How to Play Country Music on a Pedal Steel Guitar

Learning to play country music on a pedal steel guitar can bring a whole new sound to the country music you are used to playing. It is important to be comfortable with both the pedal steel guitar and playing country music to marry these two together in a cohesive way.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Understand the stark differences between the pedal steel guitar and a standard guitar. Aside from the difference in appearances, the sounds are different, too. A standard guitar is played with strings which can help control the sound, while a pedal steel guitar has a more electric sound and is controlled with pedals and hand movements.

2. Learn the basics of the pedal steel guitar. Most are designed as a 12-string guitar. There are different bars to use, the weight of the bar is what determines the sound that will come from the steel guitar. The lighter the bar, the higher the pitch and likewise, the heavier the bar, the lower the pitch. Wrap your thumb under the bar you choose to use to give you positive control over the bar.

3. Practice. It is important to practice the pedal steel guitar and get comfortable with all the different bars you will be using. The different bars and different sounds are appropriate for different styles of music and should be used as such. First, concentrate on the music you play, then branch out to find different sounds that can be created with pedal steel guitar.

4. Study country songs that use the pedal steel guitar. This will give you an idea of how the professionals integrate the pedal steel guitar into their music. There are fifty-seven artists currently inducted into the Pedal Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, some of them include Speedy West, Ralph Mooney, Curly Chalker, Jody Carver, and "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow.

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on 8/5/2009 Thank you. I am now proficient and properly versed in all things Pedal Steel Guitar and its unique weavings and heritage in the realm of Country Music.