Approaches to Learning the Pedal Steel Guitar

I describe some different approaches to learning the pedal steel guitar and their advantages and disadvantages. I also give tips that have helped in my journey learning the pedal steel guitar.




If you have been following my posts, it may seem like learning this instrument like a insurmountable task! Fear not!

Q:     How do you eat an elephant?

A: One bite at a time.

How you learn this instrument depends on your background and learning style. For me, I had played the lap steel for 2 years over 40 years ago and I did not have pedals or levers on my guitar. Plus it had been such a long time that for all practical purposes I was starting over. I am not very musically inclined and lacked any knowledge of music when I started.

Some of you might be able to order online learning materials and do very well. Others, like myself, need an instructor. The advantage an instructor has over the DVD/CD learning materials is the instructor can provide feed back and help you through areas that may not be clearly understand.

One of the most important things to remember is, regardless of whether you use an instructor or not is:

1. Set a regular time to practice daily. At least one hour per day.

2. Pay attention to the little details. The benefit of paying attention to the details is not apparent when learning the details but adding all the little details together make a big impact on the overall song.

3. Be patient. You will not learn this instrument overnight. The first 18 months is the roughest.

I practice 10 to 15 hours a week for months on end. Then I will take a break and drop down to 5 to 7 hours a week. I start my practice sessions by playing each of the songs I have already learned twice. I then move on to my current lesson. If I get frustrated or bored, I will stop and practice my song list again. Then I go back to my current lesson. I break up my practice session into chunks.

After three years the most frustrating thing for me is memory. I tend to forget a song I have already learned and must go back to the recordings of my lessons and learn again. My instructor laughs at me and tells me this is normal -- one of the life long curses. What I forget is, that when I relearn a song, my technique has improved since the last time I learned the song. At this point I am forgetting fewer songs as I am practicing the songs so much that I can play them in my sleep. Steel Guitar Rag, Blue Hawaii, and Sleepwalk were the first three songs I learned. Now, I don't think I will forget these songs.

I am going to repeat what my instructor has told me. Do not worry about learning music theory. Any one can learn music theory and just because you know theory does not make you a better player. Technique, technique, technique is most important. Paying attention to the little details no matter how boring is critical to becoming a better player. When learning a song I will practice the same few chords over and over again working on the mechanics of the pedals, levers, picking, tone bar, precision and picking patterns. Once I have it down, I move on to the next few chords and repeat. Not all parts of a song will require this level of emphasis.

An example may be in order. The Buck Owen's song Together Again where Tom Brumley was the steel player had some unique sounds that were not heard before. Steel players were in awe at his ability to make the guitar weep. The one section where this is evident is can be duplicated as follows:

bar at fret 3
pick strings 3, 5
engage A pedal
pick strings 3 and 5 again
half pedal the A pedal
let off A pedal
slide down to fret 2
engage B pedal as you arrive
slide back to fret 3 without picking
release B pedal as you arrive at fret 3
slide back to fret 2
engage B pedal as you arrive

This seems simple enough, but here is what you have to focus on. First, half pedaling takes a while getting use to so you get the right pitch. Next, you have to focus on how you attack the strings. Too much and you lose sustain, too little and you lose sustain. Keeping your picking hand on the pickups also helps proper picking. Then you need to focus on sliding technique. Too fast and you do not get the sound you are looking for. Too slow and you lose sustain. As you can see in this little lick there are many details to pay attention to. More experienced players still have to go through the process, albeit quicker than less experienced players. I am still learning to let the guitar do the work for me.

I chose to learn songs instead of learning licks, intros, endings, rides and so on. My reasoning is that:

1. I am not interested in playing in a band right away.

2. I did not think I could keep my interest up with the guitar.

3. Playing solos is more difficult.

After three years of playing songs, I think my technique is developing quite nicely for where I am at. I am noticing licks that repeat between songs. I am starting to learn a lick or two as I learn a song and I am learning how to incorporate the lick in other songs. It does not matter that the lick does not fit, rather that I recognize where I can put a lick. As I develop more licks for my "tool box", the better my selections will be when I do insert a lick. This may seem silly to some but I don't have the musical background and am taking my time with what I am comfortable with.

In summary, in my humble opinion the best way to learn the pedal steel guitar is get an instructor. There are instructors that do skype lessons. Having an instructor has the advantage of being interactive and a good instructor can tailor your lessons to your learning style. CD's and DVD's cannot do that. If you have played for a while then CD's and DVD's can provide lessons your instructor can help with.

If you are an instructor send me your contact information and I will post on my blog. If you have suggestions for me or comment on accuracy of information presented, please send me a comment.

If you are interested in learning materials and/or instructors send me an email and I will help you find someone.

Other posts you might want to read:

Description of a Pedal Steel Guitar

Thoughts on Learning a Pedal Steel Guitar

Buying a Pedal Steel Guitar

Steel Guitar Setup

Lubricating A Steel Guitar

E9/C6 Tuning Copedants And Pedal/Knee Lever