Pedal steel guitar with two 10-string necks

The pedal steel guitar is a type of Electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. The pedal steel is placed horizontally on a stand, with the strings facing up towards the player, and is typically plucked with fingerpicks. The instrument's pedals are used to change the pitch of its strings while being played; the action of the pedals may either be fixed, or may be configurable by the player to select which strings are affected by the pedals. The pedal steel, with its smooth portamenti, bending chords and complex riffs, is one of the most recognizable and characteristic instruments of American country music. Image File history File linksMetadata Carter_Whited10. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Carter_Whited10. ... Two different electric guitars. ... A fingerpick is a type of plectrum used most commonly for playing bluegrass style banjo music. ... Portamento is a musical term currently used to mean pitch bending or sliding, and in 16th century polyphonic writing refers to a type of musical ornamentation. ... In popular music, Country music, also called country and western music or country-western, is an amalgam of popular musical forms developed in the Southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, Celtic Music, Blues, Gospel music, and Old-time music that began to develop rapidly [1] in the...

While there are some fairly standard pedal assignments, many advanced players devise their own setups, called copedents. The range of copedents that can be set up varies considerably from model to model. Aftermarket modifications to make additional copedents possible are common. Copedent is a table used to describe the tuning and pedal arrangement on a pedal steel guitar. ...

The pedal steel was developed from the console steel guitar and lap steel guitar. Like the console steel, a pedal steel may have multiple necks, but the pedals make even a single-neck pedal steel a far more versatile instrument than any multiple-neck console steel. Excel XL-800D table steel guitar The table steel guitar is a type of electric steel guitar intermediate between the lap steel guitar and the pedal steel guitar. ... Chandler electric lap steel guitar, a modern solid body with the classic Weissenborn profile. ...

Description

Underside of a 12+12 string showing the knee levers and mechanism

A pedal steel guitar is typically rectangular in shape, and has no resonant chamber or conventional guitar body but only one or more guitar necks. These are mounted on a stand and equipped with foot pedals and usually knee levers. Many models feature two necks, the nearest to the player most often using a C6 tuning and the farther away using an E9 tuning. The most common configuration is one or two necks of ten strings each, but eight-string and twelve-string necks are also popular, and even models with 14 strings on one neck can be found. Three-neck instruments are less common than those with one or two, but are not unknown. Image File history File links Carter_ClearlaqBED12bot. ... Image File history File links Carter_ClearlaqBED12bot. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... C6 tuning is the most common tuning for electric steel guitar, both on single and multiple neck instruments. ... E9 tuning is a common tuning for steel guitar necks of more than six strings. ...

The pedals and/or knee levers (engaged by moving the knees left, right or vertically) on the underside allow the performer to tighten or relax one or more strings in combination, changing the instrument's tuning during performance.

History

The pedal steel guitar is the latest development in a story that started with the invention of a technique of playing used in Hawaii in the late 1800s, wherein the strings were not fretted in the normal manner by the left hand, but rather by sliding an object such as a comb or the back edge of a knife blade along the strings above the neck of the guitar. Several people have been credited with the innovation. This article is about the U.S. State. ...

The Hawaiian style of playing was very popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. To increase the volume of the guitar, a resonator cone was added by the Doypeyra Brothers to create the resophonic guitar.

By the 30's, the hollow guitar body was abandoned for a flat slab of wood or metal and the addition of an electric pickup; this was the lap steel guitar. It was the first electric guitar to achieve commercial success. Several pioneering manufacturers of the electric guitar were first famous for their work on the then more popular electric steel guitar, among them Adolph Rickenbacher, Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender. Two different electric guitars. ... Two different electric guitars. ... Adolph Rickenbacker (1886-1976) was the founder of the Rickenbacker guitar company. ... Paul A. Bigsby was the designer of the Bigsby tremolo arm and proprieter of Bigsby Guitars. ... Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 - March 21, 1991), also known as Leo Fender, was an American luthier who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, now known as Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and later founded G&L Musical Products (G&L Guitars). ...

The limitations of chord shapes imposed by the use of the steel slide (or "tone bar") led to the addition of multiple necks, resulting in the console steel guitar. The Gibson Guitar Corporation used a system of pedals to change the tuning of the strings on one of their console steels beginning in 1940.^[1] This instrument, the Electraharp, had a cluster of pedals radiating from its left rear leg that operated similarly to the pedals on a harp. Alvino Rey was an early player of the Electraharp.^[1] The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. ... Alvino Rey, born Alvin McBurney, was an American-born Swing era musician, often credited as the father of the pedal steel guitar. ...

In about 1950, Paul Bigsby began making custom pedal steel guitars that featured pedals mounted to a rack between the front legs of the instrument.^[1] Speedy West got the second of Bigsby's creations, and used it extensively in his work with Jimmy Bryant. Zane Beck began adding knee levers to console steel guitars, and in 1953, added a set of four knee levers to Jimmy Day's console steel.^[1] Beck's knee levers lowered the pitches of the strings they operated, which was an action opposite of what the pedals accomplished.^[1] Wesley Webb Speedy West (January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003) was an american steel guitarist, for a long time playing with Jimmy Bryant, either in their own duo or as backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others. ...

Around 1955, a console steel player named Bud Isaacs attached a pedal to one of the necks of his guitar. The function of the pedal was to change the pitch of two of the strings, whereby Isaacs would have two of the most common steel guitar tunings available on one neck. When he used this pedal to change his tuning while sustaining a chord during the recording of Webb Pierce's hit "Slowly," he touched off a revolution among steel guitarists.^[2] Webb Pierce (born August 8, 1921 - February 24, 1991) was an American country music singer. ...

The steel guitar seems to have an unusually high number of mechanically inclined players, and a period of extensive tinkering followed Isaac's initial idea. Two of these tinkering musicians were Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day, and their playing and mechanical innovations alike have done more for the development of the pedal steel guitar than any other contributors.

Emmons and Day split the function of Isaac's pedal into two separate pedals and added two strings to fill in the gaps in the E9 tuning, bringing the number of strings to ten.^[2] Although Emmons' and Day's setups do the same thing, Emmons and Day used the opposite of each other's pedals to raise the strings. To this day, when one buys a pedal steel, the manufacturer will ask whether the player wants an Emmons Setup or a Day Setup. Emmons incorporated a third pedal to his setup, based on a change Ralph Mooney had used on his instrument.^[2] Emmons joined forces in 1957 with another steel-playing machinist named Harold "Shot" Jackson and formed the Sho-Bud company, the first pedal steel guitar manufacturer.^[3] Sho-Bud guitars incorporated all the innovations that had taken place during the 1950s, including Emmons's third pedal, Beck's knee levers, and ten strings. The single-neck pedal steel guitar was now standardized with three pedals and (up to) four knee levers.

Both lap and pedal steel guitars were closely associated with the development of country music and western swing. The pedal steel's liquid, yearning sound has begun in recent years to be coveted by many modern musicians, beginning in jazz and blues. In particular the rising popularity of alternative country has brought the instrument's beautiful sound to a much wider audience, and it has been used in many different musical genres. Jùjú music, a form from Nigeria, uses pedal steel extensively. Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. ... Western swing is, first and foremost, a fusion of country music, several styles of jazz, pop music and blues aimed at dancers. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Blues music redirects here. ... Matt Hillyer of Texas-based Eleven Hundred Springs Alternative country is a term applied to various subgenres of country music. ... Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. ...

A Concerto for Pedal Steel Guitar and Orchestra has been written by Los Angeles composer Michael A. Levine. It was premiered on April 16, 2005, in a performance by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, with Gary Morse (of Dierks Bentley's and Dwight Yoakam's bands) as soloist, and Paul Gambill conducting. The piece is believed to be the first concerto ever written for the solo steel guitar.^{[citation needed]} The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra. ... For other uses, see Orchestra (disambiguation). ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Michael A. Levine is a Los Angeles composer. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dierks Bentley (born November 20, 1975 in Phoenix, Arizona[1]) is an American country music singer-songwriter. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Playing

A 12-string single-neck pedal steel set up for playing.

A performer typically sits on a stool or seat at the instrument. The right foot usually is used to operate a volume pedal. The left foot is used to press one or more of the instrument's foot pedals. The knees are positioned under the instrument's body so that by moving them left, right or even vertically, they can push levers that hang from underneath it. Image File history File links Carter_S13yellowblack1. ... Image File history File links Carter_S13yellowblack1. ...

The strings are positioned high above the neck of the instrument. Rather than being pressed to a fret on the neck, the player's left hand holds a polished metal bar called the steel on the strings. The steel can be slid up and down the length of the neck, while still touching (effectively fretting) the strings. This raises and lowers the pitch of the notes heard when the strings are played. If the bar is kept perpendicular to the neck (in the orientation of a fret), all strings touched have had their effective length changed equally. The right hand plucks the strings, usually with a set of thumb and finger picks. The neck of a guitar showing the first four frets. ... A slide is an object held in the hand and used in place of a fret to shorten the sounding length of the string(s) of a guitar. ...

The pedals and knee levers raise and lower the pitch of certain strings "on the fly" while the instrument is being played. The exact action of these pedals and levers—which strings are affected—can be set by the player to their preference.

Characteristic effects are obtained by changing pitch of one or more strings while other strings' pitches are static or change at differing rates. Melodic lines are composed primarily of dyads (two-note chords). In the E9 tuning, many characteristic idioms involve tonic-dominant and tonic-subdominant harmonic relationships. In music, a dyad is any two notes or pitches, more commonly known as an interval. ... The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the scale. ... The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. ...

Mastering the pedal steel guitar can take time due to its harmonic complexity and unusual physical technique required. In country music, where the pedal steel guitar is most commonly used, talented players are highly esteemed.

For a table of several tunings of the pedal steel guitar, see copedent. Copedent is a table used to describe the tuning and pedal arrangement on a pedal steel guitar. ...

Manufacturers

Most pedal steel guitars are produced by smaller makers, and many are custom-built to player order. While there are dozens of manufacturers of pedal steel guitars (past and present), the list below represents the larger manufacturers and notable smaller manufacturers.

Notable players

Susan Alcorn (author, writer) Susan Alcorn is an author, writer, backpacker who has hiked extensively in Spain and France, as well as in California on the John Muir Trail in the Sierras, and sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. ... Roy Ayres is a renowned steel guitar player. ... Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen is a rock band formed in 1967 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage was a 1970s country rock band from Marin County, California. ... Brian John B.J. Cole (born 17 June 1946, Enfield, Middlesex) is a notable British pedal steel guitarist who is most famous for playing in the band Cochise. ... Pete Drake (born Roddis Franklin Drake, 8 October 1932, Augusta, Georgia - died 29 July 1988, Nashville, Tennessee), was a major Nashville based record producer and steel guitar player. ... Paul Franklin is a steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, dobro, pedabro, lap steel guitar, slide guitar and fiddle player, widely regarded as one of the most accomplished session musicians in the music business. ... Stuart Goldman is highly controversial journalist, author and screenwriter. ... Norm Hamlet is a American steel guitarist best know as a member of Merle Haggards Strangers group. ... Don Helms (born February 28, 1927) is a steel guitarist best known as a member of Hank Williams Drifting Cowboys group. ... Shot Jackson (born Harold Jackson, September 4, 1920) was a country music guitarist best known for playing Dobro and steel guitar. ... Doug digndoug Jernigan (born January 5, 1946 in Pensacola, Florida) is an award-winning pedal steel guitar musician. ... Omar owns all ... Sneaky Pete Kleinow Sneaky Pete Kleinow (b. ... Greg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass. ... Lloyd Maines (born June 28, 1951) is a country music musician and producer. ... Ton Masseurs Ton Masseurs (Born 7 December 1947, in Kaatsheuvel Holland. ... Jeff Newman (January 7, 1942 - April 7, 2004) was an American country musician who played the pedal steel guitar. ... Robert Randolph was the guitarist for Robert Randolph & the Family Band. ... Alvino Rey, born Alvin McBurney, was an American-born Swing era musician, often credited as the father of the pedal steel guitar. ... Orville Red Rhodes (born in Alton, Illinois on December 30, 1930) was an American steel guitarist. ... Wesley Webb Speedy West (January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003) was an american steel guitarist, for a long time playing with Jimmy Bryant, either in their own duo or as backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Steel guitar
• Bottleneck guitar
• Hawaiian guitar
• Sacred Steel (musical tradition)

A Dobro style resonator guitar Steel guitar, strictly speaking, refers to a method of playing using a metal slide (or steel) on a guitar played horizontally, with the strings uppermost. ... Bottleneck guitar is a variation or relation of slide guitar; instead of a cupping a metal slide in the fretting hand, the strings are fretted with a smooth, hard cylinder worn around a finger of the fretting hand, usually the fourth finger for a compromise between strength and freedom to... A Dobro style resonator guitar Steel guitar, strictly speaking, refers to a method of playing using a metal slide (or steel) on a guitar played horizontally, with the strings uppermost. ... Sacred Steel refers to a musical style and African-American Gospel tradition that developed in House of God Churches in the 1930s. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Winston, Winnie; Bill Keith (1975). Pedal Steel Guitar. Oak Publications, p. 115. ISBN 082560169X. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Winston, Winnie; Bill Keith (1975). Pedal Steel Guitar. Oak Publications, p. 116. ISBN 082560169X. 
3. ^ Winston, Winnie; Bill Keith (1975). Pedal Steel Guitar. Oak Publications, p. 116. ISBN 082560169X. 

External links

Visit the Guitar Portal

www.workshoplive.com/satchzone Image File history File links E-Guitare-horiz. ...

• The Pedal Steel Pages - Where to start.
• Jeffran College - Jeff Newman's instructional website.
• digndoug.com - Doug Jernigan's instructional website.
• Steel Guitar Jazz - Videos, sound clips and photos of jazz steel guitarists.
• Performance Steel Guitars Performance Steel Guitar, LLC
• Brad's Page of Steel - Discusses lap steel guitars in more detail.
• Steel Guitar Forum - A discussion board for steel guitarists.
• SteelGuitarInfo.com - Information on the pedal steel guitar, provided by Carter Steel Guitars.
• Photographs of one pedal steel guitar model.
• Jerry Brightman Home website for Jerry Brightman formerly with Buck Owens.
• Steel Guitar Zone Articles, music, instructional materials and DVDs for Dobro and all steel guitar players.
• www.16tracks.com Collection of free .mp3, .wma, and .wav files submitted by the people who played them.
• Pedal Steel Power from Country Pickers - article originally published in The History of Rock 1983; republished in Crawdaddy! 2008