Pedals and unused strings

[Bob Heligman]

Hi everyone. I'm an old guitar player who's trying to pick up PSG now that I've retired. It's a challenge to say the least.. I've never even actually met anyone who plays pedal steel in person, so I'm learning everything from books and videos. I have a sort of basic question that came to me after watching a Paul Franklin video.

Do most folks deliberately avoid pressing pedals for strings they're not playing or do you just not care since the string isn't being played anyway? Stepping on both the A and B pedals is definitely easier than just one or the other... at least for me. Like for example, when Paul was demoing a harmonized C scale, for 2nd degree, he said to press the A and B pedals and play the 7th and 6th strings. The A pedal doesn't affect either of those strings, so it certainly doesn't hurt to step on it. In this case, it definitely seems easier for me to just step on both like Paul said rather than focusing on just pressing the B pedal. Is that what do most folks do in cases like this... Just B if you're playing the 6th but not the 5th? Just A if you're playing the 5th but not the 6th? Or just A+B in both cases because it's easier and not incorrect musically? As I said, I'm just beginning and I don't want to pick up any bad habits. But I also don't want to make things unnecessarily harder for myself. I'm thinking if Paul does it, it's probably right, but then again, maybe he can do it like that because he's Paul Franklin. Lol.

[Tucker Jackson]

Yes, sometimes I step on a pedal combo (out of habit) when I go to a fret where the combo matches the underlying chord or scale position... even though I may not be hitting one of the strings that's being pedaled. I've seen lots of steelers do this. If it's easier, there's no problem I can see in doing it that way.

Added bonus for a beginner: if you mess up and pick a wrong string, the note might still work if you've got the right pedal down at that moment.

But the longer you play, the less likely you'll play the combo all the time, just because working the pedals becomes such a second-nature thing that... if you just need one pedal, you'll just press one pedal. Either way, just do what's easiest for your skill level.

[Donny Hinson]

Bob, I suspect you sometimes do the same thing when you're playing guitar, and not realizing it (barring strings that you're not playing). This is especially noticed when playing Merle Travis or "Chet Atkins style" when you're using barre chords. One advantage of doing this is that if you should hit an errant string while you're playing, it can still be a right note!

On a pedal steel guitar, the pedals often move strings we are not playing. The A & B pedals together give us two octaves (six notes) of a major triad, but we seldom are playing all six of those notes. Economy of movement dictates that sometimes it's best to do things the easy way, rather than the "musically and technically correct" way.

Then again, maybe someone who knows more about music than I do can explain it better.

[Nathan Pocock]

I think you may want to consider what the underlying chord is. For example, if I'm playing in G, I'll usually step on AB pedals (playing major chords) at fret 3, 5, and 10 even if I'm not using one of the associated strings. However, I would only step on the A pedal at fret 8 because the B pedal would not be in the scale at that position. I don't want to train my brain to hit both pedals at that position. Also if I miss a string by accident its less obtrusive because the chord is correct. I think it's best to consider what chord you're playing out of and retain the footing for that chord. However I don't think you need to play all the pedals (for a given chord) all the time if you're NOT using them. Efficiency might be better in that case.

[Scott Spanbauer]

Another reason to press both A and B is tuning. Depending on a lot of things, it’s a good habit to press both A and B when tuning the individual A and B raises (strings 5 and 10, and strings 3 and 6). When you play an instrument tuned this way, it may sound more in tune to you when you engage both A and B, than when you press just A or B.

Your mileage absolutely may vary, so test it out for yourself. We also naturally end up making little bar adjustments over time to keep certain chords in tune. Part of the beauty.

[Bob Heligman]

Thanks so much for the great info guys! I can definitely see where things will eventually become more natural the more I practice. Shocking, right?

But honestly, my ankle is already bending ways I never thought it could a couple months ago. Holding the B down and pumping the A nearly seemed impossible. Now I notice that I seem to “just be doing it”. Thinking about the sounds I’m hearing without even worrying about what position my foot is in.

It’s great to be able to talk to you guys about this amazing instrument. I’ll always be a guitarist, but learning/playing PSG is becoming my new obsession. Thanks again!

[Howard Parker]

Where in Maryland are you located?

I'm in So Frederick Co.

There is also a Facebook group, "PA MD NJ Pedal Steel Players" you might tap into for local resources.

Cheers,

hp