Learning how to play the pedal steel guitar.

[pisces7378]

I am no country music fan. But I have heard the pedal steel begin to expand out into other forms of music, and when played propperly sound damn cool. A bad ass pedal steel solo is cool and if it is added propperly to a slow song, it can add tons of drama and melody support.

However to me it is a total fucking mystery. I just went to MusiciansFriend.com to see how much these things cost. (just to see not to actually buy). First of all they are EXPENSIVE!!!

But could anyone help me out by explaining to me in 50 words or less the methodology behind playing a pedal steel guitar?

On MF.com the common features seem to be..

- Three floor pedals
- Four knee levers
- E9th Nashville tuning
- All-pull changer system
- End-plate tuning

What are these things? What are the floor pedals for? And a "Knee Lever???"

And an E9th Nachville tuning??? Can you not tune the thing however you want to?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks guys

[64Firebird]

I don't know much and I might be wrong, but I think some of those pedels will loosen some of the strings strings, so you can play miner and 7th chords ect... and still use your slide.

[crawdad]

I can help you some. To start the E9 tuning is not the only tuning, but it is the most common one in country. The other common one is C6th. When you hear the steel playing those swing type licks, its C6th.

In the E9 tuning, you have an E major chord along with some passing tones like F#, Eb, and D. The pedals and knee levers either raise the pitch or lower the pitch of certain strings. That gives you a new chord. Play an E, then push down the A and B pedal and you get an A chord. Other pedals and knee levers pushed simultaneously give you other chords.

While you could tune it any way you want, the setup for both E9 and C6th is pretty complex, evolving out of years of experimentation and trial and error. I'd advise you stick with E9 for a few years.

If you are into using the steel in non traditional stuff do a search for Joe Wright. This guy is a monster player and isn't afraid to play hendrix on the steel! he's in Jackson Michigan somewhere.

For learning materials, Jeffran College is a must. Jeff Neuman is kind of the king of steel guitar teachers. he has a ton of stuff to help you get going.


I don't know beans about the mechanisms and how they work. I just try and play the thing. Mine is a Universal tuning, incorporating both E9 and C6th.

If you want to know more talk to the guy at steelguitarnashville.com or someone at Carter Steels. There is a bunch of info out there.