an instrumentalist who will be like what Chet Atkins, Les Paul and Larry Carlton are to lead guitar or like Floyd Cramer and Liberace were to piano … or would you rather be a money making steel guitarist who will be like what Grady Martin, Billy Sanford, Don Rich or Brent Mason are to guitar or what Pig Robbins and David Briggs are to piano. All these guys make very good money but our personalities and internal make-up determine what we want or can be.