Great visit to Morecambe Bay

[haydon]

Have wanted to play pedal steel since seeing Hank Wangford back in the day - London 1970s/80s - can't remember when!
Finally went to have a "browse" at Promenade Music. Now, happier but poorer and have just put the beast together - too many strings, not enough fingers. Does anyone know of a teacher in the Stoke on Trent area?

[Nick Bidmade]

Welcome aboard!
I'm not local to your area so don't know about teachers but there's lots of good tuition material here non this forum, on the US Forum and via individual on-line tutors - try Mickey Adams (the pedal steel player, not the football manager!) on You Tube. Try and get hold of a copy of the Winnie Winston book (I got mine from Amazon a couple of years ago).
That should have you fully occupied for a couple of years!
All the best.
(It is a rule that you can't boast about a new guitar without posting a few pictures...)

[haydon]

Thanks Nick. I'll certainly check out tuition stuff here and anywhere else I can find. The Winnie Winston book was included with the guitar, as was the swell pedal, bar, picks and a couple of leads. Gary at Promenade Music was v helpful and put the package together. So far I've been tuning - strings, bars and pedals and trying to get used to the picks. Are they really necessary?
A couple of years….!! I've realised that it's not going to be any less! Not quite sure what I was thinking of………
Another question. How does one become a "fully paid up member" and receive the newsletter - I'm not seeing an obvious link.
As for photos, my tech skill doesn't go that far as yet but maybe..

[slimbo]

Hi Haydon, as your starting from the ground up have a peep at this, just to give you an idea where your going,Slim

[Nick Bidmade]

Hi Haydon
There's a Newsletter section on this forum - there should be joining info there, or contact 'Uncle Roy'.

Re picks - I think most beginners find them awkward, sometimes painful, certainly ungainly and more of a hindrance than a help...
Then you start to get used to them, perhaps by adjusting the shape, the angle of the 'blade', the tension, weight etc etc etc - and, suddenly, you feel lost without them. They are certainly thought to be essential to achieving a good tone. I'm sure there are more experienced players than me who will weigh in with thoughts. What helped me was to get hold of a few very light gauge metal finger picks (Dunlop, for example) as these are easier to bend and manipulate. Once you have got a 'style' and shape that suits you, go on to heavier picks - again, the general consensus is that heavy picks will give a better tone than light ones. You can try different makers and materials, too. My favourite ones are brass, for example. Most players bend the blade so it almost covers the tip of the fingernail as this is the angle you need for good hand positioning for palm blocking (but don't ask about palm blocking as you don't want to be put off too soon!)
Everything seems new, difficult to co-ordinate, clumsy and too much for the brain to take in at once. Keep at it - I've only been going a couple of years, and am finding it hard, slow but really rewarding. Those who hear my playing can certainly attest to the above, although they probably don't find it rewarding themselves!!!
Re thumb picks, if you can't get a comfortable fit, you can 'open' the thumb tension with a few drops of boiling water (on the pick, not your thumb!), ease it open, try, repeat until happy (or thumb pick breaks!).
Happy days!

[haydon]

Thanks Slimbo. I had a watch n listen - made sense and I'm trying out different height seats, finger positions etc but there seems to be a little light at tunnel's end.
Thanks, too Nick, the picks seem to be slightly easier - it also helped getting better lighting!
What do they say about "genius", "inspiration" and "perspiration"?
Perseverance is probably the answer!
Happy days.